It is dangerous enough when a person operates a passenger car or average size vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs but to drive a commercial vehicle while under the influence is quite another. This is especially true for semi truck drivers. Think how small you feel in your car when one is next to you on the road.
When you drink or drive it affects your reflexes making it extremely dangerous since a semi truck takes much longer to come to a stop when braking making it imperative for the driver to have unaffected reflexes. It is sad and upsetting to even think about the consequences of a loaded semi “bumping” into a car much less slamming into a car.
To compensate for the differences like size and ease of vehicle control, a truck driver is legally impaired with a lower BAC than a driver of a regular car would be allowed to have by law. Presently, the federal law prohibits truck drivers from operating their commercial vehicle if they have a 0.04% BAC or more. Reducing the BAC for truck drivers has had positive results and has lowered the number of accidents with trucks over the last few years.
Other impairment can include drugs such as marijuana and stimulants. Many truckers believe that they need stimulants to keep themselves awake on the road. It’s true that many truckers are pushed to the limit by being forced to keep insane deadlines and perhaps even threatened with termination from the company they work for if they don’t make it. This has resulted in many truck drivers seeking out drugs such as meth, which is apparently easy to find at any truck stop on their route. Whose fault is this? It’s hard to say whether it’s the truckers, or the company, but it’s clear that there needs to be some review of policies here.
One helpful policy is when truckers receive a commercial drivers license a stipulation is that they must consent to random drug testing no matter what they are doing at the time. If they are summoned to the supervisor’s office they must report there. They face termination or fines from the company should they refuse or not show up as there are no grounds to refuse.
This is always a situation that is serious enough that it will have to be looked further into. It is even more serious than a normal DWI, because of the number of lives potentially at stake. Every driver of a passenger car who has to drive next to a semi truck will want some sort of assurance that they are safe and that the truck driver won’t be suffering some problems, like flashback to a war he was in, just because he had took some substance to help remain awake.
If you are the driver of a truck, then remember to stay safe. Get the sleep that you need and don’t give in to temptation. There are a lot of lives at stake on the road, and it’s partly your job to make sure that they stay safe.