Defective Tires Can Lead to Serious Truck Wrecks
By Richard Shapiro
Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis, & Appleton
There were nearly 370,000 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer, and Mack truck accidents in 2006, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. One of the reasons these large truck accidents occur is because of defective tires. The sheer size of these trucks puts extra pressure on the tires so they can wear out faster than smaller vehicles. Throw in a bad installation, misalignment, or improper air pressure in the tires and you have a very volatile situation. The end result can sometimes be a major truck wreck where someone gets seriously injured or dies.
In many of these wrecks, a tire gets blown out while the truck is traveling on the highway. This can lead to a tractor-trailer rolling over and slamming into multiple vehicles creating a chain-reaction crash with multiple injuries and massive damage.
Bad tires can be a symptom of a larger problem – defective parts throughout the truck. Since many companies use refurbished parts to save money, these trucks are routinely ill-equipped with safe, reliable parts. This leads to equipment failure and/or extra pressure that the tires cannot handle.
So what can be done about this issue? The key is vigilance on the part of the truck driver and the trucking company. Routine maintenance checks are necessary with special attention paid to the tread and quality of the truck tires. This may seem like common sense, but in the fast-paced, deadline-oriented world of truckers, taking the time to thoroughly inspect tires can be difficult. However, it’s extremely important and a much better alternative to suffering a serious injury like a broken/fractured neck, severed limb, or traumatic brain injury due to a major truck accident on I-264 or I-64 or any other Virginia or Carolina highway or interstate.
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.
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December 30, 2009
Tags: 18 wheeler, accident, attorney, crash, injury, mack, Shapiro, tractor trailer, traumatic brain injury, truck, trucker, wreck Posted in: Virginia (VA) Trucking Injury/Accidents Topics
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