Safety Last: Thousands of Trucks on the Road Fail Basic Safety Standards
By James Lewis
Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis, & Appleton
A report by the American Association for Justice revealed that more than 28,000 motor carrier companies and more than 211,000 trucks violated federal safety regulations and were still operating on our roads.
A majority of these trucks received a “conditional” grade which means they are operating with one or more safety violations. Many truck companies are based in Texas, but there are plenty in Virginia (VA) and the companies based in the Commonwealth also violate federal safety standards.
The most common violation was defective brakes. Obviously, having functional brakes is essential for safety, but trucking companies simply ignore this requirement and send their employees out on the road with malfunctioning brake systems.
Other violations include:
- Balding tires, retreaded tires
- Truck loads exceeding weight limits
- Inexperienced and untrained drivers
- Drivers working excessive hours
- Drivers with drug or alcohol dependencies
- Falsified trucking logs and other records
In 2007, more than 86,000 people in the United States were seriously hurt after being involved in a trucking accident and over 4800 people died as a result. These statistics are unacceptable and something needs to be done. All of the violations listed above can be corrected with simple responsibility and ethical business practices. It’s shocking that truck companies remain in business even after it’s been discovered they falsify trucking logs and send their employees out untrained or poorly trained to handle such dangerous equipment.
As an injury lawyer who works for a firm that regularly represents people whose lives were changed forever after bring involved in a truck accident, I’ve seen firsthand the devastation these vehicles can inflict. There needs to be a full-scale investigation into the trucking industry and harsh punishments need to be levied in order to send a clear message that safety comes first, not last.
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.
PA
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October 7, 2009
Tags: 18 wheeler, accident, accidents, big rig, brakes, injury lawyer, Lewis, semi-truck, Tractor-trailer crash, tractor-trailer crashes, truck, trucking, trucks Posted in: Virginia (VA) Trucking Injury/Accidents Topics
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