Importance of adequate truck cargo restraints in preventing accidents
Houston truck cargo accident attorneys: Yesterday in Corpus Christi, Texas, a loaded 18-wheeler lost its cargo load while negotiating a curve on North Padre Island Drive. Corpus Christi police, who responded to the truck cargo accident, said that the trucker had attached the 48,000-pound load to the 18-wheeler with six 5,000-pound cargo straps. In other words, the trucker was using restraints designed to hold 30,000 pounds to try and keep 48,000 pounds in place.
When the physical forces involved in taking the curve caused the inadequately restrained load to shift, the shifting cargo load actually bent the frame of the truck’s trailer. The falling cargo caused the 18-wheeler to jackknife on the side of North Padre Island Drive. (Source: Ben Lloyd, kristv.com, 9/6/12)
The truck cargo accident and cleanup delayed traffic for several hours. But curiously enough, news reports say that the driver did not receive any violation citations. Our Houston truck cargo accident attorneys point out that federal regulations require truckers to check their cargo loads for adequate restraint before taking to the road. So the 18,000-pound difference in restraint capacity for the fallen cargo seems to constitute a violation. The driver was indeed a lucky trucker: no citations and apparently no injuries either.
Truck cargo accidents where an 18-wheeler’s load falls into the road from inadequate restraint can cause serious and even fatal injuries. Especially at night, when fallen cargo presents a hazard that other drivers won’t see until it’s too late to safely stop, fallen cargo is an unnecessary hazard on Texas roads
If you have been injured in a falling cargo accident, contact the experienced, Texas Board Certified Houston truck cargo accident attorneys at Denena & Points for a free and confidential legal consultation. Let our personal injury expertise be your guide to the full financial recovery you deserve following injury from a hazardous truck cargo accident.
