Truck Accidents Linked to Low Pay Rate

The problem occurs when drivers work a regular schedule and only make a minimum amount of money. This forces drivers to seek other ways to make money, which can include working overtime. Working overtime leads to speeding, fatigue and a general unawareness of what is going on around you. Workers will often skip maintenance checkups and instead use that allotted time to drive more and make extra money.

All of this can lead to 18 wheeler accidents. In the United States, the death toll on our highways makes driving the number one cause of death and injury for people ages 5 to 27. Highway crashes are responsible for 94 percent of all transportation fatalities, and 99 percent of all transportation injuries. Surprisingly, only 1 percent of funding for the U.S. DOT budget goes to providing traffic safety programs.

Despite a high death toll number, the rate at which people died in semi truck crashes in the United States fell during the past few years, according to an analysis of data released last week by the Department of Transportation.

The fatality rate fell to 2.34 deaths per 100 million miles driven last year, versus 2004's rate of 2.37 deaths. TRANSPORT TOPICS calculated the rate by dividing the number of deaths by the number of miles driven, as reported by DOT.

Meanwhile, the fatal crash rate for incidents involving large trucks was 2.03 per 100 million miles driven, unchanged from the previous year. The fatal crash rate shows how often large trucks were involved in such incidents.

With road movements by trucks expected to continually increase, the possibility of what the road toll will be is enormous. There must be some action taken to prevent this increase. There is hope that the fatality rate will continue to fall, but it can only fall if new measures are taken to protect truck drivers.

The trucking field receives much less attention compared to other industries. If this were a larger industry, an immediate inquiry would be done.

Many owner/drivers borrow against homes to pay for vehicles and are under pressure to travel overtime to cover costs. There is a need for companies to provide financial assistance to keep truck road users safe. Reinvesting a portion of the company's profits would likely decrease accidents while encouraging workers to pay more attention to safety procedures.

Unions will continue to push for truck drivers to be paid. It is a tough road ahead, but with support, the roads and drivers will become safer.

Gordon & Elias, L.L.P. represents clients in all aspects of personal injury and wrongful death. They are a boutique law firm with a nationwide practice focusing on FELA, with their associated law forum: http://www.FELAQuestions.com; Jones Act-Admiralty-Maritime Law and the associated Jones Act law forum: http://www.JonesActQuestions.com, and Trucking Accident Litigation: http://www.TruckAccidentLaw.org Gordon & Elias, L.L.P.,formerly Gordon & Elias, brings over 52 years of combined experience to the representation of their clients. The firm has the experience and resources to pursue recovery from large corporate defendants and/or their insurers.