Buying Vehicles of Every Kind

Could Driver Fatigue Point to a Mechanical Issue with Your Trucks?

3 June 2022

Avery Hawkins

If you operate a fleet of trucks, you may have a staff of experienced drivers who help you keep up with a busy schedule and deliver those all-important goods on time. Clearly, you'll want to keep these people happy as you rely on them to make your profits. However, they may sometimes complain that they feel more fatigued than normal, especially at the end of a lengthy journey. Could this be something to do with the vehicle that they drive, and if so, what should you do about it?

The Role of the Driver

It is not unusual for long-distance drivers to spend many hours on highways or motorways, where they have to keep the vehicle at constant speeds to meet the relevant schedule. While most of these trucks are technologically advanced, they still take a certain amount of strength and agility to drive, and the pilot will naturally start to become tired as time goes by.

Working Harder Than Normal

However, the driver may be putting more work into their job than they might realise if they have to make constant, small adjustments to the steering wheel. They may not realise it, but they may be having to compensate for an issue with the vehicle's suspension and steering, which is inadvertently causing it to pull to one side.

Not Always Obvious

Certainly, if the problem is acute, it will be obvious to the driver, and they will need to stop to investigate what's going on. But if the wheels are not perfectly aligned anymore, they could be "out" to a small degree which would nevertheless call for a constant readjustment.

Causes of Misalignment

It doesn't take much for these wheels to become misaligned. While a technician will have made some very precise adjustments when new tyres were fitted or when the vehicle came in for a major service, anything can subsequently happen. The driver may have hit a particularly large pothole or dragged a wheel against a curb, which could have thrown all those precise calculations.

Knock-On Problems

When a wheel and tyre combination is not adjusted properly, it can lead to several problems. The vehicle will experience more drag which will translate to poor fuel economy. The tyres will start to wear out more quickly than they should and will start to feather or scrub, especially at the top of the sidewall.

What You Should Do

So, if your drivers are starting to complain about excessive fatigue, are they having to make a constant readjustment to the steering wheel without knowing it? If so, the wheel alignment may be incorrect, and you should get the vehicle checked over as soon as possible. Contact a truck wheel alignment service to learn more.

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About Me

Hi! My name is Ken and this is my auto blog. I am super interested in vehicles of every kind. As a kid, I loved anything with wheels. Two wheels, four wheels, eight wheels. It was all great to me. I grew up hanging around my uncle's garage you see, so I learnt lots of cool things when people brought in their old autos and exchanged them for new ones. I am now 37 years old. Although I didn't enter the auto business myself, I still like to buy and sell the occasional car or truck using the tips and tricks I learnt as a child. Read on to find out more.