Truckers pose a potential threat to many drivers on the road for a number of reasons. Not only are their vehicles enormous, dwarfing other cars along side them, but their driving practices may sometimes pose a risk as well.
Drowsy truckers are one of the biggest issues the industry has. But did you know that the trucking industry itself might actually contribute to this issue in some cases?
Why are trucks so dangerous?
The Sleep Foundation examines the negative impact of drowsy driving and potential causes. Of course, a drowsy driver cannot interact with the road in a safe and reliable way. In fact, drowsy driving is one of the riskiest distracted driving behaviors these days, with its numbers competing against those found in incidents involving texting while driving.
A drowsy trucker poses an even bigger risk. After all, they have a huge vehicle that would easily damage literally any passenger car on the road with them. Even a bus would fare worse than a semi-truck in a crash.
Negative meddling from trucking companies
Unfortunately, information from former and current truckers indicates that some trucking companies do nothing to help this matter. In fact, they might encourage drowsy driving instead. Many companies gain more money if more deliveries happen in a smaller window of time. To encourage this, they will sometimes incentivize based on miles traveled or the amount of deliveries made in a certain period of time.
Truckers who want these benefits and bonuses will go out of their way to make more deliveries or drive further than they should. Many skimp out on proper sleep to ensure they can do this. This opens the door for the deadliness of drowsy driving.