Every day in Texas, at least one person dies and seven others are seriously injured in distracted driving accidents. That’s on average, according to the latest data, and many of these wrecks involve 18-wheelers. When they do:
- Passenger vehicle drivers and/or truckers could be the distracted parties.
- The losses can be profound, causing irreversible damage on individual and wide-ranging levels.
7 Destructive Effects Distracted Driving Has on Truck Drivers & the Trucking Industry
It’s no secret that distracted driving is dangerous — as recently as last year, nearly 8 in 10 Americans were calling it a “major problem.” That problem can be uniquely complex, insidious, and pervasive for the trucking industry, where even the most diligent and safety-focused professionals may not be able to escape its impacts, which can include (and are not exclusive to) the following.
1. Increased Risk of 18-Wheeler Accidents
Distracted driving can quadruple the risk of a wreck. Still, about 80% of motorists admit to driving while distracted, and some of them are commercial truckers.
That’s contributing to hundreds of preventable distracted driving truck accidents every year in the U.S., and those numbers have been rising over the past few decades.
With truckers on the roads day in and day out, that can mean that they are:
- Vulnerable to distractions like cellphones, in-cab technologies, or eating
- More susceptible to crashes with other distracted drivers, simply because truckers share the roads with them routinely
- More likely to be involved in more severe 18-wheeler wrecks, with high potential for catastrophic injury and death. That’s because distracted motorists rarely brake or engage in avoidance maneuvers to try to mitigate the wreck. This can result in more high-speed crashes, head-on collisions, underride wrecks, jackknife accidents, and other potentially deadly big rig crashes.
2. Higher Insurance Costs
Motor carrier insurance costs vary by state, cargo hauled, where carriers operate, and what type of coverage they take out. Additionally, trucker driving records and crash histories can come into play here, with even a single big rig wreck resulting in a major spike in motor carrier insurance rates.
In fact, these costs can skyrocket, increasing by ~45% to as much as ~79%, depending on factors like (and not limited to) the:
- Severity of the distracted driving accident, including the nature of the property damage and any resulting injuries
- Frequency of crash claims
- State regulations
- Insurance provider
This can be true even if the trucker is not at fault and another distracted driver is 100% to blame for an 18-wheeler accident.
If, however, an owner-operator, a truck driver, or a motor carrier has been involved in more than one wreck, insurance companies will typically see them as much higher risk, which can result in:
- More premium hikes
- Strained profits
- Higher deductibles
- More pressure on truckers to not only avoid accidents but also possibly hasten hauls and/or work more hours to try to make up for lost financial ground.
3. Delays & Lost Productivity
- Road closures and rerouting: Truckers who aren’t in a distracted driving big rig crash may have to reroute their haul, adding unexpected hours and mileage to their trip.
- Significant delays: Delivery schedules can go out the window when distracted driving 18-wheeler accidents upset planned routes. While this could run the risk of breaching contractual agreements between motor carriers and their clients, it also has the potential to cause greater supply chain issues.
This can occur after just one distracted driving truck accident, adding incredible volatility to schedule-run businesses that leave little margin for delays.
4. Impacts on Company Reputation
Reputation can be everything in business, and that’s no less true for motor carriers and the trucking industry than it is for the law, health care, real estate, and many other sectors. Some may even argue that reputation in trucking is of the utmost importance because of how risky, competitive, and high-stakes the industry can be.
Consequently:
- Even one distracted driving accident can damage a motor carrier’s reputation: This is especially true if the trucker was the distracted driver because it can suggest that a motor carrier has cut corners with hiring, training, or essential safety protocols. Beyond that, one of these wrecks can start to suggest unreliability while potentially causing more issues for suppliers, logistics companies, and others.
- Over the long term, trucking companies can suffer: When motor carriers can’t maintain a squeaky-clean reputation due to distracted driving truck wrecks, they can face far more challenges retaining current clients and landing new contracts. While that may stunt some, it can choke off business for others, possibly serving as an ending for trucking companies that can’t repair a poor reputation or effectively protect a good one over the long term.
5. Regulatory Scrutiny & Penalties
Heavily regulated, the trucking industry is known for its strict laws, essential safety protocols, and continually evolving compliance requirements. These trucking regulations all prioritize safety— and they can trigger punitive actions against motor carriers after distracted driving truck accidents occur.
- Federal investigations: Depending on the nature of a big rig crash and whether it was fatal, regulators from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA) and/or the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) may kick off their own investigations to determine the causes, whether trucking regulations were violated, and more.
- Expensive fines: If motor carriers or their truckers violated the law and, in turn, contributed to a distracted driving truck accident, authorities could issue them eye-watering fines, with some as much as (or even exceeding) hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Out-of-service orders: In the most egregious wrecks, authorities may ban truckers and/or motor carriers from operating altogether. This may happen when distracted driving 18-wheeler accidents involve drunk or drugged truckers, violating hours-of-service (HOS) rules, driving on suspended licenses, reckless driving, and other violations.
6. Trucker Injuries & Death
When distracted driving truck accidents happen, those outside of the truck are about three times more likely to suffer injuries than the trucker. Still, that does not mean truckers are immune to injury when these (and other) 18-wheeler wrecks happen. In fact, truckers can be just as susceptible to trauma in these crashes when big rigs roll, jackknife, burst into flames, or experience other extreme destruction in crashes.
With that, truckers can sustain minor, moderate, severe, or even life-ending injuries, causing:
- Permanent trauma that takes them out of the workforce (or trucking industry)
- Severe, lasting impacts to quality of life
For truckers and their families, nothing can make up for these losses. For motor carriers, the loss of truckers can take an emotional and financial toll too, decreasing morality, impacting reputation, and possibly affecting a company’s ability to retain or hire new truck drivers.
7. Truck Accident Lawsuits
After a distracted driving truck accident, truckers and motor carriers can end up in lawsuits, as:
- Plaintiffs suing other negligent parties: If passenger vehicle drivers are the distracted parties who cause 18-wheeler accidents, commercial drivers and carriers may pursue legal action against these at-fault parties, seeking financial compensation for their losses.
- Defendants fighting allegations of negligence: If the trucker was the distracted party, they and the motor carrier who employs them can be sued for the oversights, lax protocols, and other negligence that played a role in the big rig crash.
When 18-wheeler crash claims arise:
- They are often complex.
- Proving distracted driving can require various evidence, like cellphone records, electronic logging devices (ELDs), event data records (EDRs), and more.
- Victims can face a challenging battle in proving liability and securing the compensation they deserve, especially when it’s time to go up against insurance companies and others who are experienced at fighting injury claims.
The Costs of Distracted Driver 18-Wheeler Accidents: The Bottom Line
Distracted driving isn’t just dangerous and costly; it’s also a malignant issue that ends lives, careers, contracts, and businesses. That is unbelievably tragic — and the risks that it’ll turn into a reality can be minimized by a proactive, relentless approach to safety.
Without that, far more distracted driving truck accidents can happen. For the victims of those wrecks, getting answers about their legal options can be a first step towards seeking financial recovery and justice.