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The dangers of overloaded tractor trailers

Staten Island NY Personal Injury Lawyer > Truck Accidents  > The dangers of overloaded tractor trailers

The dangers of overloaded tractor trailers

On behalf of Orin Cohen of Orin J. Cohen Law

Truck accidents in New York and around the country often involve overloaded semi-tractor trailers or commercial vehicle drivers who failed to adequately control their fully laden vehicles. Loaded tractor-trailers can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds without violating state or federal safety laws, and that amount of weight traveling at highway speeds can cause catastrophic damage to passenger vehicles.

Many truck accidents involving fully laden or overloaded tractor-trailers occur when commercial vehicle drivers face an emergency situation and are forced to take evasive action. Heavy loads can shift dangerously in these situations and cause trucks to roll; rollover accidents can be especially deadly when a commercial vehicle weighing 40 tons topples onto a passenger vehicle in an adjacent lane. Accidents can also happen when cargo spills onto the roadway because loads have not been properly secured.

Controlling fully laden or overloaded tractor-trailers safely requires great dexterity and skill, and inexperienced truck drivers may fail to account for additional weight when calculating braking and stopping distances. Heavy trucks also travel down inclines far more rapidly and can be especially difficult to handle on steep off ramps when they are slowing from highway speeds and negotiating curves at the same time. The chances of a crash that causes serious injury or death increase even more when an overloaded commercial vehicle has a fatigued, impaired or distracted driver behind the wheel.

Experienced personal injury attorneys may study commercial vehicle maintenance records carefully when fully laden trucks have been involved in tractor-trailer accidents. Transportation companies are expected to take all reasonable steps to protect other road users, and they may face civil sanctions when poorly maintained vehicles crash. Heavy loads place additional stresses on vital safety components such as axles and braking systems, so attorneys may be able to take legal action against commercial vehicle operators when not accounting for extra weight may have contributed to an accident.