A nationwide commercial truck brake inspection drive revealed serious problems and violations involving defective truck brakes, which remain a common cause of commercial truck accidents.
A nationwide problem revealed
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) recently organized a nationwide commercial truck brake inspection event to identify commercial trucks that have defective brakes, according to a report by Truckers News.
Known as Brake Safety Day, the CVSA program is part of Operation Airbrake, which aims to educate commercial truck drivers and trucking companies about the importance of truck brake safety nationwide.
According to The Trucker, 37 jurisdictions conducted 4,898 commercial truck inspections nationwide. They discovered 570 severe commercial truck brake violations, resulting in the trucks being removed from the road and put out of service. That’s an 11.6% truck brake violation rate.
What are common truck brake violations?
During the one-day truck brake inspection event, inspectors found many different types of truck brake violations. Of the 570 truck brake violations, the most common violation (330 total) was truck brakes that were at least 20 percent defective, according to Transport Topics. Other common commercial truck brake violations discovered by inspectors included:
- Steering-related brake violations.
- The truck brake lights were not working.
- Worn brake hoses and brake lines.
- Hydraulic brake fluid leaks.
- Low-air warning devices that did not work.
- Broken brake drums.
- Inoperative tractor protection system.
- Truck brake air leaks.
Types of truck accidents caused by defective brakes
Certain types of commercial truck accidents are extremely common when a truck’s braking system does not work, including:
- High-speed truck accidents since the truck cannot slow down in time to avoid a collision.
- Underride accidents, which are a type of accident that involves smaller vehicles being trapped underneath a tractor-trailer. When a tractor-trailer’s brake lights are not working, drivers following the truck might not realize the truck is slowing down. As a result, the drivers in smaller vehicles may drive under the truck, resulting in serious injuries or fatalities.
- Rear-end accidents, which can be caused by delivery trucks or large commercial trucks that can’t brake quickly and crash into vehicles in front of them.
- Rollover truck accidents, which can occur when large trucks with improperly working brakes go around a sharp curve or turn.
Who’s responsible for paying for a defective truck brake accident?
The at-fault party is ultimately responsible for paying for all the accident-related expenses of anyone injured in a serious truck accident. What makes this difficult is there may be more than one at-fault party in an accident involving truck brakes. Such at-fault parties can include:
- The truck driver who was operating the truck with the brakes that did not work.
- The trucking company the truck driver works for, especially if the company is responsible for maintaining the truck and monitoring its brakes.
- The company that manufactured the truck’s brakes, especially a manufacturing defect, caused the brakes not to work properly.
- The company that loaded the truck's cargo.
- A maintenance provider responsible for the inspection and repair of the truck's brakes.
Why should I hire an Indiana truck accident attorney?
Commercial truck accidents involving defective brakes often become complicated legal cases. Because a lot of money can be at stake, the at-fault party will typically do everything possible to deny responsibility and avoid liability.
That’s where our Indiana truck accident lawyers at Boughter Sinak, LLC, can help. We know the legal system works when it comes to commercial truck accidents. We know the state and federal laws that apply in Indiana. We know what evidence to look for. And our experience has taught us which legal strategies can be the most effective.
Look at our case results. We consistently win tough legal cases, including $2.2 million obtained for a truck accident injury victim in one case. Put a fighter on your side. Contact our law firm and schedule your free case evaluation with a truck accident attorney you can count on in a crisis.
We have two offices conveniently located in Fort Wayne and South Bend. We also work on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay nothing unless we secure a financial settlement or verdict on your behalf.