Top Five Maintenance Items that
Contribute to Accidents

There are many good reasons to have a vehicle maintenance and inspection program that meets high standards. From an efficiency standpoint, neglecting routine maintenance increases costs when minor problems lead to breakdowns, expensive roadside repairs and poor customer service. It can also lead to Department of Transportation (DOT) violations, fines, and a poor safety record. These problems all have the potential to undermine your business and cost you money.

However, beyond these headaches is the most important reason to make sure your inspection and maintenance program meets high standards: safety. Even the most seemingly mundane maintenance issues—a tire with low air pressure, a turn signal that isn’t working, or an oil leak—have the potential to cause an accident.

Northland’s claim experience points to several common maintenance issues that can lead to accidents. Reduce your risk of accidents by making sure your maintenance program includes inspecting and maintaining these top five components.

Brakes. Brakes are a vehicle’s most important safety feature, so there’s good reason why so much emphasis is placed on brake condition during DOT inspections and accident reconstruction work. When they are working properly, brakes prevent accidents by bringing vehicles to a quick, controlled stop. When they are not working properly, the risk of having an accident increases substantially. At best, a vehicle with poorly functioning brakes will be more difficult to control and take longer to stop, increasing both the likelihood and the severity of an accident. At worst, a vehicle’s brakes could fail completely, putting you and others at great risk. A vehicle’s brake system should, at a minimum, be inspected as required by federal and state motor carrier safety regulations. This includes daily pre-trip inspections, frequent inspections by a mechanic during scheduled preventive maintenance, and federal/state required periodic inspections.

Lights and reflectors. Lights and reflectors make your vehicle visible to others and communicate your intentions. When they are not working properly, you run the risk of others not seeing you or not understanding that you are braking or turning. In both instances, serious accidents can occur.

Since 1993 newly manufactured trailers were required to have reflective striping along the full length of each side of the trailer and the rear of the trailer. Retrofitting pre-1993 trailers became a requirement in 2001. These improvements have helped to prevent many trailer underride accidents. Today, many older trailers have reflective striping that is either worn or missing. If needed, replace reflective striping in order to make your vehicle more visible to other motorists at night.

Tires. The two main safety problems with tires are blowouts and fires. Tire experts stress the need to make sure tires are properly inflated. Being just a little underinflated can result in casing damage that can, in time, result in sudden tire failure. If this occurs in a steering tire, there is a very real possibility that you could lose control of your vehicle. If it’s a drive axle or trailer tire, the debris can wreck havoc with motorists behind you. Underinflated tires can also build up enough heat to ignite and burn. Tire fires are difficult to extinguish, so they can quickly spread to the rest of the vehicle and cargo. To avoid these problems, make sure to inspect your tires carefully for proper inflation or damage that could cause failure. Tire experts warn that the only effective way to check tire pressure is with a tire pressure gauge. Thumping tires with a hammer or kicking them will not help you determine when a tire is underinflated.

Another potential problem is wheel separation due to loose or missing lug nuts. Even though lug nuts might appear to be tight, they may not be. Once they are loose, vibration over time can cause wheel studs to fail. Check lug nuts periodically to make sure they are tightened to the proper torque specification to avoid this type of failure.

Wheel bearings and axles. Bearing and axle failures are also common contributing factors in wheel separation accidents and fires. The main reason for this type of failure is lack of lubrication. Without lubrication, the bearings and axle overheat, causing the wheel assembly to ignite or separate from the vehicle. When wheel separations occur near other motorists, the potential for a serious accident is high. To avoid these dangers, careful attention should be given to making sure wheel hubs and axles are lubricated. Leaking wheel seals should be repaired immediately.

Electrical. Many truck fires result from electrical shorts in the cab, sleeper, or engine compartment. This points to a need to watch for loose, worn, or chafed wiring and to ensure all electrical repairs are completed by trained, experienced technicians. An overloaded circuit, caused by too many electrical accessories, is another common source of electrical fires. Circuits and wiring in many vehicles are not designed to accommodate multiple accessories, such as televisions, refrigerators, and microwave ovens. Improper installation or poorly planned modifications can result in electrical shorts that can spark and cause fires. At the very least, they can result in electrical problems that are difficult to locate and costly to repair.

In addition to the potential safety concerns outlined here, poor maintenance and inspection procedures can be a significant source of liability for you and your company. If your vehicle is involved in a serious accident, and the vehicle has not been maintained well, you and your company could be held responsible—or potentially negligent—even if inadequate maintenance was not directly to blame for the loss.