Every semi-truck on the highway is a complex machine with thousands of moving parts. When those parts aren’t properly maintained, an 80,000-pound vehicle becomes a deadly hazard rolling at highway speeds.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study, vehicle-related factors were the critical reason in 10 percent of crashes. But maintenance problems appeared as contributing factors far more frequently—brake problems were found in 29 percent of trucks involved in crashes, making brake issues the most commonly coded vehicle factor.
During the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s 2023 Brake Safety Week, inspectors examined 18,875 commercial vehicles and placed 2,375 trucks—12.6 percent—out of service for brake-related violations serious enough to make the vehicles unsafe to drive.
Below, our friends at Warner & Fitzmartin – Personal Injury Lawyers explain how truck maintenance failures can lead to catastrophic accidents.
The brake problem
Brakes are the most critical safety system on a truck, and they’re also the most frequently defective. The FMCSA’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study found that trucks with brake problems were 170 percent more likely to be assigned the critical reason for a crash than trucks without brake problems.
Commercial trucks use air brake systems that work differently from passenger vehicle brakes. Compressed air activates the brakes through a network of compressors, storage tanks, valves, chambers, and lines. When any component fails, the entire system can malfunction.
Common brake failures include brakes out of adjustment, worn brake linings, cracked brake drums, air leaks, inoperative warning devices, and malfunctioning protection valves. Many problems develop gradually but become dangerous when maintenance is deferred.
Tire Failures
Tire blowouts at highway speeds can cause drivers to lose control instantly. The force of a sudden blowout jerks the steering wheel violently, and the drag from the failed tire pulls the vehicle in that direction.
Tires fail for multiple reasons—underinflation, overloading, worn tread, sidewall damage, or age. Federal regulations require tire tread depth of at least 4/32 inch on steering axles and 2/32 inch on other axles.
The FMCSA’s 2022 inspection data recorded over 180,000 tire violations, including flat tires, leaking tires, and insufficient tread depth. Many would have been obvious during proper pre-trip inspections.
Steering System Failures
A malfunctioning steering system removes the driver’s ability to control where the truck goes. Steering problems result from worn components, hydraulic leaks, damaged linkages, or improper adjustments.
When steering fails, slight movements of the steering wheel produce exaggerated or unpredictable responses. The truck may drift across lanes, fail to respond to inputs, or suddenly veer in unintended directions.
Power steering systems use hydraulic pressure to assist steering. Leaks in hydraulic lines reduce pressure and make steering extremely difficult. Loose components create excessive play in the steering wheel.
Lighting And Visibility
Lighting violations might seem minor compared to brake or tire failures, but they create serious hazards. The FMCSA’s 2022 inspection data recorded over 670,000 lighting violations.
Inoperative headlights, taillights, brake lights, or turn signals prevent other drivers from seeing the truck or anticipating its movements. Missing mirrors eliminate the driver’s ability to see vehicles in adjacent lanes.
These problems are often simple to fix—burned-out bulbs, corroded connections, or broken lenses. But when trucking companies defer even basic maintenance, easily preventable issues contribute to crashes.
The Inspection Requirement
Federal regulations under 49 CFR Part 396 establish comprehensive maintenance requirements. Trucking companies must conduct annual inspections by qualified inspectors. Drivers must perform pre-trip and post-trip inspections checking critical components.
An experienced truck accident lawyer knows that inspection records must be maintained and made available for review. When defects are discovered, vehicles must be taken out of service until repairs are completed.
But compliance is spotty. Trucking companies operating on thin margins view maintenance as an expense to minimize. Drivers under pressure to meet delivery schedules skip thorough inspections or ignore problems they discover.
Who Bears Responsibility
When maintenance failures cause accidents, liability typically falls on the trucking company that owned or leased the vehicle. Companies have legal obligations to maintain their fleets in safe operating condition.
Maintenance providers can share liability if they performed inadequate repairs or failed to identify problems during inspections. Parts manufacturers may be responsible if components failed due to defects.
Drivers have responsibilities too. They’re required to conduct pre-trip inspections and report defects. If a driver knew about a problem and drove anyway, or failed to conduct required inspections, they can be held liable.
The Evidence
Proving that maintenance failures caused an accident requires examining the truck after the crash. Brake components are inspected for wear, adjustment, and function. Tires are checked for tread depth, damage, and proper inflation.
Maintenance records reveal whether required inspections were performed and what repairs were made. Pre-trip inspection logs show whether drivers were checking equipment as required.
Sometimes the evidence is obvious—brake drums with visible cracks, tires worn to the cords, or steering components held together with duct tape. Other times professional analysis is needed to determine whether component wear exceeded acceptable limits.
The Bottom Line
The FMCSA’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study found vehicle factors were the critical reason in 10 percent of crashes, with brake problems appearing in 29 percent of trucks involved and making trucks 170 percent more likely to be assigned crash fault. During the CVSA’s 2023 Brake Safety Week, inspectors placed 12.6 percent of commercial vehicles out of service for brake violations, while annual data shows hundreds of thousands of tire, lighting, and steering violations. Federal regulations under 49 CFR Part 396 require annual inspections and pre-trip checks, but enforcement data reveals routine non-compliance. Liability for maintenance-related crashes typically falls on trucking companies, though maintenance providers, parts manufacturers, and drivers who ignored known defects can share responsibility. If you’ve been injured in a truck accident involving brake failure, tire blowouts, steering malfunctions, or other equipment problems, consider consulting with a qualified attorney who can examine maintenance records, inspection reports, and the vehicle itself to determine whether deferred maintenance caused the crash.