Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
Heavy trucks are a danger on the road in Homestead and across the country. According to the Highway Research Board, one commercial truck of 80,000 pounds does as much damage to roads as approximately 9,600 passenger cars. This is the legal limit for a commercial truck – illegally overweight trucks can cause even more damage.
A study from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute concluded that with each ton of truck weight, the risks of a fatality increase. A commercial truck of 80,000 pounds is two times at greater risk of being in a fatal collision when compared with a truck that weighs 50,000 pounds.
Safety experts agree that heavy trucks can be an extreme danger on the road. Heavy trucks that exceed safety weight limits can be a risk for truck accidents for a number of reasons:
•Overweight trucks put additional pressure on tires, brakes, and other truck systems, increasing the risk of mechanical failure and car accidents
•Overweight trucks are harder to control and can lead to a driver losing control of the vehicle
•Overweight trucks are at an increased risk of rollovers
•Overweight trucks put extra pressure and damage on the roads, which can lead to potholes that can lead to secondary car accidents
•Overweight trucks may have cargo that is incorrectly secured, which can lead to falling debris from trucks and secondary car accidents
There are a number of rules and laws in place to ensure that trucks adhere to maximum cargo loads. In addition to the paperwork required for every truck and in addition to the laws regulating cargo, truck drivers also have to pass by scales and get their trucks weighed in order to ensure that they are not exceeding maximum capacity. Despite all of these precautions, however, overweight trucks continue to drive on the roads and continue to cause traffic accidents in Homestead and other communities.
There is actually a financial incentive for motor carriers and drivers to exceed weight limits. Having one overweight truck on the road saves motor companies money because they do not have to hire additional trucks and drivers to carry the excess cargo. Exceeding weight limits can also save time as it allows drivers to head to one destination without having to wait for an additional truck.
Because of the financial incentives, motor carriers and drivers sometimes use unethical and illegal measures in order to avoid the law. They may drive along back roads in order to avoid weight stations, for example, or they may falsify information and documents about the cargo in order to make it appear that they are carrying less cargo than they actually are.
If you’re looking for truck accident attorney in Homestead or anywhere in South Florida, contact the law offices of Flaxman Law Group in order to arrange a free accident consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys. Our personal injury attorneys and legal team work in offices in Homestead, Hollywood, and Miami to better serve the entire South Florida area. Our attorneys also work on a contingency fee basis, so you may not need to pay for legal fees and other costs until and unless we win on your behalf.