Even without cargo on board, semi-trucks carrying trailers behind them are the biggest and heaviest vehicles on every road they travel down—and when they’re fully loaded, their weight increases by several tons. All that added mass makes these vehicles uniquely difficult to steer and keep under control at high speeds, which is why truck drivers have to get special licenses to drive on public roads, and state and federal law strictly limit how much weight commercial trucks can legally carry.
As any experienced truck accident attorney knows, trucking companies that violate truck weight laws put not only their drivers at risk of serious harm, but everyone around that driver. If you were recently injured in an overloaded/overweight truck accident in Bensalem, you likely have grounds for civil litigation that our well-known and winning attorneys can help you make the most of.
Why Are Overloaded Trucks More Dangerous?
The average motor vehicle is made up of thousands of interlocking parts, and every one of these parts is only physically capable of withstanding so much force before it breaks. This is the most straightforward reason why overloading a truck beyond legal weight limits is extremely dangerous. It makes the truck more likely to suffer a mechanical failure while in transit, which can easily lead to a crash that the truck’s driver has no way of stopping.
Heavier vehicles take more engine power to get moving, are harder to stop while braking, are more likely to lose balance and turn over during sharp turns, and are more likely to lose traction on slick road surfaces, especially at high speeds. This means that the more cargo a truck is carrying, the harder it is for even a skilled and responsible driver to keep that vehicle under control during their normal routes, which again dramatically increases the risk of an overweight truck accident occurring in Bensalem.
Proving a Tractor-Trailer Was Illegally Overweight
Under federal law, the most a truck can legally weigh across its cab, trailer, and cargo combined while traveling across state lines or on interstate highways is 80,000 pounds. Any truck that weighs more than that—or is being driven on local in-state roads without a proper permit to go over the normal weight limit—is automatically violating the law, meaning the company that owns and operates that truck is violating its duty of care requiring them to act lawfully and responsibly in the interests of preserving the safety of others on the road.
Most trucking companies that put overloaded trucks on public roads know exactly what they’re doing and exactly how illegal it is. They often don’t shy away from acting illegally in other ways to hide and destroy evidence like shipping manifests and transit logs that could prove they’re breaking the law. This is a big reason why having help from seasoned legal counsel can be especially important to getting a favorable case result after an overloaded truck crash in Bensalem.
A Bensalem Attorney Can Help After an Overloaded/Overweight Truck Accident
Tractor-trailers are challenging enough to operate safely when they’re loaded with a legal amount of cargo. Overloading them makes it virtually impossible for their drivers to be completely safe. It can be crucial to take proactive legal action against any trucking company that puts an illegally heavy truck on the road and allows a serious accident to happen as a result.
Help is available with your claim built around an overloaded/overweight truck accident in Bensalem from a winning truck accident lawyer. Learn more by calling Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers today. You won’t owe us anything until we win the compensation you deserve.
