Legal requirements for commercial truck brake systems

Our Blog,truck accidents | December 9, 2015

Many truck accidents that take place in California happen because of malfunctioning brake systems. Working brake systems are a crucial part of truck safety, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has specific rules about brake system requirements for commercial motor vehicles.

It is a legal requirement that every commercial motor vehicle have a brake system that is capable of stopping the vehicle or vehicle combination. Every commercial vehicle brake system must meet safety requirements that are specific to the type of brake system it is. There are requirements for service brakes, parking brakes and emergency brakes.

The brake systems in some commercial trucks are interconnected, and these interconnected brake systems must be designed in a certain way. If one part of an interconnected brake system fails, the other parts of the brake system must be able to continue operating so that the driver has some way of stopping the vehicle. The FMCSA also regulates emergency brake systems on commercial vehicles by requiring the control for the emergency brake system to be placed where the driver can reach it easily. A truck driver must be able to engage the emergency brake system from a normal seated position while wearing a seat belt.

A person who has been injured in a truck accident may want to go over the evidence with a truck accident attorney in Sacramento. If malfunctioning brakes or improper maintenance contributed to the cause of the accident, an attorney may suggest filing a personal injury lawsuit against the trucking company and possibly the truck manufacturer. The truck driver may also be guilty of trucker negligence if there was a failure to have the brakes checked on a regular basis.