The Catastrophic Impact of Commercial Truck Collisions
Car accidents between two standard passenger vehicles can be devastating, but when a massive commercial semi-truck is involved, the severity of the crash increases exponentially. Because fully loaded semi-trucks possess so much sheer mass—often weighing up to 80,000 pounds—they are incredibly difficult to bring to a safe stop even under the best of conditions. If they hit something, the laws of physics dictate that they transfer a massive, overwhelming amount of kinetic energy into the smaller vehicle, delivering catastrophic damage and frequently causing fatal injuries. This immense disparity in size and force is exactly why victims of these terrifying collisions must seek the immediate guidance of experienced automobile accident lawyers to protect their legal rights and secure their future.
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While it is true that most commercial semi drivers are highly trained, licensed professionals who prioritize safety, even the safest and most attentive driver can do absolutely nothing if he or she suddenly suffers a catastrophic equipment failure at highway speeds. Malfunctioning air brakes or violently blowing out tires turn a massive truck into an unguided missile. Every single motorist on the road has a fundamental legal duty to maintain their vehicle and keep it safe to use, protecting themselves and other motorists. However, commercial semi drivers and the massive trucking companies that employ them carry an even higher, stricter legal burden under federal law to ensure the absolute safety of their fleet. When they fail to do so, the consequences are deadly, and personal injury attorneys must step in to hold them fully accountable.
The Terrifying Danger of Tire Blowouts and Separations
Witnessing a commercial semi-truck’s tire fail at 70 miles per hour is a truly frightening and chaotic event. Sometimes, these massive, steel-reinforced tires fail in an explosive manner, violently blowing out and sending heavy chunks of rubber—commonly known as “road gators”—flying through the air like shrapnel. Other times, due to sheer mechanical failure, the entire tire and wheel assembly may become completely detached from the semi’s axle and be sent careening unpredictably along the crowded roadway. Regardless of the specific nature of the failure, a tire blowout immediately endangers the semi driver and every single passenger vehicle nearby. A skilled truck accident lawyer knows that these failures are rarely “accidents”; they are almost always the result of preventable negligence.
Some tire failures result from a dangerous combination of normal, heavy wear and tear combined with a blatant lack of mandatory inspection and maintenance by the trucking company. A truck’s lug nuts must be meticulously checked and tightened to specific torque specifications on a regular basis. To combat negligence, some responsible trucking companies now use brightly colored plastic indicators which allow semi drivers and mechanics to easily determine at a glance whether a lug nut has started to vibrate loose. Under proper, federally mandated observation, tires which show signs of advanced tread wear, dry rot, or sidewall bulging must be immediately removed from service. Furthermore, in some cases, tires are defective from the moment they leave the factory. Trucking companies have a legal obligation to regularly check with the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to ensure that none of their fleet’s tires have been recalled for safety defects.
The Deadly Consequences of Brake System Failures
Another incredibly common and deadly factor in commercial semi-truck accidents is the catastrophic failure of the air brake system. Brake systems in massive 18-wheelers are highly complex and can fail for a wide variety of reasons. Just like commercial tires, heavy-duty truck brakes are sometimes determined to be inherently defective by their manufacturers and are subsequently recalled. However, far more often, these critical safety systems fail because they are improperly installed, poorly adjusted, inadequately maintained, or completely ignored during mandatory pre-trip inspections. An auto accident attorney will immediately subpoena the truck’s maintenance logs to uncover this exact type of corporate negligence.
Commercial truck brakes are subjected to tremendous, constant wear and extreme thermal stresses, especially when navigating the steep grades found in parts of Texas. Parts of the air brake system, such as the brake pads, drums, and air lines, can easily become worn down, come loose, or otherwise start to develop severe problems if not constantly monitored. Brakes failing on their own due to wear is bad enough, but the reality of the trucking industry is sometimes much darker. Some unscrupulous trucking companies and independent owner-operators have actually been known to deliberately adjust their truck’s front brakes to have less stopping power, or even unhook the tractor’s front brakes completely. They do this to rely solely on the trailer’s brakes in a reckless, illegal effort to save money on brake pad replacement and maintenance costs. This deliberate sabotage drastically increases stopping distances and directly causes fatal rear-end collisions.
Navigating Complex Liability in Trucking Accidents
Accidents involving commercial semi-trucks can become legally complicated very quickly. Just determining the exact web of liability between the truck driver, the corporate owner of the cab, the owner of the trailer, the company that loaded the cargo, and the third-party mechanics who maintained the equipment can be a massive undertaking. Furthermore, trucking companies must meet highly specific Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) standards and are legally required to inspect and maintain their equipment, including tires and brakes, on a strict schedule.
If trucking companies fail to conduct these regular, mandatory inspections and maintenance, or if they know of dangerous, worn-out equipment and deliberately fail to act to save money, they may be subject to massive federal fines and severe punitive damages in a civil lawsuit. If you or a loved one has been injured in a crash caused by a commercial truck’s equipment failure, do not attempt to fight the trucking corporation’s legal team alone. Contact an experienced Texas personal injury attorney today to help you protect your rights, preserve the destroyed truck parts as critical evidence, and aggressively pursue the maximum financial compensation you deserve for your injuries and suffering.