Truck driving jobs include several serious risks.
A professional truck driver might sustain harm in a variety of ways.
There are perhaps several that you were not even aware of while you were doing your CDL training.
If you do not have your wits about you and focus on the job at hand, it is simple to be gravely injured or killed while working in this line of work.
Getting Behind the Wheel
- Drowsy driving. While we all understand that driving while tired is a bad idea, how often it occurs in my field still surprises me. Driving when tired is NEVER a good idea.
- Texting while driving. Texting while using a cell phone is a formula for disaster. These gadgets pose a serious threat. Put your phone away and drive! – Driving too quickly for the weather or the road conditions. Driving too rapidly for road conditions may easily lead to danger. In the winter, taking a turn, a ramp, or a slope too quickly might lead to tragedy. Whether the weather is terrible or you are cornering, it never hurts to go a bit slower.
- Delivery in an undesirable location. Truck drivers have been maimed or killed in several catastrophes while making deliveries or picking up customers in dangerous locations.
- Failing to investigate all possible angles. A mechanical malfunction or losing a wheel might be quite catastrophic.
Outside the Truck
- Securing a caravan with pins. Never, ever go below a trailer. Place the rear of the truck’s frame below the trailer. If you need to go under it, say to remove a pin lock. If the landing gear fails, the truck frame will sustain the trailer.
- Pay close attention to parking lots, loading docks, and truck yards. Unaware drivers backing up may strike or push you against a loading dock.
- Climbing a truck or trailer roof – Take caution while boarding a truck or trailer. It is simple to lose your balance. Employ a ladder. Do not climb the caravan doors like a monkey to replace a bulb. A fractured leg or worse may result. While operating underneath a vehicle, airbags might settle. While working underneath a truck, the airbags may settle and crush you. Bring a companion if you HAVE to be beneath the vehicle for whatever reason.
- Keep your hands off the brake chambers. They are hazardous and lethal. Leave them in the hands of skilled technicians. These chambers contain strong springs that might kill you if you try to disassemble them carelessly.
- Be cautious while standing on the caravan deck or vehicle frame. Finding your footing or getting a foot hooked and falling off is simple. It poses a risk to flat-bedders in particular.
Stop and consider your actions when you are near a truck or behind the wheel. Your choice will have a big impact on both your safety and other people’s.
When in doubt, bring the trailer or vehicle to a repair facility where a qualified technician can handle the task instead of taking unneeded chances.
