This week (August 22 – 28, 2021) has been set aside by the Federal Motor Safety Carrier Administration (FMCSA) and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) for their annual “Brake Safety Week,” otherwise known as “Operation Airbrake,” a national campaign designed to help prevent serious and fatal semi-truck crashes caused by flawed and failing commercial truck braking systems.
Brakes can kill if they fail in any size of motor vehicle, from a small sedan to a school bus. However, for those experienced with driving the roads here in the Crossroads of America, it is obvious that the risk of a severe or deadly truck accident is significant when any heavy truck experiences a braking failure.
Both the truck driver and those sharing the lanes with that trucker’s rig depend upon those truck brakes to hold and do their job, especially when there is the need for a fast or emergency stop and the rig is going at high speed.
For more, read: Fatal Truck Crashes and Semi Truck Brake Failures.
Truck Brakes in Violation of Safety Regulations are Commonplace on Our Roads
Nevertheless, it is clear from the inspection statistics that an unacceptably high number of commercial trucks (big rigs, semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, doubles, 18-wheelers) are motoring through our country with braking systems that are substandard and in regulatory violation.
In fact, so far during this calendar year (2021), commercial truck braking systems are the most common problem discovered during federal safety roadside inspections.
To date in 2021, six (6) different braking issues rank in the Top 20 List of commercial truck violations, including trucks being driving with out of service brakes and with defective brakes in violation of federal law. See FMCSA Table of Roadside Inspections, Vehicle Violations for Trucks in Calendar Year 2021.
Why are braking systems so important on large trucks? As the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) explains: “[t]ruck braking capability can be a factor in truck crashes. Loaded tractor-trailers take 20-40 percent farther than cars to stop, and the discrepancy is greater on wet and slippery roads or with poorly maintained brakes.”
Also, from the IIHS comes the following sobering facts:
- In 2019, the most likely to die in a fatal truck crash (67%) are occupants of cars and other passenger vehicles involved in the collision with the semi-truck;
- More and more occupants of the large commercial truck are at risk of dying in the semi-truck crash, with the number of truck occupant fatalities 51% higher in 2019 than 2009; and
- More people are dying in large truck crashes now than in past years: almost a third more (31%) people perished from bodily injuries sustained in a large truck crash in 2019 than in 2009 (the lowest year for truck fatalities since data collection began in 1975).
Brake Safety Targets for Operation Airbrake in August 2021
During this month, and particularly the week of August 22 -28, 2021, there will be both announced and surprise brake system inspections of large trucks and buses in Indiana, Illinois, and the rest of the United States by commercial motor vehicle inspectors.
These will primarily be Level IV Inspections designed to find braking system violations and pull dangerous rigs off the roads.
Truck Crashes Caused by Brake Failures in Indiana and Illinois
That braking systems are vital components of these large trucks is not a secret, and braking systems are not new technology. Therefore, it is all the more horrific to learn from the CVSA that braking system violations are notorious for being the “largest percentage of all out-of-service violations cited during roadside inspections.”
Duty of Truck Driver
It is understood that professional truck drivers as well as motor carriers know the importance of reliable braking systems on commercial trucks, particularly those carrying heavy loads (like doubles). After all, the commercial truck driver licensed in Indiana or Illinois must meet certain testing requirements before being allowed to drive a large truck with sophisticated braking systems like big rig airbrakes. See, e.g., the Illinois Department of Transportation Commercial Driver’s License Study Guide, pages 72-81. Drivers must be alert and aware of any danger signs or signals that the braking system is not operating as it should, making repairs as necessary. They may be held to be legally negligent under the laws of Indiana or Illinois should they fail to do so and a serious crash occurs.
For more, read: Brake Failure: Fatal Truck Crashes Caused by Dangerous Brakes in Semis, Big Rigs, and Other Large Commercial Trucks and Speeding and Serious or Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes in Illinois or Indiana.
Duty of Motor Carriers and Rig Owners
There is also the duty of care that is legally mandated for truck owners and operators. Trucking companies and those responsible for repair and maintenance of big rig braking systems must understand the vital need for good brakes on the road to keep drivers (and others) safe on the road.
For more, read: Trucking Companies Liable for Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois.
Duty of Manufacturers and Installers
The law also establishes legal duties for those that manufacture the braking components as well as those who install them on the trucks to avoid placing defective products on these rigs. Those responsible for the design and installation of the brakes themselves know their importance and the need to build and provide sturdy and durable braking systems in these commercial motor vehicles.
For more, see: Will Mandating Automatic Emergency Braking Systems in Semi-Trucks Reduce the Danger of Rear-End Truck Crashes? and Safety Groups Push Feds to Require Big Rigs to Have Auto-Brake Safety Devices.
Also read:
- Danger of Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois and the 2021 Infrastructure Bill;
- Nuclear Verdicts in Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes;
- Trial Tactics for Plaintiff Semi-Truck Accident Claims: a Practical Guide from Investigation to Trial.
In a split second, a fatal truck crash can destroy the lives of both the accident victims who die in the collision as well as family members who suffer the tragic consequences of an untimely death of a loved one. The efforts made this week in Operation Airbrake to make our roads safer from fatal semi-truck accidents caused by brake failures is to be commended. Please be careful out there!
