Tractor Trailer Accidents and Brake Problems…When Will They Ever STOP
In addition to fatigue and drug /alcohol abuse, faulty trucking equipment, specifically brakes, plays a major role in the amount of truck accidents in Missouri per year. Today, most tractor-trailers on the road employ an air braking system, opposed to the hydraulic braking system utilized by cars and non-commercial trucks. While the latter uses hydraulic brake fluid to engage the systems stopping power, the former utilizes high pressure air (hence the hiss you often hear from these vehicles when the brakes are released).
The current problem is that most of the tractor trailer air brake systems do not automatically adjust for wear, so unless they are diligently maintained, brake performance can seriously deteriorate. The simple truth is that most of the brake systems are not diligently maintained.
In a report published in 2005, by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), to determine the causes of, and contributing factors to, crashes involving commercial motor vehicles, the FMCSA concluded that brake failure and lack of adjustment had affected 41,000 trucks in the study, or approximately 30%. The study also noted that while brake problems where present for almost 30% of the trucks, only 5% of the passenger vehicles were found to have brake issues.
Prior to the aforementioned report, the FMCSA sponsored a field test to determine the effectiveness of new infrared imaging technology designed to screen commercial motor vehicles (i.e., large trucks and buses) for problems such as malfunctioning brakes and other tire problems. In their effort to help prevent truck related accidents, the Infrared Inspection System (IRISystem) screened approximately 400 vehicles and found that 59% of the vehicles identified overall as problematic, by the IRISystem, had to be removed from service because of brake violations.
After a 2003 accident in Pennsylvania, where two people were killed by a dump truck that lost control and struck four passenger cars, one of which struck three children who were standing on the sidewalk, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) adopted a final report concluding that the probable cause of the accident was lack of oversight by the trucks owner. The report outlines how the owner's inattention resulted in an untrained driver improperly operating a vehicle with inadequately maintained brakes. The chairman of the NTSB was quoted as saying, "We believe that more than 500,000 vehicles equipped with air brakes may be operated by drivers who…have no air brake training and therefore may not be able to operate their vehicles safely."
Truck companies and operators have a duty to inspect their air brake systems and make sure they are in proper working order. When and if they do not, innocent people can suffer serious injuries.
At Page Cagle, one of the first things our Missouri truck accident attorneys look for when representing a person injured in a trucking accident, is whether a faulty braking system played a role in causing the collision. If you or anyone you know has been injured in a truck related accident in Missouri, please call John Page at Page Cagle for a free consultation. John can be reached by calling 1.800.500.4658 or 314.322.8515. He can also be reached by email at john@pagecagle.com.
