In Dallas, Arlington, Fort Worth, TX and surrounding areas, trucks need to be maintained according to state standards as well as according to regulations set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. There are many rules for truck maintenance, but some of the most important rules center around ensuring that brakes work effectively.
Many commercial motor vehicles have air brakes or hydraulic brakes. Commercial trucks are large vehicles and have a lot of momentum, so the brakes need to be powerful and work effectively to be able to slow or stop the vehicle. There is a lot of focus on brake safety but despite this, a truck accident lawyer knows that sometimes proper protocols are not always followed and trucks with faulty brakes can find their way onto U.S. roads. When this happens, there is a significant risk of a truck accident occurring.
Faulty Truck Brakes are a Big Risk for Fort Worth Drivers
During Brake Safety Week, there were more than 13,305 commercial motor vehicles examined by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. According to Trucking Info, around 16.2 percent of these commercial motor vehicles were placed out of service. This is a total of 2,162 trucks that had to be taken off the roads because they had serious high-risk problems that were likely to lead to a potential collision.
Roadside inspectors identified lots of different issues leading to the vehicles being placed out of service. Brake problems accounted for around 1,388 out-of service violations, so 10.4 percent of trucks received citations for brake issues. This is a significant increase in 2014 as compared with 2013.
In 2013, only 7.1 percent of trucks received out-of-service violations for brakes out of adjustment. The U.S. rate is also significantly worse than the Canadian fleets, where only 4.6 percent of vehicles had to be put out of service due to violations in brake adjustments.
Trucking Info suggests some possible reasons why so many problems with brakes are occurring - and not being fixed - in the U.S. One possible issue is truckers are not doing a good enough job with their required pre- and post-trip inspections. If truckers do not notify fleet maintenance managers that there are issues with the truck brakes, the managers may not be aware of the problem and able to take action to solve it.
Another big issue is that the technicians may not be trained in how to effectively maintain and repair truck brakes. Trucking companies can solve this problem by setting up brake training clinics, although that can be cost prohibitive. Instead, taking advantage of any training programs offered by local truck dealers in the area could be a viable solution.
There were different types of brake violations reported by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, including missing parts, loose parts, fluid leaks, air leaks, worn out parts, and malfunctioning warning lights intended to accompany an antilock brake system. Each of these could be dangerous and significantly increase the risk of truck crashes.
Trucking companies clearly need to do better in maintaining brakes to prevent dangerous outcomes.
If you or a loved one has been injured contact Coby L. Wooten, Attorney at Law, P.C. at 800-994-1966 or visit https://www.cobywootenlaw.com. Serving Dallas, Arlington, Fort Worth, TX and surrounding areas.