Driver Fatigue Truck Accidents in Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs Tired Driver Truck Accident Law Firm

The trucking sector supports America’s shipping infrastructure. Each year, commercial vehicles transport roughly 70% of the country’s shipping commodities. The cars that offer this service, on the other hand, might be particularly hazardous to other road users. Many drivers in the Colorado Springs region are afraid of passing a speeding tractor-trailer on I-25, I-70, or Powers Blvd.

Cars of this magnitude have excellent cause to be feared. If they collide with your car, the consequences might be disastrous! You may get significant, life-threatening injuries or worse.

It’s not simply the risk for injuries that you have to be concerned about. A truck collision occurs more often than you think because the truck driver was dangerously fatigued. Truckers often go behind the wheel without getting enough, or even good, sleep. The outcome is unavoidable but unfortunate.

If you were injured in a truck accident—any truck accident—it’s a strong likelihood that truck driver weariness had at least a partial, if not the primary, role in what occurred. You may be entitled to substantial monetary compensation as a result of this.

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Fatigued truck drivers pose several dangers

Let’s face it: unless you’re a NASCAR driver, driving seems like a pain the majority of the time. It’s monotonous, uninteresting, and exhausting.

The grind of driving isn’t simply a nuisance for some Americans; it’s their livelihood. Truck drivers don’t only go to and from work; driving is their livelihood. They may spend up to 11 hours per day behind the wheel if they respect the rules (see below) and much more if they don’t.

Every day, they travel hundreds of miles of asphalt, most of it on lengthy lengths of interstate and state roadway. During your evening trip home in Colorado Springs, the trucker you see on the road may have been on the road since daylight.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Truck driver weariness is a significant source of worry for anybody on the road. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, weariness plays a role in nearly 30% of truck accidents.

Given the stresses of driving a large rig and the general health of the truck driver population in the United States, we’re willing to assume that figure is considerably higher (more on that below).

Any drowsy truck driver accident, on the other hand, is terrible because it is completely avoidable. The best way to avoid weary truck driving is to avoid driving at all! If you’re going to drive, make sure you have enough rest.

Unfortunately, truck drivers get behind the wheel when dangerously exhausted, so Colorado Springs drivers must be on the lookout for telltale signals that they’re sharing the road with a sleepy trucker.

• Changes lanes in an unpredictable manner
• Drifts off the road into the shoulder
• Speeds or changes speed abruptly
• Brakes or engages in other quick evasive maneuvers without notice
• Does not react adequately to traffic signals

What explains these hazardous maneuvers?

Fatigue reduces a driver’s ability to respond to hazards on the road, reduces a driver’s ability to maintain a car in its lane, slows a driver’s response time, and impairs a driver’s ability to make appropriate judgments, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Impairs a driver’s visual acuity, distance perception, and situational awareness

According to the CDC, a motorist who has been awake for at least 18 hours is affected to the same degree as someone with a blood-alcohol level (BAC) of 0.05.

That’s beyond the legal limit for truck drivers by 25%! Worse, a motorist who has been awake for at least 24 hours has the same impairment as someone with a blood-alcohol level of 0.10. That’s almost double the legal limit!

All Colorado Springs motorists are placed in danger when a truck driver intentionally decides to drive sleepy. If a sleepy truck driver has hurt you or a loved one, you may be eligible for compensation.

Speak with a competent Colorado Springs truck driver fatigue lawyer immediately to learn more about your legal alternatives.

Tired truck drivers are breaking the law

A trucker’s decision to drive on insufficient (or no) sleep not only puts all of us in danger but also violates the law.

Commercial truck drivers must follow laws that keep them awake and aware while driving. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) sets the rules for interstate truckers. They are set by the Colorado Department of Motor Cars for truckers who only operate within the state’s borders.

One of the most significant requirements that truckers must obey is the regulation of their working hours. Truck drivers are only allowed to drive for a certain number of hours each week, according to the FMCSA. According to the guidelines, a driver must:

• take a minimum 30-minute break after 8 hours on duty;
• drive for no more than 11 hours in 24 hours; and
• stay on the clock for no more than 14 hours in 24 hours.
• For example, intrastate trucking hours-of-service restrictions in Colorado are a bit looser, allowing a driver to stay on duty for 12 hours after 8 hours off.

The purpose of hours-of-service regulations is to avoid severe driver weariness. Because truck driver workweeks frequently surpass 60 hours, truckers must rest for about 34 hours off duty under these standards.

Many drivers and businesses, however, do not observe the rules. The guidelines also often fail to fulfill their goal of keeping truck drivers awake and vigilant on the road. These failures result in fatal truck accidents.

Fatigue in Drivers: What Causes It?

Truck drivers, as a group, are suffering from a tiredness pandemic. Some of the most prevalent contributing factors are listed below.

