Driver fatigue is a common reason why truck accidents happen. When someone drives too long without enough rest, their body and mind slow down. Simple mistakes become more likely. Understanding how fatigue affects driving and what to look for after a crash can help someone who gets hurt prove what happened.
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, contact an Indianapolis personal injury lawyer at Vaughan & Vaughan today for a free consultation to discuss your options.
How Fatigue Causes Indiana Truck Crashes
Fatigue is one of the leading reasons for serious truck accidents in Indiana. When drivers get behind the wheel without enough rest, the risks for everyone on the road go up.
Slowed Reactions Lead to Rear-End Collisions
When truck drivers are tired, their brains react slower than normal. Long hours on the road make it harder to process what’s happening. In traffic, this delay can mean a driver does not press the brakes as fast as needed. Trucks already take a lot of distance to stop, so if the driver waits even a split second too long, a rear-end crash can happen.
Hidden Dangers of Microsleep
Fatigue can also cause something called a microsleep. These are very short sleep episodes that last just a second or two. A driver might not even realize they’ve drifted off for this brief moment. Even though it sounds minor, these tiny lapses put everyone in danger. During a microsleep, the driver stops paying attention and may lose control. This often causes the truck to swerve or even drive not oncoming traffic.
Circadian Lows Raise Crash Risks at Certain Times
Our bodies have natural patterns, making us sleepy at some times more than others. The most common lows in alertness happen overnight from midnight to six in the morning. There’s another “low,” usually early to mid-afternoon, which many people call the post-lunch slump. When truck drivers are on the road during these periods, they are more likely to forget things, overcorrect, or have trouble focusing on the traffic around them.
Making sure truck drivers take proper breaks and follow the rules could help keep Indiana’s roads safer and prevent so many avoidable tragedies.
Your Case Will Get
The Attention It Deserves
Evidence That Proves Fatigue Caused a Truck Accident
When truck drivers are tired, their reaction times slow down, and their judgment suffers. Proving that a driver was too fatigued to be behind the wheel is not always easy, but several types of evidence can help support a case.
Hours of Service Logs
Federal law requires truck drivers to keep detailed logs showing when drivers rested and how many hours they drove. A review of logbooks can expose violations showing the driver exceeding the allowed hours, supporting claims of fatigue.
Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs)
Most trucks now have mandatory electronic logging devices. These record driving time more accurately than old-fashioned paper logs. Data from an ELD can show long stretches of nonstop driving, or late-night hours behind the wheel.
Eyewitness Statements
Passengers, other truck drivers, and highway users sometimes report swerving or erratic driving before a crash. Sometimes rest stop employees might notice if a driver looks tired. These first-hand accounts can help suggest fatigue played a role.
Physical Evidence from the Scene
Skid marks or a lack of them might reveal the state of the driver. If a truck does not brake or make any move to avoid a crash, this can suggest the driver may have been asleep or unaware due to exhaustion. Video from highway cameras can also support these findings.
Dispatch and Delivery Records
Pressure to meet deadlines often leads companies to encourage longer hours behind the wheel. Comparing trucking company delivery times, receipts, or dispatch records against driver rest periods can sometimes reveal unfair expectations.
Contact Vaughan & Vaughan To Build You Truck Accident Case
These different types of evidence help build a clearer picture of why an accident may have happened. When you work with a truck accident lawyer, they can help you collect this evidence as well as anything else that can help prove your case for compensation.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident due to driver fatigue, contact Vaughan & Vaughan online today to schedule your free consultation. Our Indianapolis truck accident lawyers are ready to review your case and help you get the compensation you deserve.
