Danger on the Road: Even Well Maintained Trucks Can Be Unsafe
Herndon and Oak Hill truck crash lawyer Doug Landau has seen how over filled trucks can cause permanent injuries to the innocent motorists they crash into on Virginia roadways
Yesterday’s post discussed the high rate of trucks failing safety inspections in Fairfax County Virginia. The Supervisor of the Fairfax County Police Motor Carrier Safety Unit told the Fairfax County Times newspaper that “Part of what we check for is to see if a commercial vehicle is overweight. Even if the vehicle’s brakes are in good condition, stopping can still be an issue of the truck is overweight.”
The Landau Law Shop helped an injured Franklin Farms resident who was struck by a truck on the Fairfax County Parkway while driving toward Fair Oaks Mall. It turned out that the truck was overweight. Because of the added weight, the wet roadway on Southbound Route 7100 and the downhill slope from Franklin Farms Road, the innocent van driver had no chance when the trucker ran the red light. We prevailed in the case despite the fact that the truck appeared to have been properly maintained and had passed state inspection.
On April 11, 2010, a New England woman stopped her minivan on the right shoulder of the Virginia Capitol Beltway exit ramp to I-495 in Springfield. According to state police, the elderly woman was standing outside of her van when she was struck and killed by a tractor trailer being driven by a commercial truck driver from Miami, Florida. The driver was charged with reckless driving. State police inspected the interstate truck after the fatal crash and found the commercial interstate carrier to be overweight. “Unfortunately, attention is generally not drawn to truck safety until someone is killed,” according to Jim Pollack, Supervisor of the Fairfax County Police Motor Carrier Safety Unit. “We are trying to change that.”
If you or someone you know If you or someone you know has been injured as the result of a truck crash or highway accident, please e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once, as there are strict time deadlines with such important claims.