Truck Driver Drug Use and Accident Risk
Truck drivers are known to struggle with a number of issues that accompany their difficult lifestyle. The trucking life is not for everybody and it definitely shows. Semi-truck drivers are much more likely to suffer from serious health issues such as obesity, diabetes, alcoholism, and addiction to drugs. These health issues, especially addiction to drugs, make semi-truck accidents significantly more likely to occur. Truck drivers turn to substance abuse for a number of reasons related to the trucking lifestyle, and they all hurt both truck drivers and the people they share the road with.
Which Drugs do Semi-Truck Driver’s Use?
Truck drivers must operate their vehicles for exceptionally long amounts of time in which they are seated and staring at the same road view stretching on continuously. This has a way of wearing a person down and leading them to seek respite in a number of different vices. Some of the drugs that semi-truck drivers turn to as a result of their job’s conditions include:
Cannabis
The most common drug that is used amongst truckers is Cannabis, more commonly known as marijuana or weed. The usage of cannabis amongst semi-truck drivers has become even more prevalent since many states have now legalized its recreational use. Semi-truck drivers that go across state lines will partake much more often when they run across a legal cannabis state.
The drug is also very commonly used thanks to the variety of forms it can take. Cannabis can be used as an oil or edible or smoked or inhaled with vapor. Drivers typically use it for its psychoactive effects and the high commonly associated with it though it has been shown that excessive use of cannabis can impair driving skills, especially when driving a demanding vehicle such as a semi-truck.
Amphetamines
Truckers will sometimes turn to amphetamines in order to keep aware and stimulated when driving long hours. Amphetamines are commonly also known as uppers or speed and give users an increase in vigor and awareness that truckers seek to avoid falling asleep at the wheel. Amphetamines have been shown to have severe effects on a person’s health and can lead truckers to put themselves in dangerous driving situations.
Cocaine
While it is a stimulant like amphetamines, cocaine is still different. Cocaine is known to be exceptionally addictive and causes serious heart issues especially among drivers that are unable to exercise regularly. Like other stimulants, cocaine causes a user to have heightened awareness and increased energy that amps them up.
Semi-Truck Driver Drug Abuse and Semi-Truck Accidents
A study of truckers showed that 30% admitted to using amphetamines. Even more truckers have been found to regularly use cannabis while behind the wheel. Drug use can distract a driver from the task of driving and increase accident chance. The health effects of drug use can sometimes lead to a health emergency while behind the wheel. Behaviors where truckers rely on stimulants to help combat drowsiness run the risk of a driver figuratively crashing after too much use and then literally crashing as a result.
Contact an Experienced Florida Truck Accident Attorney
The best thing you can do when you are severely injured in a semi-truck accident is to seek a lawyer experienced in semi-truck accident injury claims. You technically can pursue a claim on your own but the odds of successfully navigating the many pitfalls of insurance tricks and the legal process are greatly diminished. Insurance companies have everything they need to successfully deny a claim as that is their goal, since profits are their main priority. Insurance companies have the experience, personnel, resources, lawyers, and money to fight a claim to any extent necessary. If it turns into a “who can withstand the storm longer” type of situation, the answer will always be the insurance company when competing against an injured victim on their own.
It doesn’t cost you anything to get an injury attorney to look at your case. Likewise, truck accident lawyers don’t cost anything out of your pocket since they work on a contingency fee basis. This means they take a percentage of the settlement once the claim is seen through and don’t get paid at all if the injury victim doesn’t recover financial compensation. You or your loved ones are likely significantly injured if you are even considering hiring a car accident attorney in the first place. So you should focus on your recovery while a professional works to maximize your settlement with the insurance companies and courts.
If you have been injured in a truck accident in the Stuart, Florida or Gainesville, Florida area, contact the experienced personal injury team at The Eberst Law Firm. We are ready to handle your case. You can contact us online or call us at 772-225-4900.
Stuart, Florida Office
101 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Stuart, FL 34994
Gainesville, Florida Office
716 E. University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32601
