In Florida, drivers often share the road with bigger commercial vehicles. All drivers face similar risks and dangers. But trucks create more of a potential hazard for other drivers due to their size and weight. For this reason, fatigue in the trucking industry is more of a problem than drowsy driving anywhere else.
Drowsy driving is an issue that affects any driver on the road. People believe that it is not a risky behavior. At the very least, they think it is not as risky as texting while driving or DUI. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Drowsy driving is as risky, if not more so. The fact that people think it is safer means more drivers engage in this behavior. This includes truckers.
In fact, sleep deprivation is a rampant problem in the trucking industry. Many individuals boast about how long they can drive without sleeping well. In some cases, companies even make it profitable to drive without sleep. This is often unintentional, but the end result is the same. Drivers skip out on proper rest so they make more money. This puts everyone on the road at risk.
Drowsy driving impacts a driver’s ability to react to danger. They may speed or drive too slowly. They have trouble stopping in time. With a truck, any of these issues may create fatal hazards for other drivers.
Are you interested in reading about fatigue in the trucking industry? Do you want to learn more about how driver exhaustion creates risks for everyone on the road? You can take a look at our linked web page here to continue your investigations into these topics.