When you hear about an accident with a semi-truck, your first assumption about the cause of the accident may be that there was a mechanical issue with the truck or the driver was speeding. However, there are some other less noticeable causes for trucking accidents that you may not be aware of, including the following:

Manufacturer's Defects

Many semi-truck accidents do not always happen due to the fault of any driver on the road. Sometimes, accidents occur due to defective parts from the manufacturer. Defective brakes, for instance, can cause a major accident with a truck. Truck drivers heavily rely on their brakes often as they drive, because other drivers often try to move in front of trucks at the last second. This causes the truck to brake suddenly and potentially cause an accident. If the truck's brakes are defective, any accident can be disastrous. If a defective part has anything to do with a trucking accident, an attorney should help you seek compensation from the manufacturer of the part.

Overuse of Legal Medication

While the use of illegal drugs can easily cause an accident with a truck driver, so can the overuse of legal medication. Medication that is meant to treat symptoms of colds or allergies often cause sleepiness. If a truck driver overuses these medications, he or she is likely to get drowsy or dizzy while behind the wheel. The overuse of legal medication can cause a major accident.

Lack of Required Rest Hours

Truck drivers are required to be off the road for a specific amount of time every day. This time is there to allow the driver to properly rest and prevent becoming fatigued behind the wheel. However, if a truck driver chooses not to rest during this mandatory time off the road, he or she can become too tired to get back into the driver's seat. However, the driver is required to get his or her load from one place to the next and cannot take additional rest time. If a driver does not use his rest time wisely, he or she can cause an accident due to fatigue.

These are just a few examples of less obvious causes for trucking accidents. All of these instances will require a deep investigation to prove. For this reason, you should work closely with services like St Martin & Bourque LLC that can help those who are injured or otherwise suffer damages due to a semi-truck.

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