A Distracted Truck Driver is Heading For a Rear-End Accident

People in and around Las Vegas, Nevada, probably recognize that any distracted driver poses a hazard on the roads. However, a distracted truck driver in particular makes traveling more dangerous for everyone around that large truck.

Part of the reason distracted driving is particularly dangerous for a trucker to engage in is that, as a matter of science, it simply takes longer to bring a truck to a complete stop. For instance, assuming a highway speed of 65 miles per hour, a trucker who applies the brakes will travel on average 454 feet, 209 feet more than an average car.

However, it is important to remember that these distances only account for the time after a motorist applies the brakes. A fully attentive motorist is going to travel another 45 feet or so before they even make that decision that they need to brake and then move their foot on to the brake pedal and press.

What this means in practice is that while a driver of a car might be able to make up for a delayed reaction that is, for example, due to taking one’s eyes off the road for a second, a trucker is going to have a hard time stopping for an upcoming vehicle or other hazard even if the driver gives up a foot or two of reaction distance because of fatigue, drunkenness, a distraction or just plain inattentiveness. Truckers simply cannot spare that extra distance when they require so much more space to stop.

Even the least bit of inattentive driving can lead to serious trucking accidents, and these are accidents truck drivers themselves are in the best position to prevent. If someone in Las Vegas gets hurt by a distracted or inattentive truck driver, he or she may be entitled to receive compensation via a personal injury lawsuit.