A common cause of truck accidents in Columbia, Missouri, is truck driver fatigue. This issue is also common across the country as truck drivers are sometimes encouraged to drive as long as possible in order to cut down on overtime hours and delivery times.

Getting involved in an accident is scary enough, but when it involves a truck or tractor trailer, the situation can become dire. Severe injuries and even death can occur when involved in a truck accident with a driver who is fatigued.

Truck driver fatigue can be caused by a number of things, including:

– Lack of sleep

– Lack of quality sleep

– Illness

– Driving too many miles in a day

– Lack of breaks

– Driving at times of the day when normally asleep

– Presence of untreated sleep disorders

– Traveling long stretches of road with little to look at

– Sedative drugs

– Stress, frustration, fear and anger

– Temperatures and road vibrations

– Poor eating habits

Truck driver fatigue can lead to the following issues:

– Problems with vision

– Delayed response time behind the wheel

– Inability to gauge the proper braking distance required to stop the truck

Truck driver fatigue has led to some of the most dangerous and tragic accidents in Missouri, including:

– Single-truck accidents against a pole, tree, building or other structure

– Trucks have collided with multiple vehicles on crowded highways

– Trucks have slid down embankments and rolled over, trapping the driver

– Trucks have crashed and then caught fire

Truck accidents can be avoided when the driver is alert, attentive, well-rested and prepared for the long trip. Rules have been put in place across the country that dictate how far and for how long a truck driver is allowed to be behind the wheel. Drivers are required to rest for 30 minutes within their first eight hours on the road in order to be alert.

To learn more about truck driver fatigue and your rights as a victim of a truck accident, take a look at our web pages on the topic.