Detailed Truck Inspections May Prevent Maryland Truck Accidents

Commercial trucks have a large number of moving parts and components that, when working properly, help truck drivers safely deliver goods across the country. Maryland truck accident attorneys at Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers have litigated cases where one or more of these components have failed and caused an accident. Federal law requires trucks to conduct pre-trip and post-trip inspections of the vehicles and to record the results in an inspection log. If a trucker fails to adequately inspect all of the truck’s basic parts, the driver may be guilty of negligence if one of those components fail and cause a truck accident.

The law states that a truck driver must inspect his truck and assure himself that all of the major components are functional. However, many drivers perform perfunctory inspections and note only a nominal inspection time in their logs. In a situation where a mechanical failure caused an accident, uncovering a driver’s failure to adequately inspect the truck before taking it on the road is crucial. Through the discovery process, Maryland truck accident attorneys attempt to get a negligent truck driver to give a detailed description of his pre-trip investigation in order to uncover any discrepancies.

Typically, we may ask a truck driver to give the exact amount of time he spent inspecting each of the following parts of his truck:
• Service brakes, including the trailer break connections for all axles;
• Parking/hand brakes;
• The steering mechanism;
• Light devices and reflectors;
• The truck’s tires
• Any straps or chains used to secure the load;
• The truck’s horn;
• Windshield wipers; and
• Rear view mirrors;

If amount of time the trucker allegedly spent inspecting each component does not match the amount of time indicated in the log, the discrepancy may call the trucker’s credibility into question when the case goes to trial.


If you or a family member has suffered injuries in a Maryland truck accident, contact our truck accident attorneys for a free consultation.

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