Trucks transport tens of thousands of pounds of cargo each trip. These trucks transport food, consumer products, clothing, and more. While this is a necessary part of the economy, however, when truck drivers and truck carriers overload their trucks they put other drivers and other users of the road at risk. Each year, overloaded trucks and cargo in Hollywood and across the country cause thousands of serious accidents.
There many reasons why overweight cargo is so dangerous. Overweight cargo places an additional burden on the tires, brakes, and other systems of a truck, meaning that mechanical failure is more likely. Overweight cargo can also shift easily, leading to an uneven distribution of weight. In some cases, cargo that is too heavy can cause a driver to lose control. In some cases, overloaded cargo can topple from a truck, causing secondary car accidents as debris crashes into other vehicles.
Truck accidents caused by overweight cargo result in devastating injuries each year, including:
- Fatalities
- Head injuries
- Amputations
- Spinal cord injuries
- Fractures
- Permanent injury
- Lacerations
- Facial injury
Overweight cargo doesn’t just lead to serious accidents. It can also cause structural damage to bridges, roads, and other infrastructure. Roads and highways are designed for specific levels of weight. When trucks exceed this, they can cause potholes as well as cracks in pavement surfaces, which can cause car accidents in Hollywood and other cities. In some cases, overloaded trucks are heavy enough to collapse bridges and cause devastating injury.
Sometimes, truck drivers have no option but to carry an overweight cargo. When transporting a house, for example, or a large piece of machinery that exceeds weight limits, truck drivers may have no option but to transport cargo that exceeds weight limits. In these cases, truck drivers must apply for special permits in order to carry the excessively heavy load. Each year, permits are written for 500,000 overweight trucks. Truck drivers and carriers must also ensure that the truck being used for the transport can carry the added weight.
Not everyone carrying an overweight cargo in Hollywood or Florida goes through the process of applying for permit, however. In many cases, truck drivers and truck carriers simply overload their trucks and try to avoid weight stations or try to take back roads in order to avoid detection and enforcement. This can be extremely dangerous, and can lead to traffic accidents.
If you have been in a trucking collision with a big rig or tractor-trailer, it may not be obvious immediately whether the truck driver violated weight rules or any other federal rules regarding commercial transport. To get details about your situation, you will want to speak with a personal injury attorney, who can investigate all the causes of your accident and can advise you if you have legal options for legal claims. If you would like legal advice and representation, you can always reach Flaxman Law Group for a free, no obligation case review. Our legal team has handled thousands of personal injury and truck accident collision cases and we have a track record of court wins and settlements wins. Find out what we can do for you today.