From September 16 to 22, 2018, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance hosted its annual Brake Safety Week. The results of that inspection spree are now out and should be of interest to truckers and truck fleet owners in Pennsylvania. In all, the CVSA stopped 35,080 commercial vehicles across the U.S. and Canada. A total of 4,955, or just over 14 percent of the vehicles, were put out of service.
Inspectors focused on the maintenance of antilock braking systems on those vehicles that require them. They cited 2,176 out of 26,143 air-braked power units (8.3 percent) for ABS violations. Out of 17,857 trailers inspected that require ABS, 2,224 (12.5 percent) had ABS violations. 234 out of 5,354 hydraulic-braked trucks (4.4 percent) that require ABS were found with violations as well.
The percentage of brake violations detected during this year’s inspection spree were almost the same as that of last year’s Brake Safety Day. Naturally, the 2017 spree saw fewer numbers of trucks being sidelined because it took place over a single day.
Brake violations cropped up in another event hosted by the CVSA called the International Roadcheck. The 72-hour inspection spree took place in June and saw brake violations account for the majority of all out-of-service violations (28.4 percent).
Faulty brakes can increase stopping distance and, as a result, the risk for accidents, especially rear-end collisions, from taking place. Truckers who fail to maintain their brakes can be held liable for any accidents they cause, and victims can seek compensation by filing a truck accident claim. Building up a case can be difficult without legal assistance, though.
A personal injury lawyer could evaluate the case and, if retained, bring in investigators and medical experts to prove the trucker’s negligence and measure the extent of the plaintiff’s injuries. An attorney could then negotiate for a fair settlement covering medical bills, lost wages, vehicle damage and more.
