Texas DPS Cracks Down on Unsafe 18 Wheel Trucks

The Texas Department of Public Safety has started cracking down on commercial trucks that are unfit to be on the road.

Police are looking for the causes of some of our 18 wheeler collisions: faulty brakes, defective equipment, overloaded or improperly loaded cargo, inadequately inflated tires, burnt out lights, missing warning devices, and other mechanical or equipment problems. DPS officers across the Lone Star State have already pulled over roughly 9,000 trucks as a part of Operation Road Check. One in five were cited for mechanical problems.

Police are focusing on semi-trucks because they can be extremely dangerous when they have a problem. These commercial vehicles can weigh more than 80,000 pounds and take more than a football field to come to a stop.

Collisions caused by 18 wheelers are far too common. We are being hired more and more often to help the victims of the rampant number of 18 wheeler crashes — three times just in July so far — and have two truck inspections on tap in the next two weeks.

While investigating an news story about semi-truck accidents, the reporter on I-35 witnessed a serious truck accident.

The article explains that, aside from equipment errors, the next most common traffic citation issued to semi-truck drivers is for following too closely. Not only can it be terrifying to have a huge semi-truck bearing down on you and then be right on your tail, but common sense would suggest that the truck driver would know that this is very dangerous. As noted above, the trucks cannot come to a stop easily, so if a driver in a car has to suddenly brake, the chances of a tail-gating truck ramming into the back of him are fairly high.

Some Horrible Statistics

* 18-wheeler crashes only amount to three percent of the vehicles on the road but are involved in more than 10 percent of the fatalities (389 in the year 2012) on our highways.

* One-fourth of these fatalities happened in urban areas like Dallas and Fort Worth.

* Tractor-trailers are involved in 400,000 crashes each year in the U. S., taking the lives of over 5,000 people and injuring over 150,000 others.

Truck Accidents in The DFW Area
An increased number of 18 wheelers on our highways is inevitable in our booming economy here in Texas. But they must be operated responsibly. When a truck driver causes an accident that could otherwise have been avoided, that driver (as well as the trucking company he or she works for) may be held responsible in a Texas court of law. Many times, simple maintenance would have prevented the collision.

However, trucking companies are no strangers to law suits and often try to stack the deck in their favor by retaining skilled legal counsel to scour the scene of a collision and defend them when lawsuits do arise. Therefore, it is in your best interest to immediately secure a dedicated Texas truck accident attorney if you are crashed into by a tractor-trailer. With an attorney’s assistance you will be able to better understand the law applicable to your case and recover more money.

Have You Been Injured in a Texas Truck Accident?

If you are among the many unlucky ones who have been involved in a Texas truck accident, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. The Law Offices of William K. Berenson has over 34 years of experience working with injured Texans and helping them obtain the justice that they deserve. Attorney Berenson knows what it takes to bring a winning case in Texas and would value the opportunity to speak with you about your case. Click here, or call 817-885-8000 or toll-free at 1-888-801-8585 to schedule a free no obligation meeting with Attorney Bill Berenson.

Related Posts:

Actor Critically Injured In Crash With Wal-Mart Truck, June 9, 2014.

18 Wheeler Wreck Kills Driver in Fort Worth, June 27, 2014.

Share This Post