Though the general motorist accident rate in Alaska is relatively low, truck accidents are still common on the highway. Alaska has adopted several truck accident laws through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) to help reduce the number of accidents and to make the roads a much safer place for everyone.
To qualify as a truck driver, the applicant must be at least 19 years of age. Also, drivers must be physically fit to be allowed to operate a truck. However, any driver who was employed before April 1992, remains qualified to drive despite any medical conditions they previously had. If a physician tests them and finds that their condition has gotten worse, however, they may no longer be eligible to drive.
Truck drivers not only have to fit the appropriate age range and medical conditions, but they must have the required training and licensing to be able to legally operate such a large vehicle. Anyone who intends on becoming a truck driver in Alaska should make sure they meet all the required points before jumping onboard.
If a driver fails to meet the requirements, they can be held legally accountable for their failure to follow the law. If they get into an accident and it is determined they were not even qualified to be driving in the first place, they can get into even more trouble and may even lose any future opportunities to drive commercially in Alaska again.
Anyone who gets into a truck accident, whether they were authorized to be operating their vehicle or not, should get in touch with a truck accident attorney at their earliest convenience. A truck accident attorney can aid a person in building defenses to prove that the accident was not entirely their fault. Getting pinned with full liability in a truck accident can be unfortunate because of how expensive the damages generally are after such a large-scale collision. To prevent getting severely penalized by the law, anyone who has gotten into an accident should contact a legal representative as soon as possible after the accident.
Truck drivers are expected to report any significant collision to the authorities as soon as the accident occurs. The police must be contacted, and an accident report must be filed with the department of public safety to ensure the report is on record.
If a driver fails to do this and they try and get away without informing the police, they can be held legally accountable for their negligence and their failure to follow legal protocol. Reporting the accident immediately can also work in a person’s favor if any injuries or property damage is discovered a few days after the actual collision.