Commercial Trucking Accident

Existing truck safety technology could prevent tens of thousands of devastating truck crashes each year, but many trucking companies are slow to adopt these innovations, citing short-term cost concerns. 

Drivers of passenger cars and large trucks alike are being put at risk for a deadly trucking accident thanks to trucking companies that change their names to dodge inspections and avoid being held accountable for safety and maintenance violations. 

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) recently released data from its unannounced brake safety enforcement event, Brake Safety Day, and as usual, the results aren’t reassuring for the public. 

On May 3, 2017, CVSA enforcement personnel inspected more than 9,500 commercial trucks and buses to identify out-of-adjustment brakes as well as brake-system and antilock braking system (ABS) violations. More than one in five vehicles were placed out of service with critical violations during the event, which was part of the CVSA’s Operation Airbrake safety initiative. 

Large truck crashes are very different from other types of motor vehicle accidents. A typical semi-truck or “big rig” can often weigh up to 80,000 pounds — which means that being in a crash with one is like getting hit by 20 average cars at once. Wrecks involving these massive vehicles tend to create much more damage than a typical car crash, and they lead to severe injuries or even fatalities much more often. These crashes tend to create much more devastating long-term effects for the victims, and the legal cases that follow involve more parties and much higher damages compared to a typical car accident.