When large truck drivers fail to maintain their vehicles, tragedy can result. While it is important for car owners to consider maintenance, it is critically important that the owners and operators of large trucks that are constantly on the road pay close attention to their maintenance and inspection schedules and fix any problems immediately.
Maintenance or repair issues with large trucks can lead to tragic results. Even an experienced truck driver can easily lose control of a large truck that is improperly maintained, resulting in a crash that is more likely to severely injure innocent victims in another vehicle than the truck driver.
What Types of Maintenance Problems Do Trucks Experience?
Truck maintenance often involves a lot of detail, and it can be easy to miss a seemingly small maintenance issue that can later on lead to a serious injury accident. For example, most large trucks rely heavily on numerous safety lights to make them visible on dark roads or during bad or inclement weather. While it may be easy for a truck driver to miss a flickering or dark safety light, failure to address this issue with proper inspection could lead to a terrible or fatal accident.
Mirrors are another source in which proper maintenance is vital. Truck drivers constantly use their mirrors and need them to avoid blind spots. A mirror that is broken or misaligned can cause a serious crash if a truck driver does not see a car that is there to be seen.
One of the most dangerous maintenance mistakes is the failure to routinely inspect tires and replace them when needed. A fully-loaded semi can weigh up to 80,000 pounds or more, making a blowout potentially deadly if the driver loses control. In addition, as tire tread wears semi trucks take longer to stop and can result in a crash that could have been avoided. Worse, some companies try to save money by purchasing retreads or low-quality tires; this is a recipe for disaster.
What Are Trucking Companies Required To Do To Maintain Vehicles?
Trucking companies and independent owners and operators are required by both state and federal regulations to maintain logs of maintenance and repairs and produce them on demand. It is very important that a personal injury attorney have the option of reviewing this information as soon as possible after a trucking accident in order to determine if a lack of maintenance played a role in an accident.
An experienced personal injury attorney understands the complexities of the maintenance regulations in place at the state and federal level. A good personal injury lawyer can look at a maintenance log and understand instantly if the company has been cutting corners. This information may be very useful in collecting damages for the victim of a trucking accident.
Those who have been injured in a collision with a large truck should contact an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. The truck accident attorneys at David & Philpot, P.L., have been helping victims of 18 wheeler, semi truck, and commercial truck accidents for over 20 years. Let us help you seek the compensation you deserve. Call us today at 800.360.7015 or fill out our free case evaluation form.
Trucking companies, drivers and insurers must be held accountable for failure to maintain their vehicles not only to compensate the victims but also to make the roads safer for everyone.
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