Large trucks are a constant on the road in Missouri. Since these vehicles must share the road with passenger vehicles, it is natural for those in the smaller vehicles to be wary of them. The potential for serious injury and death when there is a truck accident is significant. That makes it increasingly risky when there is a distracted truck driver. Recent research from the analytics provider Lytx says that the problem of distracted truckers may be worse than previously thought. This information can be critical when seeking compensation through a legal filing.

Prior research showed that there are at least nine fatalities in accidents due to distracted drivers each day. With commercial drivers, the second most common cause of a fatal accident is distracted driving. The new information from Lytx says that distracted driving behaviors compound. That means if a driver is committing one risky act, others often accompany it. That can include eating and tailgating. Twenty-three percent of scored incidents in the Lytx research showed drivers were taking part in more than one dangerous behavior.

While 65 percent of drivers were using hands-free devices in 2018 and that was an increase from 27 percent in 2017, there was a rise of 13 percent of dangerous behaviors with handheld devices in that period. Drivers using their hands-free devices and simultaneously taking part in other distracting behaviors was up by 10 percent. If a driver was multi-tasking, he or she took part in other distracting activities and this increased the danger by 100 percent when compared to a single distracting activity. Most often, drivers are using their cellphones when they are traveling at 65 miles-per-hour.

Regardless of government agencies, legislators and law enforcement attempts to reduce the incidence of distracted drivers and try to lower the number of accidents because of them, drivers continue to behave in risky ways behind the wheel. When it is a truck driver, it is even worse because they are supposed to be professionals and understand the need for maintaining safe roads. In addition, the vehicles they are driving have the capacity to cause severe injuries and death due to their size and speed. After a truck accident, it is imperative to know if it was because of a distracted truck driver as this can be a key factor in successful truck accident claims. Calling a law firm that has experience in truck crashes is essential.