Senator Schumer wants more truck driver training in New York

Unfortunately, accidents on the road are a part of our lives. They happen in Newburgh, elsewhere in New York and across the rest of the country on a daily basis. Sometimes, the accident is minor and there is minimal cosmetic damage to a car. Other times, the impact is catastrophic, and an injury victim has their quality of life forever altered by a spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury.

Truck accidents usually end in the later of those two situations. Simply owing to the sheer weight of a semi, a passenger vehicle driver stands very little chance of escaping impact unscathed. In order to mitigate some of these safety risks, there are several regulations around driving trucks commercially. However, Senator Schumer feels that because so many residents of New York are horribly injured by trucking accidents every year, truck drivers need additional training.

The senator is specifically looking at accidents relating to crashes caused by impact with low-hanging overpasses and crashes on local parkways. Senator Schumer hopes that mandating GPS training as part of the qualification for obtaining a commercial drivers' license will cut down on the number of truck accidents each year because the training will equip the truck driver to avoid both of those risk factors.

This could be a small step toward a huge impact on the number of trucking accidents in New York. Victims of truck accidents very often have injuries that prevent them from working and necessitate round-the-clock care. This is a huge expense. Negligent truck drivers can be held accountable for the accidents that yield injuries because an injury victim can pursue financial compensation from liable parties in New York. Such compensation works to ensure that the victim's care is provided for and that the victim can live the best life possible under the circumstances.