The Best Commercial Trucking Insurance? A Rested, Alert Driver
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Posted On :
Jan-13-2010
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Article Word Count :
568
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What’s the number one threat to long distance truckers on the road? It’s not other drivers. It’s not unsafe speeds or rain or snow.
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What’s the number one threat to long distance truckers on the road? It’s not other drivers. It’s not unsafe speeds or rain or snow.
The top hazard for long haul drivers is lack of sleep.
Some researchers believe driver fatigue causes up to 25 percent of all vehicle accidents and up to 20 percent of all the serious accidents on roads and freeways. And, while actually nodding off (chin to chest, eyes closed) can and does occur, it’s the “micro-sleeps” that can be very dangerous. Micro-sleeps are those instances when a driver falls asleep for as little as one or two seconds involuntarily. The driver may not even be aware he or she has fallen asleep, but his or her rig has traveled 100 or 200 feet, or more, in that small amount of time. And that’s time enough for another driver to swerve into the truck’s lane, for a rig’s front or rear wheels to move into another line and swipe another car or any number of catastrophes.
No amount of commercial trucking insurance (and you do have commercial trucking insurance, don’t you) can truly recover the loss of a driver’s life or well-being due to a major accident caused by fatigue or lack of sleep.
Below are some ideas to help keep you alert -- and alive and safe -- behind the wheel.
As you drive, keep your eyes moving. Check your rearview mirrors every few seconds, check the lanes in front of you and to the side. Look left and right when you approach intersections. In fact, move your head left and right when you come to crossing. Moving your eyes in this manner helps you stay alert. Staring straight ahead can cause eye fatigue.
Open your windows. Fresh air can really be an eye opener.
Recognize fatigue when it hits you. Nodding off, of course, is a sure sign. But so is irritability, especially if you become agitated over incidents about which you’re usually calm. Angered by another driver’s failure to signal a turn into your lane? Infuriated to the point of making obscene hand gestures when someone cuts you off? It’s time to take a break. Fatigue can make you a danger to yourself and others on the road long before you show any signs of falling asleep at the wheel.
In fact, it’s best to take one 15-minute rest for every two hours on the road. Walk around. Perform some leg and back stretches. Take a short, five-minute nap (if you’re one of those lucky souls who can fall asleep quickly).
Slow down when you’re tired. Your reaction time shortens considerably when you’re fatigued and a speedy rig is an uncontrolled missile when its driver is slower to hit the brakes.
Of course, coffee can help, but understand that caffeine’s effects don’t happen right away. In fact, many researchers recommend drinking coffee and then taking a 20-minute nap. This is a terrific way to battle fatigue.
Finally, the best commercial trucking insurance you can give yourself before a long haul is a good night’s sleep the nights just before you start. Eight to 10 hours is best. On your trip, aim to sleep at night and not during the day. Humans sleep best in the dark - not in a big rig on the side of the road at 2 p.m.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_The Best Commercial Trucking Insurance? A Rested, Alert Driver_8765.aspx
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Author Resource :
Jon Tanner is the president of JD Tanner Insurance, a commercial trucking insurance company. Jon can insure your fleet of trucks, and also provide consulting and training for your company to decrease the risk of a trucking company.
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Keywords :
commercial trucking insurance, trucking authority, trucking insurance brokers, us dot number, boc-3 authority, trucking insurance ,
Category :
Finance
:
Insurance
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