Brake Failure Causes Many Semi Truck Wrecks

Semi trucks help to keep America moving.  They’re essential to transporting goods around the country, so that when we hit up our favorite stores, the products are on the shelves.

But when negligence is involved, these trucks become deadly.  Their size and weight can lead to devastating wrecks.  This is why truck drivers, and the owners of those rigs, are held to a higher standard than the average motorist.

Today we’ll look at who is liable if brake failure leads to a devastating semi truck wreck.

How common are Brake Failure Semi Truck Wrecks?

When looking at all of the causes of wrecks, from mechanical failure to driver error, we can see disturbing trends on where the proverbial “weak links” happen to be.

Driver error makes up the bulk of all accidents out there.  In fact, if we had “perfect” drivers for all vehicles everywhere, our accident rate would plummet so far that there would hardly be any accidents at all.

But that’s not the case.  And there are still mechanical issues to consider.  The biggest issue: brake failure.  This brake failure does have some overlap into driver error, and accounts for around 20-25% of all big rig wrecks out there.

Who Might be Liable for a Brake Failure Wreck?

Not all brake failure is the same.  Different causes are linked back to different liable parties.  When it comes to semi truck wrecks, it might be one of the following parties that failed to do their job properly:

Drivers – Those driving the semi are responsible for inspecting the brakes before, and often during, every trip.  They are the last to see if there are issues that could arise, and are required to know when things are wearing out or not working properly.

Owner/Operators – If the driver isn’t the owner of the big rig, the owner and operating company may be the responsible party.  If they have adjusted the brakes, so they aren’t operating optimally (often done as a way to save money) they could be responsible.

Loading Crew – There are specific ways to load semi trucks.  Without following guidelines, the loading crew or company may overload the wrong area of the truck.  This can put more strain on one set of brakes, causing them to overheat, malfunction, and ultimately fail.

Parts Manufacturers – When a part isn’t designed properly, but that part has already gone to the market, manufacturers are required to recall the defective part and replace it.  If the manufacturer fails to recall the part, or recalls it after the semi truck wreck, they could be found liable.

As you can see, there often isn’t just one liable party.  Often it’s a combination that leads up to brake failure causing the semi truck wreck.

This is why you need a personal injury lawyer on your side if you have been the victim of a one of these crashes.

How does Herbert Law Group Help Victims?

Herbert Law Group has helped a lot of victims after their wrecks.  We know exactly what should be looked at after a semi truck accident.  We know who to speak to, what to look for, and how to find the liable party.

These crashes cause a lot of pain and suffering.  The last thing you need to be doing when you’re trying to heal, is out there investigating the cause of the wreck.

Instead, let us do the hard work.  You focus on getting better, and we’ll find the way to ensure you’re fully compensated for your injuries.

Let’s talk about it.  Give us a call at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site to get things started.

Why is Texas Deadlier than Other States?

Hopping on your motorcycle and feeling the wind in your air… that’s why people ride.  It’s invigorating, freeing, and many bikes get much better gas mileage than their four wheel counterparts.

But that excitement doesn’t come without its risks.  We don’t have to tell you that riding a motorcycle is more dangerous than driving a car.  Besides the obvious (the lack of protection from the car body) what leads to the higher number of fatal motorcycle accidents in Texas?

Contributing Factors to Fatal Motorcycle Accidents

According to the 2017 data from the NHTSA Texas had a total of 490 fatal motorcycle accidents that year.  That’s around 9.4% of the total deaths for the entire US (which, if you compare population for Texas vs. the USA, Texas has about 8.8% of the population).

So, what contributed to those fatal accidents?  There are a few categories we should look at.

Speed – They say that speed kills.  When you’re in the open air, it happens more often.  Among fatal car crashes, 18% were caused by excessive speed (nationwide).  But when you look at fatal motorcycle accidents, speed was a factor in 32% of those wrecks.

Alcohol – Alcohol use while driving has gone down in recent years, but it’s still a significant factor.  35% of fatal motorcycle accidents were discovered to have at least some alcohol in their system (with 28% of that 35% being over the legal limit).

Helmet Usage – If you’re over the age of 21, you aren’t required to wear a helmet when riding in Texas (with proper certification).  But, it seems that most people do.  Roughly half of the fatal motorcycle accidents occurred when the rider was wearing a helmet.  Compare that to states where no helmet laws are in place, and the un-helmeted fatalities are closer to 70% of the total.

Population – Higher population states naturally have a higher number of fatal motorcycle accidents.  But that’s not always a factor.  If you look at Florida (population 21.5 million), they had the majority of the fatal motorcycle accidents despite a lower population than many other states.

Texas has a large population.  So, the number of fatal wrecks is going to be higher.  But if everyone that rides practiced safer riding (and wear a helmet), and all other vehicles do their diligence to watch out for those on bikes, that number can continue to go down.

Herbert & Eberstein Help with your Texas Motorcycle Accidents

Until we live in a perfect world, there will always be accidents.  Some of them will result in injury, and some will be fatal.  Compound the matter with insurance companies that want to pay you a tiny settlement that doesn’t compensate you, and these things are tough to recover from.

That’s where Zach Herbert and Brian Eberstein come into play.  With plenty of experience and deep knowledge of Texas motorcycle law, you can focus on healing or grieving, and we will handle the insurance companies.

Fill out the contact form, or give us a call at 214-414-3808, and let’s have a conversation about what happened to see if we’re able to help with your case.