Truck accidents claim lives, cause personal injuries, damage roads and property, and create quite a lot of trauma. Millions of families across the US are directly or indirectly affected by trucking accidents and many people today are still struggling with the personal injuries sustained in trucking accidents which occurred decades ago. There are many things that can be done, however, to take a stand against truck accidents. If you have been in a trucking accident or have a loved one who has been seriously injured or killed in a trucking accident, you may be motivated to take a stand. Even if you have no direct experience of trucking accidents, you may still be concerned to take action against preventable trucking accidents. There are many ways to do this:
1) Volunteer your time. There are many support groups for people who have sustained specific types of injuries, such as brain injuries or spinal cord injuries, in car accidents or trucking accidents. You could volunteer your time to help patients these of support groups. These types of local support groups often need volunteers to help set up for events, provide emotional support for patients, and sometimes run errors for patients. Some groups also need help organizing fundraising or awareness-raising campaigns.
2) Join a group dedicated to preventing trucking accidents. There are many such groups around the country, dedicated to changing laws, regulations, and trucking industry standards. Often, these groups are involved in fund-raising, lobbying, and raising awareness about trucking accidents and their effects.
3) Create your own group. If you cannot find a local group, you may be interested in creating your own group aimed at preventing trucking accidents. To do this, consider working with an existing support group or group of friends. Develop a clear mission statement as well as clear goals for the best chance of success. Today, many groups use online social networking sites such as the Facebook or MySpace in order to raise awareness about their groups and in order to drum up support as well as membership.
4) Write to your local and state representatives. Let them know about laws which you feel can be changed or laws which you feel can be created to make the roads safer for everyone. You can also develop petitions and have these signed in order to change existing laws.
5) Improve your own awareness. Often, making changes centers around raising your own awareness of an issue. Join newsletters dedicated to trucking accidents, read blogs and news reports, and follow your local news to learn more about truck accidents – and the efforts made to prevent them — in your area. Often, reading the news can help you understand what needs to be done and allows you to gather specific information you can use. For example, if you find that many local trucking accidents are occurring at a specific intersection, you may write to your local political representatives to tell them that you have noticed a problem and asking them for their support in making changes to that intersection. The more you know, the more powerfully you can work to prevent trucking accidents.