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Seen At 11: Catching Bad Driving From Behind The Wheel Of A Big Rig

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Tractor trailer accidents leading to backed up traffic are all too common.

When CBS2 first shed light on these crashes, the response was overwhelming with truckers saying they're not to blame!

On Thursday, CBS2's Alex Denis went inside of a big rig to see who's really behaving badly on our roads.

"I've seen everything, a lady, driving, has a bowl of Cheerios with milk," trucker Russell Simpson said. "On their phone, putting makeup on."

Simpson, a professional truck driver of 30 years said distracted driving has never been so bad.

"If nine cars pass me, there's eight of them doing something they shouldn't be doing," he said.

That's what Simpson said is leading to the increase in accidents.

Studies show he might be right. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, more times than not car drivers are actually at fault 80 percent of the time when cars and trucks collide.

For truck drivers it means being alert and anticipating others' moves.

"You definitely have to, like you have to watch if this guy is going to stop here," Simpson said.

Many trucks are outfitted with cameras that catch bad driving.

A fully loaded tractor trailer weighing about 80,000 lbs, traveling at 60 mph, would take longer than a football field to come to a complete stop.

Simpson said motorists need to be more aware of just how difficult it is to operate an 18 wheeler.

"We can hide a school bus on the right of this truck, that's our largest blind spot," Simpson said.

"If you can't see the driver of that truck, they can't see you," Daphne Jefferson explained.

Jefferson -- the deputy administrator for the FMCSA -- said over the last year the number of fatalities on the road has increased for the first time in five years, many of which involved large trucks.

"Thirty-five thousand people died on our nation's roads, that's way too high," she said.

In response, the agency launched a new campaign, "Our Roads, Our Responsibility," to help motorists understand just how differently large trucks maneuver.

Simpson admits when it comes to distracted driving the road can go both ways, and research shows truck drivers are particularly susceptible to distracted driving due to long, tedious hours behind the wheel. He hopes soon it will be a road less traveled for all.

 

 

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