According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Large Truck Crash Causation Study, brake problems were documented as a contributing factor in approximately 29% of large trucks involved in fatal and injury crashes.
Among vehicles placed out of service for mechanical defects, many were removed from operation because of brake-related issues, making brake system maintenance the most frequent defect found in post-crash inspections. Crashes involving large trucks rose by roughly 11% between 2016 and 2022, even with federal rules requiring regular vehicle inspections and repairs.
Our lawyer, Sean M. Cleary, represents people injured in truck accidents caused by brake failures, poor maintenance, or improper loading, and holds trucking companies accountable when cost-cutting leads to preventable crashes.
Brake Problems in Tractor-Trailers Significantly Increase Crash Risk
Among braking-critical crashes, 45.5% of trucks had brake violations compared to 29.9% in non-braking-critical crashes. Trucks coded with brake problems were 2.7 times as likely to be assigned a crash's critical reason compared with trucks without brake problems, indicating that mechanical deficiencies increased the likelihood that the truck's mechanical condition would be a major cause of the crash.
The data reveals a clear connection between poor maintenance practices and brake-related crashes. Whenever trucking companies delay brake repairs, skip required inspections, or require drivers to operate vehicles with known defects, they create foreseeable risks that may lead to catastrophic collisions.
Load Securement and Cargo Shift Hazards Causing Crashes
Cargo shift was coded as an associated factor in approximately 4% of truck crashes in the LTCCS data, making it one of the recognized non-driver factors tracked by FMCSA. Unsecured loads that shift during transport create dangerous weight imbalances that lead to rollovers, jackknifes, and accidents when drivers try to turn or brake. Cargo that falls off trailers puts other drivers at risk, and when freight suddenly shifts, it can make trucks impossible to control even with proper braking and steering. Federal rules require tie-downs, blocking, and bracing to keep loads secure. Whenever these load-securement standards are violated, an accident caused by cargo-related defects constitutes evidence of negligence.
Equipment Violations and Regulatory Compliance
After crashes, 36% of large trucks had braking system violations, and 19% had lighting system violations, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Inspection findings can support civil liability claims for negligent maintenance, inadequate load securement, or non-compliance with regulatory safety standards. Other road users are at risk when trucking companies and carriers ignore required maintenance schedules or allow defective equipment to remain on the road.
Building Strong Cases with The Law Offices of Sean M. Cleary
The Law Offices of Sean M. Cleary looks through maintenance records, inspection reports, violation notices, and fleet safety files to demonstrate that proper upkeep could have prevented these crashes.
We work with mechanical engineers and truck safety experts to determine how brake failures, deferred maintenance, or cargo securement violations contributed to the collision, and to establish clear liability against trucking companies and carriers.
Contact our Miami office for a free consultation if you have been injured in a truck accident caused by brake failure, cargo shift, or other maintenance-related issues.