Study finds truckers who drink caffeine are less likely to have crashes
A study out of Australia finds truck drivers reduce their risk of being involved in truck crashes by over 60 percent if they consume caffeine as part of their fatigue management strategy.
April 19, 2013
Study finds truckers who drink caffeine are less likely to have crashesArticle provided by Curran & Whittington, PLLC
Visit us at http://www.curranwhittington.com/
Americans consume millions of pounds of caffeine every year. This energizing substance can be ingested in the form of coffee, soda, energy drinks, energy shots and even chewing gum. The caffeine industry is extremely successful. In fact, the coffee segment alone is an estimated $30 billion dollar industry.
Clearly, the caffeine industry is booming and, according to a new study, this boom may be for good reason. The study, recently released out of Australia, found that truck drivers who consume caffeine were less likely to be involved in truck accidents than those who did not.
Details of the study
The study, Use of caffeinated substances and risk of crashes in long distance drivers of commercial vehicles: case-control study, reviewed the habits of over 1,000 commercial truck drivers. Within this group, 530 had been involved in a trucking accident within the last year and 517 had not.
Researchers adjusted their findings to account for the amount of sleep the drivers were able to get while on the road. They also accounted for differences in age and experience, the amount of breaks taken and any known sleep disorders.
Ultimately, the study found that drivers who consumed caffeine reduced their risk of being involved in a crash by 63 percent. The researchers noted that the findings provide support that caffeine could serve a role in fatigue management for commercial truck drivers and help reduce the risk of accidents.
More about truck accidents
Managing fatigue is an important part of crash avoidance for truck drivers. The National Institute of Health, or NIH, recently released a study finding fatigue plays a major role in commercial truck accidents. Commercial truck accidents can be particularly tragic, since the accident often involves a truck weighing well over 80,000 pounds and a car that generally weighs less than 5,000 pounds. As a result, collisions between these vehicles often have tragic consequences for those within the car.
Those injured in commercial truck accidents may be eligible to receive compensation for medical and rehabilitative expenses. The most common legal theory applied in these situations is negligence. Essentially, negligence means that a driver owed a duty to exercise reasonable care, failed to meet that duty and this failure led to injuries.
When establishing negligence, it is important to include all potentially liable parties. In addition to the truck driver, trucking and shipping companies may also be liable for injuries.
If you or a loved one is injured in a truck accident, it is wise to contact an experienced truck accident attorney to discuss your situation and better ensure your legal rights and remedies are protected.