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FMCSA specifically identifies eating and drinking among potential in-cab distractions for commercial drivers.
If an 18-wheeler driver was eating or drinking when they hit you, investigators should determine whether that activity contributed to delayed braking, lane departure, failure to yield, or another unsafe maneuver.
How Can Eating Distract a Driver?
A driver may:
- unwrap food;
- reach into a bag;
- look down;
- hold a drink;
- clean a spill;
- reach for something that fell; or
- take a hand off the wheel.
At highway speed, even brief inattention can matter.
How Can This Be Proven?
Potential evidence includes:
- driver-facing cameras;
- dashcam footage;
- witnesses;
- photographs from the cab;
- receipts; and
- the driver’s statements.
What If the Driver Dropped Something?
A driver reaching for a dropped item may take attention away from the roadway.
The investigation should focus on what the driver was doing immediately before impact.
Could the Trucking Company Be Responsible?
Depending on the circumstances, company training, distraction policies, and safety supervision may become relevant.
What Other Electronic Evidence Matters?
GPS, telematics, dashcams, dispatch communications, and other records may help establish the timeline.
What Injuries Can Occur?
Distracted-driving collisions can cause severe brain, spine, orthopedic, internal, and permanent injuries.
What If I Need Surgery?
Document all treatment, future recommendations, work restrictions, and rehabilitation.
What Should I Do?
Seek medical care.
Identify witnesses.
Preserve video.
Document truck information.
Keep medical and wage records.
Jacqueline Scott & Associates Can Investigate
A commercial driver should remain focused on driving.
If an 18-wheeler driver was eating, drinking, or otherwise distracted when they hit you, Jacqueline Scott & Associates can investigate the driver’s actions, trucking-company records, video, electronic evidence, and insurance.
Make ’Em Pay.
Call (318) 746-5997.
Every case is different. Results depend on the specific facts and circumstances of each individual matter. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This article is general information and is not legal advice.
This article is general information about Louisiana law and is not legal advice. Laws and deadlines can change, and every case depends on its own facts. Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. Reading this page or contacting the firm does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship.
