Tire Blowouts and Truck Accidents: Hazards on the Road
All vehicle collisions have the potential to cause property damage, physical injuries, and financial losses, but few are as catastrophic as truck accidents. Because of their substantial size and weight, trucks create a huge impact in a crash. A leading cause of truck accidents is road hazards.
For truckers, one of the most common road hazards is tire blowouts, which can easily lead to truck accidents. Here, the truck accident lawyers from Reed & Terry, L.L.P. discuss the dangers of tire blowouts, and why they pose such a threat to drivers in Sugar Land, Katy, and Richmond, TX, as well as across the country.
Causes of Tire Blowouts
Any vehicle can suffer a tire blowout, but commercial trucks are especially susceptible. That is in large part due to the amount of wear and tear that the tires of a commercial truck are exposed to. Commercial trucks travel extensively, often covering over 600 miles in a single day. That amount of use alone is enough to put strain on the tires, but it is further compounded by the amount of weight that they support. A commercial truck can weigh around 80,000 pounds when fully loaded.
While wear and tear is a major cause of tire blowouts for commercial trucks, other factors can also contribute. Some common causes of tire blowouts include:
- Road damage or hazards in the road
- Improperly loaded cargo (carrying too much weight)
- Low air pressure
- Failure to perform routine maintenance inspections
- Defective tires
Dangers of Tire Blowouts
A tire blowout can greatly compromise a driver’s control over their vehicle, which significantly increases the risk of a truck accident. Some of the greatest dangers of a tire blowout include:
- Loss of control - Maintaining control of a truck with a tire blowout is extremely difficult. Loss of control can lead to swerving, which can ultimately result in a sideswipe accident.
- Jackknifing - If a truck driver loses control of the vehicle after a tire blowout, the trailer may shift out of position. Once the trailer shifts, the truck is vulnerable to a jackknife, which describes situations in which the cab and trailer of the truck fold in on each other.
- Tire debris - Even if a truck driver manages to maintain control after a tire blowout, other drivers may still be at risk. Truck tires are extremely large. A blowout can easily lead to flying tread and debris that can create a hazard for others on the road.
Liability for Truck Accidents Caused By a Tire Blowout
Trucking companies are meant to perform routine inspections that include an evaluation of the tires. Companies should also be regularly rotating tires, checking tire pressure, and replacing tires as they become worn down. If a tire blowout occurs, the trucking company is most often liable for any accident or damages that result from the blowout. However, depending on the circumstances of the accident, a tire manufacturer may also be responsible (for example, if a tire is found to be defective).
The truck accident lawyers at Reed & Terry, L.L.P., work with experts in the field to determine the cause of a tire blowout so that the liable parties can be held accountable for accident damages.
Get In Touch
If you have been injured in a truck accident caused by a tire blowout, the lawyers at Reed & Terry, L.L.P. can assist you in proving liability so that the responsible parties can be held accountable for accident damages. To discuss the details of your case with our legal team, call (281) 491-5000 at your earliest convenience or schedule a free case review online.