When Nevada motorists pass large commercial vehicles on the roads, they may wonder just how much safety training truck drivers receive. To answer this question, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is currently in the process of researching the effectiveness of entry-level commercial driver’s license training programs, knowledge that a truck accident lawyer in Nevada would say is essential. Using a survey of the most recent year’s list of truck drivers and those who obtained their CDL within the past 3 years, the FMCSA will aim to determine the relationship between the amount of training hours and types of entry-level CDL training programs and how the training translates into trucker safety on the roads.
Training process
Commercial tractor trailer drivers must pass rigorous testing in order to qualify for a commercial driver’s license. This includes medical requirements, residency rules, passing a permit test and ultimately passing the final skills test. Although some states do require that potential CDL holders take formal skills training courses, there are no federal regulations in place to ensure that truck driver training programs include extremely valuable information about safety.
Many programs simply focus on teaching the skills that are required to pass the test. Others include the necessary information that a driver would need in order to keep themselves and other motorists safe on the roads. However, it is common for many commercial carriers to provide their new hires with extensive on-the-job safety training to combat the inexperience that they often see due to the lack of a unified rule regarding safety education and training.
Current accident rates
The FMCSA reports that in 2012, large commercial trucks were involved in 317,000 accidents. Nearly 3,500 of those accidents resulted in fatalities. An additional 73,000 tractor trailers were involved in accidents in which an individual was injured, while 241,000 truck accidents caused property damage only. Twenty of the nation’s 2012 truck-related deaths took place in Nevada. A truck accident lawyer in Nevada knows that many of these accidents were caused by cases of distracted driving, inexperience in potentially dangerous situations and drowsiness.
Real stories of loss
Due to their size, trucks can cause some of the most devastating accidents seen on the roads. A crash on the Spaghetti Bowl recently claimed a woman’s life. The Review Journal reports that a red semi caused an accident when it veered into the woman’s lane. The woman lost control of her SUV and was killed in the resulting crash.
Those who have been injured in a truck accident may be able to receive help with their matter by contacting a truck accident lawyer in Nevada. Their experience in these cases may allow them to help injured individuals and their families receive the financial help that they need following an accident.
