What should I do when I see a reckless truck driver?

Do You Know What to Do After You See a Reckless Truck Driver?Seeing a 40-ton tractor-trailer in front of you swerve off the road or drift out of his lane can be frightening to witness and, if you’re smart, you will back off to avoid a potential collision. However, you can do more to prevent the trucker from harming someone else. When you see a reckless driver, you should report him to the police and to his employer.

How to Spot a Reckless Driver

We’ve all taken our eyes off the road for a second to turn up the heat or set the cruise control and may even swerve out of our lane in the process, but when a driver is drunk, fatigued, or purposely driving aggressively, his behavior should be easy to spot. Look for these signs to see if you are dealing with a dangerous truck driver:

  • Driving too fast or too slow
  • Weaving in and out of cars
  • Drifting out of a lane or driving between lanes
  • Tailgating
  • Excessive braking

If you have been driving behind a truck for several minutes and have witnessed these actions repeatedly, you should report his driving to the state police.

How to Report a Dangerous Driver

The first thing to consider is whether you can safely report a dangerous driver without becoming one yourself. You should either have a passenger do the reporting or pull over when it is safe to do so. If someone has already been hurt or is in immediate danger, you should call 911. If there is no immediate danger as far as you can tell and a passenger is able to help you, look up the nearest Indiana State Police post and call their 800 number. You should try to give them as much of the following information as possible:

  • Your location, including nearest mile marker or exit if on the interstate
  • The name of the trucking company
  • The license plate number and state
  • The USDOT number or IN number displayed on the cab of the truck
  • Your name and cell phone number

It may not be possible to gather all of this information, but the more you have the more likely it is that the police will be able to find and stop the driver.

How’s My Driving?

If the truck has a sticker on the back with a phone number to report bad driving, you can also call that to report the driver to his or her employer. If there is no sticker, you can still call the trucking company and give them the license or USDOT number.

If you are able to take these steps, you could save a life. If you are injured or a loved one is killed by a reckless truck driver, call the Indianapolis truck accident lawyer team at Keller & Keller to help you file a claim. We will check the driver’s record to see if he has been reported in the past for traffic violations, which will help your claim.

 

James R. Keller
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Partner at Keller & Keller