When it comes to the truck driving profession, experience and training go a long way, and when truckers take to Louisiana’s roadways without having sufficient training or experience, they threaten their own safety as well as that of everyone else traveling the roadway. At Didriksen, Saucier & Woods, we recognize that, while brake failure issues can arise because of system malfunctions, many truck crashes that result from brake failure issues also occur because truckers lack the knowledge necessary to effectively avoid them.
According to Transport Topics, a common problem among less-experienced truck drivers is that they are prone to over-relying on their truck’s air brake systems when traveling downhill, which can lead to brake system failures. When a semi-truck driver “rides” the brakes for extended lengths of time, which is a much more common behavior among younger, less-experienced truck drivers than older, more seasoned ones, the brake system can wind up overheating. When the system overheats, it can potentially catch fire, which can compromise its functionality and, ultimately, cause a truck wreck.
While this is an example of how driver error can lead to truck wrecks, issues within the brake system, itself, can also lead to crashes. Air brakes work when they receive a regular stream of air that keeps them open while a truck is moving. If a system malfunction causes that airstream to cease, the brakes can end up applying themselves, which can result in them locking up.
Truck crashes often have catastrophic results, and it is frequently the people in the smaller vehicles who suffer the most harm when they occur. You can find more on this topic on our webpage.