New Orleans Truck Accident Attorney | How Healthy Are Truck Drivers?

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Truck Accidents

When a Louisiana Truck Accident Claim Results from Distracted Driving

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Truck Accidents

Louisiana Truck Accident Attorney Explains How Driver Distractions can Warrant a Claim (Part B)

Why a truck driver's health is important to all of us.

When a tractor-trailer traveling at 65 miles per hour, a mass of steel and cargo weighing up to 80,000 pounds, is involved in a traffic wreck, the results are predictably devastating. Close to 90 percent of the victims of 18-wheeler crashes in Louisiana are the occupants of passenger cars. Is it surprising then that truck drivers, and specifically their qualifications and fitness to handle these monster trucks, are coming under increased scrutiny?

How fit are truck drivers?
Unlike most of us, truck drivers do not get the opportunity to make healthy lifestyle choices because of so many aspects of their job:

Long haul truck drivers are mostly paid by the mile, keeping a constant pressure to go the extra mile when they really should take a rest;
They are generally working far away from home, and home cooking, and spend most of their meals in truck stops and diners serving unhealthy meals;
Many truck drivers work irregular hours, alternating long waiting times and pressure to meet deadlines, day and night service hours, long and short rest periods;
Boredom during the endless hours spent behind the wheel brings many drivers to eat snacks and smoke;
The same endless hours of driving also prevent truck drivers from doing regular muscular, cardio and core exercises.

The result is that a great many truck drivers develop overweight, back aches, sleep apnea, hypertension, migraine, diabetes, high blood pressure and a number of other serious health issues, generally treated with various drugs that deal with the symptoms and bring side effects on their own. The immediate risk of these serious health issues are truck driver fatigue, drug induced drowsiness, slow reaction time, lack of focus and sudden strokes.

Several large trucking companies are now addressing the problem and are stepping up efforts to provide their employees with medical check-ups and healthy lifestyle alternatives. Even the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulating the industry is now getting involved and is said to be planning new rules to control the incidence of sleep apnea, high blood pressure and diabetes.

If you have been involved in a commercial vehicle or large truck accident, contact immediately the truck accident attorneys of the Young Firm in New Orleans for a free, no commitment evaluation of your case.