The transportation industry is plagued by the problem of impaired driving, whether it be by alcohol, over-the counter or prescription drug use.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, their investigations determined that substance impairment was either the cause or contributed to numerous accidents in the industry, both on and off of the highways. Still, over 90 percent of deaths related to transportation happen annually on the nation’s highways.
The NTSB showed an uptick in the proportion of drivers who died and had detectable levels of drugs in their bodies at the time of death. In the four years from 2005 to 2009, the percentage jumped from 13 to 18; in the year 2012, over 10 million drivers self-reported incidents of driving while under the influence of illegal drugs during the prior year.
What this means to the average motorist is that commercial truck drivers who are impaired but driving their big rigs down Florida roadways can be a real threat to the welfare and safety of other drivers and their passengers.
Being in a collision with a large truck carries a much higher risk of catastrophic injuries or death to those in smaller passenger vehicles. There is just no way to compensate for the physical vulnerability of those in light trucks and cars when a wreck with a big truck occurs.
If you were injured in a big rig wreck, or if you lost a loved one, it may be possible to file litigation to recover financial compensation for your losses. If the driver was impaired at the time of the fatal crash, it could potentially open the door to even more recovery options in Florida.
Source: National Transportation Safety Board, “End Substance Impairment in Transportation,” accessed Feb. 03, 2016