The Work Environment

Nobody will be surprised to learn that truck driving is physically demanding. Even while following the hours of service restrictions, truckers work lengthy hours. For anybody, eight hours behind the wheel is a long time! Furthermore, operating a huge rig for lengthy periods requires great attention.

Truckers face various stresses, including excessive traffic, dangerous road and weather conditions, and a variety of other factors that might exhaust them. Many truckers work alone, and the seclusion in the cab may make staying awake and aware even more difficult.

Health Is Relatively Poor

It’s not good for your health to spend up to 11 hours every day behind the wheel. According to the CDC, many truck drivers suffer from obesity and other health issues that may affect their sleep quality and ability to remain attentive throughout the day.

Obesity-related sleep apnea, or a disrupted breathing rhythm during sleep, affects many truckers. It’s common for individuals to have breathing pauses throughout their sleep. On the other hand, people with sleep apnea may have hundreds of these little breathing pauses in a normal night.

These breathing pauses might cause people to startle awake and disturb their sleep cycle. When this occurs, a person will never experience deep sleep when the body’s energy is regenerated overnight. A truck driver suffering from sleep apnea may get tired and lose control of their faculties while driving.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse

A truck driver’s profession may be isolating. Drivers work long hours alone and may only communicate with diners and hotels service workers. Some truck drivers use to drink and drugs to cope. This combination may be lethal, particularly when administered during the day.

Truck drivers also use energy drinks or over-the-counter medications to assist them in remaining awake throughout the day. Taking these medicines makes it more difficult to fall asleep later and does nothing to improve the driver’s alertness. All these medicines do is make the motorist ignorant of their sleepiness.

Getting Some Sleep in the Truck

Long-haul truckers often have living accommodations in their cars. The setup incorporates a sleeping bed to save money and make it fast and simple to get some rest.

While this may seem advantageous, getting proper sleep in the tight confines of a sleeper may be challenging for a truck driver. When truckers are always at their “office,” it might be difficult to relax. This makes it difficult for a trucker to obtain good sleep, which leads to unsafe weariness.

Identifying Fatigue as a Contributing Factor in a Colorado Springs Truck Accident

It might be difficult to determine if a truck driver’s sleepiness contributed to an accident that hurt you or a loved one. Police officers and first responders look for the apparent reasons for an accident, but the underlying causes are not always looking for.

As previously said, truckers are always faced with weariness. If you were injured in a truck accident, it’s likely that the driver wasn’t working at full rest and that their sleepiness contributed to the cause of your accident.

But how are you going to prove it? That’s how: by retaining the services of an experienced Colorado Springs truck accident lawyer. Lawyers for truck accident victims in Colorado Springs know where to find proof that a trucker was driving while tired, and they know how to get it before it disappears.

For example, many large rigs now have computerized driving records that document a driver’s hours of duty, allowing the driver’s schedule and, as a result, the quantity of sleep he may (or may not) have received to be reconstructed.

Truck accident lawyers in Colorado Springs regularly collaborate with accident reconstruction specialists, who may unearth forensic evidence that the police missed, pointing to sleepiness as a contributing cause in a collision. They may also locate dashboard and traffic cameras that took footage of a truck with telltale indicators of a tired driver behind the wheel.

Compensation for a Tired Trucker’s Contribution to an Accident

A trucker who drives when tired breaches his fundamental responsibility not to endanger others on the road. If his exhaustion causes an accident, he (and frequently his company) may be liable to accident victims for damages.

Some truck accident injury victims believe they may only recover money for minimal medical bills from the sleepy truck driver (and perhaps his company).

They’re completely incorrect!

An expert Colorado Springs truck accident lawyer may typically file a lawsuit against the driver, his company, and anybody else responsible for the accident, seeking damages such as:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish
• Loss of income
• Loss of earning potential
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of life pleasure
• Current and future medical bills
• Property damage
• Rehabilitation costs

How much money will the lawyer be able to obtain for the victims? It is generally determined by variables such as:

• the severity of the injuries inflicted by the sleepy trucker in the accident
• the strength of the victims’ lawyer’s case
• the amount of insurance the trucker and/or his business carries

Truck accident attorneys in Colorado Springs can’t always guarantee compensation to victims of a collision caused by a tired truck driver. The stronger the lawyer’s expertise and competence in demonstrating the role of exhaustion in a collision, the higher the victims’ chances of receiving the compensation they deserve.

Today, speak with a knowledgeable Colorado Springs truck driver fatigue attorney.

After you’ve been injured in an accident caused by a sleepy trucker, the lawyer you pick to represent you may make all the difference in your case. Make the best decision possible.

Choose a well-versed lawyer in the trucking sector and can have a track record of success in tired truck driver cases. While you’re recovering from your injuries, the last thing you need to worry about is whether or not your lawyer is up to the task!

Contact a Colorado Springs truck accident injury lawyer immediately for a free consultation to learn more about your rights when a sleepy truck driver injures you or a loved one.