An inspection of trucks in Florida and across the nation has put thousands of commercial vehicles on the sidelines for safety reasons. Approximately 4,000 trucks have been taken out of service until they can be repaired.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance conducted more than 18,000 inspections during the week of Sept. 11-17. During that time, the nonprofit organization found 2,352 trucks that had safety violations in their braking system. As properly functioning brake systems are critical to the prevention of truck accidents, defects with the system are cause for immediate removal from service. Some of the maintenance issues that would trigger removal include missing pieces, leaks, worn system components and malfunctioning indicator lamps.
The CVSA also said that during the week nearly 16 percent of the trailers that were inspected had ABS violations. A spokesperson for the organization said that while its inspectors conduct checks every day throughout the year, the purpose of Brake Safety Week is to give another reminder to drivers and carriers of the importance of having well-maintained braking systems.
Big rig accidents can result from a variety of causes, including drivers who are impaired by alcohol or drugs, distracted by cellphones, speeding, sleep-deprived or otherwise negligent. However, a significant cause is the failure to maintain the trucks on a regular basis. If it can be determined that negligent truck maintenance was the cause of a crash, an attorney representing an occupant of another vehicle who was injured might file a personal injury lawsuit against the trucking company seeking appropriate compensation for medical bills, lost wages and other applicable damages.
Source: Overdrive Online, “National inspection blitz puts nearly 4k trucks out of service, over half for brake violations”, Matt Cole, Nov. 14, 2016