byAlma Abell

Errors made by truck drivers are often found to be the cause of accidents. Drivers that are impaired either through lack of sleep, alcohol consumption or prescription drugs take unnecessary risks and are unable in many cases to react quickly to situations that they are faced with.

If you are involved in an accident involving a semi it is important that you contact a New Orleans truck accident lawyer as soon as possible as there will be a need to investigate the conduct of the driver as well as the company. It may be that the company failed to follow federal rules that are in place that specify the maximum time the driver can be behind the wheel or they allowed a driver who was incompetent to drive the truck.

Why do driver errors occur?

There are reasons other than driver error that can be identified as the cause of an accident. Inclement weather, poor roads or vehicle anomalies are genuine problems but the fact is, drivers are ten times more likely to be the problem.

There have been many studies made in an attempt to find out why this is, the results of the studies are quite revealing:

• Almost half the drivers that were involved in an accident were taking OTC or prescription drugs

• One quarter of the accidents were caused by excess speed

• The balance were put down to driver fatigue

An increasing number of trucking companies are turning to electronic means to gather information on how the truck is operated and its condition. This data is critical should you be involved in an accident involving a large truck and your New Orleans truck accident lawyer will take it as a responsibility to ensure all this high-tech information is preserved and available to support your claim. Contact Womac Law Firm at www.edwardwomac.com for more information.