Drivers in Mississippi and elsewhere are more distracted by their cell phones than ever before, according to a recent study by AAA. While the thought of a distracted driver behind the wheel of a passenger vehicle is scary enough, the notion of a distracted truck driver operating a 26,000-pound vehicle is downright terrifying.

The AAA study found that distracted driving is now the biggest danger to all people on the road. It also found that 88 percent of Americans believe that distracted driving is getting worse. In comparison, only 45 percent are concerned about drunk driving, a mere 33 percent are concerned about drugged driving and just 20 percent are concerned about aggressive driving.

Trucking companies looking to combat distracted driving among its drivers face an uphill battle. This is because most drivers think nothing bad will happen to them. One way to help establish the importance of the issue is for companies to help drivers understand the science behind distracted driving. For example, distracted driving comes in three main forms: visual, manual and cognitive. Texting while driving is especially dangerous because it involves all three forms of distraction. Furthermore, a truck driver can blindly travel the length of a football field in the 5 seconds it takes to send or read a text message. That’s an eternity for a massive vehicle to operate unattended. To start, trucking companies may need to make rules that require drivers to pull over to send text messages or eat meals. However, sustainable change will require companies to push for a workplace culture that prioritizes safety.

Thousands of truck accidents are caused by inattentive truck drivers every year. Victims of such accidents have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit seeking compensation for their losses. Injured individuals may want to contact an attorney to learn about their legal rights.

Reports of neglect in Mississippi nursing homes and throughout the country are increasing at an alarming rate. Investigations of these incidents typically reveal the problems to be due to understaffing, a lack of training provided to the staff or a combination of both. Far more pernicious is the rise of intentional abuse inflicted on the elderly residents by their caretakers.

Numerous studies report that elder abuse primarily manifests itself in one of two ways. Physical abuse is the more obvious one, involving battery or assault. The signs can be unexplained broken bones, bruises, cuts, welts or burn marks as examples. Less apparent is emotional or psychological abuse, which can be verbal or non-verbal.

Despite the increase in reports of elder neglect and abuse, experts suggest that these numbers are merely the tip of the iceberg. It is suspected that the majority of elder abuse cases go unreported for a variety of reasons. In many instances, the victim cannot clearly communicate the details of the assault or is unable to communicate at all. Other reasons include fear of retaliation by the caretaking staff, a sense of isolation and feeling that no one would believe them if they complained.

As a nursing home neglect lawyer may explain, the family and friends of the individual confined to a nursing home must act as that person’s advocate. Loved ones should always be on the lookout for irregularities in care, unexplained injuries or changes in the resident’s behavior. While it is expected that some changes and ultimately deterioration will occur in an elderly nursing home patient, there may instead be an external force creating an intentional or negligent condition that is completely preventable.

The number of traffic fatalities in Mississippi and throughout the nation dropped by 1.9 percent between 2016 and 2017, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. However, the number of traffic fatalities involving large trucks increased by 9 percent. A large truck is defined as a vehicle that weighs more than 10,000 pounds. According to a member of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), many of these accidents involved trucks weighing between 10,000 and 14,000 pounds.

Furthermore, it is possible that trucks that were involved in the fatal accidents were not necessarily regulated by the FMCSA. There was a significant increase in fatalities in accidents involving large trucks and other vehicles. In 2017, this number increased by 280, which was an 8.8 percent increase over 2016. Furthermore, 118 large truck occupants died in crashes involving large trucks in 2017. That was a 16 percent increase and accounted for all accident regardless of how many vehicles were involved.

In 2017, fatalities caused by drivers going too fast decreased by 5.6 percent compared to 2016. Overall, there were 37,133 people killed on American roads in 2017, and of those deaths, 8.5 percent were caused by distracted drivers. That translates to 3,166 people being killed in wrecks involving someone who was not focused on the road.

Those who sustain serious injuries in a truck accident may receive a financial award from a jury or through a negotiated settlement. This may be true if the driver who caused the crash was negligent. For instance, a driver may be negligent if he or she was speeding, impaired or distracted when the crash occurred. If an individual wasn’t qualified to drive a large truck, that could also be considered truck driver negligence.