Virginia Truck Accidents – Brake and Tire Failure

Trucks on the highway can weigh tens of thousands of pounds. When they’re cruising at highway speeds or they need to come to a stop, the brakes and tires must perform as intended. However, brake and tire failures occur all too often. When that happens, a truck driver can lose control, and trucks can collide with other vehicles, leading to life-threatening injuries and even death for others on the road.

At Lichtenstein Law Group PLC, our Virginia trial lawyers are ready to take on the toughest truck accident cases with knowledge and experience. We have 100 years of combined experience helping clients who are facing catastrophic injuries and uncertain futures. Whether your truck accident case needs in-depth investigation or aggressive advocacy, we’re ready to do everything we can to help.

When it comes to Virginia truck accidents, brake and tire failures can cause serious injuries. After an injury, you don’t have to fight for your rights alone. At Lichtenstein Law Group PLC, we believe you deserve a strong, effective, and consistent lawyer.

Contact us today for a free consultation about your case. Let us show you how we can help when so much is at stake.

Why Do Truck Brakes Fail in Virginia?

Truck brakes are complex and powerful systems built to stop massive amounts of weight. Unlike a typical car’s brakes that use hydraulic fluid, truck brakes usually rely on air pressure. The system pressurizes storage tanks that can be used when the truck driver needs to apply the brakes. When that happens, the system delivers pressurized air to the brakes, which then deliver braking force.

However, these sophisticated braking systems don’t always work as they should. Some of the leading causes of brake failure include:

• Too much weight – Large trucks in Virginia can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. Some truck drivers and shipping companies disregard the weight limits and put more cargo on their tractor-trailer trucks than the brakes can handle.
• Poor maintenance and inspections – There are clear rules on maintenance and inspections for truck brakes in the trucking industry. When a truck driver and trucking company try to cut corners by reducing maintenance and inspections, it can lead to a brake system failure at the wrong time.
• Design defects – Modern brakes are constantly being updated and improved, but that doesn’t mean that manufacturers always get things right. Defective designs can translate to real-world harm when brakes fail and an accident results.
• Manufacturing defects – Truck brakes must be produced in strict accordance with specifications. Even a tiny flaw in manufacturing could lead to a part failure in an emergency. If a manufacturer doesn’t make brake parts that meet safety standards, the brakes could fail and trigger a collision.

How Do Truck Brake Failures Cause Crashes in Virginia?

When brakes fail, a truck driver can’t slow their vehicles or stop during an emergency. These failures could also cause a truck’s trailer to jackknife, meaning the tractor-trailer truck is pushed to one side while the trailer continues to move forward. In either case, even an experienced truck driver could quickly lose control of the vehicle, resulting in deadly truck accidents.

Why Do Truck Tires Fail in Virginia?

Truck tires are subject to punishing forces on the road. They need to maintain their shape and strength across temperature changes, weight changes, and weather conditions that vary widely. A serious crash can happen when a tractor-trailer truck tire lacks adequate tread for traction or a blowout results from structural damage.

Reasons truck tires fail include:

• Poor inspections and maintenance – Tires on a commercial truck can wear out quickly, so drivers and companies need to keep an eye on them. That means monitoring tire pressure, inspecting them for wear and flaws, and ensuring that they have enough tread to meet requirements.
• Failure to replace tires – Truck tires are expensive, but they’re an essential part of keeping a truck safe. Some drivers and companies try to stretch their investment by waiting too long to replace dangerous tires, setting the stage for dangerous truck accidents.
• Poor design or production – Tires are sophisticated pieces of equipment that can handle pressure under even difficult road conditions. But like any other part, designers and manufacturers could make mistakes, putting a dangerously faulty tire on the road.

How Do Virginia Truck Tire Failures Cause Crashes?

Tires are the foundation of a truck, and they could be under thousands of pounds of pressure at any time. A tire failure could result in the truck becoming unbalanced or in the driver losing steering control. That could send a truck into traffic and result in a dangerous truck accident.

How Many Accidents Are Caused by Brake and Tire Failures?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration gathered vital statistics about large truck crash causation. According to their report, brake problems were the cause of 41,000 truck crashes or 29 percent of the truck collisions in their study. Tire failure was another significant cause of accidents, causing approximately 8,000 crashes and accounting for 6 percent of crashes.

Safety Standards and Federal Regulations for Tires and Brakes

The Federal government has clear rules about how brakes and tires must perform. Key rules in the Federal Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) include:

• 49 CFR 571 outlines safety standards for equipment, including air brakes and tires.
• 49 CFR 393.40 discusses brake systems, such as hydraulic, air, and other braking systems.
• 49 CFR 393.75 covers truck tire requirements, including tread wear indicators, loading restrictions, inflation pressure, and many others.

Get Help from a Virginia Truck Accident Lawyer Now

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident due to a brake failure or tire failure, contact Lichtenstein Law Group PLC now. We understand how complex truck accidents can be and how challenging it can be to determine what happened. That’s why we’re prepared to put our extensive resources and decades of experience to work for you.

For a free consultation about your case, call us now or reach out to us using our online form.