Many of us have stressful jobs, working far beyond the normal 40 hours a week, and often including added worry about our jobs when we aren’t even in the office. We all have our trials and tribulations and varying levels of exhaustion due to career interests, but there is no doubt that even with strict regulations in place across the US, truckers are often suffering from extreme fatigue and burnout that few of us have ever experienced.
Along with sitting behind the wheel to travel cross-country, truckers must also monitor maintenance of their truck along the way, make sure cargo is properly loaded—and that it stays that way—and arrive on time to meet their deadlines with customers who may be tapping their toes and looking at their watches waiting for them to arrive. Completing such jobs plays a significant role in the US economy, but often the supply, demand, and profit-making take a toll on everyone else.
With so much exhaustion—and pressure—to deal with on a regular basis, truck drivers all too often turn not only to copious amounts of caffeine, but also drugs like amphetamines to get them through the days and nights. And although trucking companies test for drugs at the outset and then randomly throughout the employment of a driver, it may not be regular enough to prevent drug use or keep drivers from taking to the roads while impaired.
Truck drivers may also begin to have trouble falling asleep and must take something else to bring them down, aside from basic sleep aids. Alcohol often accompanies much these coping mechanisms or addictions also, making it extra terrifying to imagine someone in charge of an 80,000 vehicle under the influence of a mixture of substances clouding their judgment while driving.
Statistics show that individuals convicted of DUI had driven drunk or under the influence of drugs multiple times before they were caught—in fact, they may have done so nearly 100 times without ever getting caught. There is usually a good chance that they have an addictive personality also; for many of these individuals, rehab may be the answer, while yet others should just be taken off the roads for good as soon as they fail a drug test or show otherwise impaired judgment.
With the Truck Accident Response Team, or T.A.R.T., Attorney Sergeant Peggy and his legal team, specializing in 18-wheeler accidents, can be at the scene of your accident within hours. With this unique system, legal specialists can perform the most important task, which is preserving evidence (especially in case of a trial to present to a jury so that you were able to receive the maximum amount of compensation you are due) for an injury or wrongful death claim. The T.A.R.T. system was created not only to fight trucking companies and their ongoing, duplicitous ways, but also insurance companies who are often even worse to deal with during accident claims.
Please call the law offices of Andrew ‘Pike’ Piekalkiewicz, PLLC as soon as possible at (713) 748-7453 or visit AttorneySgtPike for a no obligation case review. Let us put our years of experience in dealing with trucking and insurance companies to work for you.
