Apparently there are a growing number of commercial truck drivers speeding, and many today barreling down the highway with bad brakes.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the number of speeding truckers is on a distinctly upward trend. Speeding tickets (federal and state) given to commercial truck drivers in the United States jumped 7.8% in 2018 over 2017. And 2017 saw a 1.1% increase in truck driver speeding violations over the year prior, with 2016 nearly a 10% hike compared to 2015.
Rise in Speeding Tickets Given to Commercial Truck Drivers
All totaled, 146,945 speeding tickets were handed out to truckers in 2018, a steady rise from 2015, during which nearly 125,000 speeding tickets were given to truck drivers.
Also according to federal government data, 4,951 people were killed in commercial truck crashes in 2018. About 19 percent of those fatal truck accidents had speeding as a factor.
As with truck driver speeding violations, deaths in commercial truck crashes have climbed consistently in recent years. While there was a small increase from 2017 to 2018, the number of people who died in accidents with big rigs rose some 40 percent from 2009 to 2017.
The number of commercial truckers caught speeding is on the rise, while fatal truck crashes have also continued to increase. One surely impacts the other.
But it’s not only negligent driving – such as speeding – that cause fatal truck accidents. Another major factor is poor maintenance of tractor-trailers. And we have new evidence of dangerously maintained trucks on the road today.
13.5% of Commercial Trucks Found with Bad Brakes
The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance just released the findings of its Brake Safety Week, held September 15 – September 21. The CMVSA conducts this annual event to identify 18-wheelers with dangerously bad brakes and get them out of service to protect other drivers.
And this year they found plenty of trucks with bad brakes. Of the 31,864 U.S. inspections they conducted that week, 4,344 commercial trucks were found with dangerous brakes – 13.6% of all trucks the inspectors reviewed.
That percentage is in line with similar events held in 2018 and 2017 and still a significant amount of trucks on the road with bad brakes. These trucks had such dangerous brake systems that inspectors pulled them off the road for necessary repairs before letting them continue on their way.
The report of this year’s findings highlighted specific truck brake hose problems inspectors uncovered, including:
· 2,567 commercial truck with chafed rubber hose violations
· 1,327 commercial trucks with chafed thermoplastic hose violations
In issuing its findings of this year’s truck Brake Safety Week, the CMSVA noted that while deaths in motor vehicle crashes overall decreased last year, deaths in commercial truck wrecks increased.
There often are many causes for catastrophic truck crashes, such as driver error and bad maintenance. But trucking companies often may be uncooperative following an accident to avoid owning up to their responsibilities.
If you were seriously injured or had a family member die in a crash with a commercial truck, an attorney experienced in representing truck accident victims can protect your legal rights to just compensation.
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.
Authored by Gray Ritter Graham, posted in Blog November 20, 2019
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