How Brake Failure Causes Truck Accidents

A fully loaded commercial tractor-trailer rig can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, equal to 26 Honda Civics.

Stopping that much mass and weight demands a special braking system to protect other motorists, the truck driver, and the freight. When these brakes fail, the results can be extremely serious and even deadly.

Commercial Trucks Use Air Brakes to Control Speed

If you’ve ever been driving beside a tractor-trailer in heavy traffic and heard a loud noise when they slow down quickly, that’s the sound of the complex air braking system developed to control these large vehicles.

Using compressed air, the brake systems on these trucks have multiple components that must function perfectly under heavy demand and long hours on the road.

When they fail at the wrong time, the truck can slam into other vehicles or stationary objects.

Unlike the hydraulic brakes on your passenger vehicle, compressed air brake systems have the following parts:

• Control pedals
• Parking brakes
• Service brakes
• Engine-driven air compression system
• Storage tank for the compressed air

By using the brake pedal inside the cab, the driver forces compressed air from the storage tank into the brake chamber, slowing the rotation speed of the truck’s wheels.

Every time the driver brakes, the forces involving weight, speed, mass, and friction cause wear on the tires and braking system. It’s critical that all the components are manufactured, maintained, repaired, and inspected properly to ensure they are working efficiently and effectively.

How Compressed Air Brake Failure Causes Truck Accidents

When your truck accident attorney is investigating your crash, they will search for evidence of known ways the braking system can fail on a commercial truck. Some common causes include:

• Torque imbalance: It’s essential that the parts of the braking system match and are correctly adjusted to the truck’s demands. If parts are swapped out that can’t support the required torque, unbalanced brake pressure can be applied to the wheels, causing jackknife accidents and trailer swingouts.
• Pneumatic imbalance: Another way the system can fail to apply equal braking to all wheels is when the air pressure is uneven, again causing some wheels to lock up and lead to jackknifes and swingouts. This issue can also affect entire axles.
• Condensation inside the system: As the truck travels in different climates, water can condense and collect inside the brake lines. This becomes a major problem in colder locations since the water can freeze and block the airlines from functioning properly.
• Worn-out seals: The rubber seals on the braking system’s air couplers can age and develop leaks. Without a closed system, air escapes and causes the brakes to weaken or fail completely, resulting in a truck that can’t slow down or stop as needed. To prevent accidents.

Defective Or Poorly Maintained Brakes Cause Truck Collisions

Due to the massive size of commercial trucks, brakes are a crucial safety feature. When a collision occurs due to brake failure, it may be the result of a defective product, poor maintenance, or both.

Trucking companies, truck drivers, mechanics, and inspectors are all responsible for ensuring air brakes and other systems are working properly to save lives.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) sponsors Operation Airbrake and conducts unannounced Brake Safety Days to identify brake-related violations. When they find vehicles with problems, they take these trucks off the road for repair. During a recent 2024 event, inspectors across North America checked 4,898 commercial trucks and pulled 570 out of service for critical brake violations, according to Transport Topics reporting.

Some common brake issues include the following:

Depowered Brakes

Large truck fleets are extremely expensive to run and maintain, leading some companies to cut dangerous corners. In some truck accident cases, trucking companies were found to have unhooked the brakes on their trucks to save wear and tear. The result is a truck driver who has to rely on only the trailer’s built-in brakes and downshifting to control the truck’s speed.

Inspection Failure

In addition to the CVSA’s Brake Safety Days, all truck drivers must conduct inspections before they leave and when they finish each trip. They are required to check the brake shoes and other components, listening for air leaks from worn-out seals or other broken parts. If drivers get on the road without getting these issues fixed, they may be held liable for any accidents that result.

Improper Brake Maintenance

Improper maintenance is the primary cause of most brake failures. Commercial truck braking systems are extremely complex, with brake assemblies that contain numerous components. These systems must be regularly serviced by an experienced commercial truck mechanic, but too many truck owners overlook proper brake maintenance.

Under federal law, truck owners must properly maintain their brakes, keeping a log of all maintenance and inspections. If this log is incomplete or contains discrepancies, the truck owner or the company responsible for truck maintenance may be liable in the event of an accident.

Some of the most common brake problems stemming from a lack of proper maintenance include:

• Poorly adjusted brakes
• Overheated brakes
• Worn brake components
• Incorrect air pressure

Defectively Manufactured Brakes

Truck brake manufacturers are heavily regulated to ensure that their products are reliable and safe.

Brakes are required to provide a minimum braking force, decelerate a truck to a stop at a specific minimum rate, and meet other performance standards. Brakes failing to meet these standards are considered defective products.

This failure could be due to problems with the brake design or mistakes that occurred during the manufacturing process.

Driver Error

Commercial trucks are extremely complicated, requiring hours of training and time behind the wheel to ensure drivers understand how to operate and maintain them.

When a trucking company fails to properly educate its drivers, those operators may be unable to adequately spot problems in the braking system. Similarly, they may not be fully prepared to deal with brake failure and avoid an accident.

Well-trained and experienced truck drivers can still make mistakes.

They should always allow proper following distances, use approved braking methods when traveling in downhill areas, and avoid overloading their brakes by stopping too quickly. In inclement weather, failing to follow these recommendations can put them at fault for sliding into other vehicles due to rain, snow, and ice.

Who Can Be Held Financially Liable for Your Injuries in a Truck Accident Due to Failed Brakes?

Untangling who is to blame for your truck accident can be complicated. While everyone on the road bears a duty to others to drive safely, sometimes, it’s not just the truck driver who is at fault. Other motorists may have contributed to the crash, as well as other parties, including:

• Trucking companies: Unless a driver is a single-person owner-operator, most truck drivers work for a trucking company that owns, services, and repairs their vehicles. The company is responsible for ensuring all parts of its trucks are in safe working order and must also train its drivers to handle brake failures and other risky events.
• Mechanics and repair shops: When a trucking company uses another vendor for their equipment installations and repair, these third parties may be at fault for mistakes or subpar work.
• Manufacturers: Those who produce truck components have a duty to design, manufacture, and market these items so they perform safely and as expected. If a company makes a defective brake part, they may contribute to your truck accident and be liable.
• Cargo loading companies: Unbalanced, improperly secured, or overweight cargo makes it harder for the driver to control the truck and adds strain to brakes, tires, and suspension systems. Federal weight limits govern how much trucks can carry, partly to avoid issues like brake failure.

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident caused by defective or poorly maintained brakes, you may be entitled to compensation from multiple parties. To learn more, our Houston Truck Accident Lawyers arrange a free consultation today.