Tractor-trailer wrecks can be avoided. Brakes are the most important safety system on a tractor-trailer. If properly inspected and maintained, they should never fail.
THE TRACTOR-TRAILER WRECK
Our Georgia truck accident lawyers are currently working on a case where a tractor-trailer’s brakes failed while it was driving 55 miles per hour on Interstate 85, causing an accident with serious injuries. Our investigation has found that the brake failure occurred because the tractor-trailer company and driver violated federal safety regulations requiring them to inspect and maintain the tractor-trailer’s brakes.
After the accident, the Georgia Department of Public Safety’s Motor Carrier Unit inspected the tractor-trailer and found that 60% of its brakes were out of adjustment. Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, a tractor-trailer that has 20% of its brakes out of adjustment is considered “Out Of Service” and cannot be driven until it is repaired; this tractor-trailer had three times the maximum allowable amount!
How could this have happened? Long story short, it shouldn’t have.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require that tractor-trailer companies and drivers inspect and properly maintain tractor-trailers. It is to ensure that they are safe to operate. These regulations are designed to prevent and detect brake problems and other safety issues long before they cause tractor-trailer wrecks.
The tractor-trailer company violated the safety regulation requiring it to have a regularly scheduled maintenance program. Section 396.3 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations requires that a trucking company “systematically inspect, repair, and maintain” any tractor-trailers that it owns or operates. During the owner of the tractor-trailer company’s deposition, he admitted that the company had no systematic inspection or maintenance program.
The tractor-trailer company violated the safety regulation requiring that its truck pass an annual inspection by a qualified mechanic. Section 396.17 requires that once every year a qualified mechanic inspect the tractor-trailer, including its brakes, to make sure that it is safe to operate. The tractor-trailer company had no evidence that the truck had ever passed a yearly inspection.
Tractor-Trailer Wrecks Are Preventable
The tractor-trailer driver violated the safety regulation requiring him to inspect the truck before driving it. Section 396.13 requires that a tractor-trailer driver conduct a pre-trip inspection of the tractor-trailer, including its brakes, to make sure that it is safe to drive. If the driver had properly inspected the brakes, he should have noticed that they were seriously out of adjustment. The tractor-trailer company and driver’s violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations were designed to prevent accidents just like this one. If the tractor-trailer company or driver had complied with any one of these safety regulations, this accident likely would not have happened. Their failure to do so resulted in serious, permanent injuries to our client. We have filed suit against the tractor-trailer company and driver and trial is scheduled for early 2013.