Everyone in New York has to share the road with commercial vehicles, and well-maintained brakes play a significant role in the safe operation of trucks and buses. To promote compliance, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance organized a week-long inspection spree throughout North America. During Brake Safety Week in 2018, inspectors checked 35,080 commercial vehicles, and 4,955 of them had to be placed out of service for safety violations.
Inspectors paid particular attention to anti-lock braking systems. Out of 26,143 vehicles with air-brakes, they took 2,176 vehicles or 8.3 percent out of service. Among 17,857 trailers that required ABS, 2,224 or 12.5 percent failed their inspections. Inspectors also evaluated 5,354 trucks with hydraulic brakes, and 234 or 4.4 percent of those were taken out of service.
Brake violations were the leading problem among commercial vehicles during a three-day inspection program earlier in 2018 and represented 28.4 percent of out-of-service decisions. During the full one-week brake inspection blitz, 14.1 percent of violations emerged from poorly maintained brakes. This was nearly the same percentage of brake violations identified during inspections in 2017.
The size and weight of commercial vehicles increase their chances of producing serious injuries when accidents occur. If badly maintained brakes contribute to a trucking accident, a person hurt in the crash could accuse the trucking company of negligence. The services of an attorney may help ease the burdens on someone who wants to make a personal injury claim. An attorney may be able to gather the police accident report and pursue maintenance records from the trucking company. This information might validate the accident victim’s claim for damages. After organizing the evidence, an attorney may negotiate a settlement with an insurer or file a lawsuit if the responsible parties resist their financial obligations to the victim.
