Georgia Personal Injury Law Blog : Atlanta Georgia Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Jason R. Schultz Law Firm : Wrongful Death, Malpractice, Car Accidents : Georgia

A tractor trailer accident on southbound I-85 on February 24^th resulted in an overturned vehicle and injuries to the driver. Edward James Clements Jr. was approaching the Moreland exit ramp when the vehicle apparently hit some barrels.  The impact caused the weight of 41,000 pound of cotton and yarn in the trailer to shift, and the vehicle soon skidded and overturned. Clement suffered non life threatening injuries.

Nobody was injured in this single vehicle accident. According to the preliminary investigation, the driver seemed to be having some trouble with his tires and was attempting to pull over to get a tire fixed. The driver was cited for driving with defective tires, as well as with failure to maintain his lane.

It was fortunate that this accident did not involve other vehicles or injure any other motorists. A massive tractor trailer going out of control can easily create a destructive situation for other vehicles on the road. When a tractor trailer overturns on a busy highway, other vehicles close by are forced to try and avoid the big rig. Multi vehicle accidents result when something like this happens during rush hour. A tire blow out is, by itself, enough to cause serious injuries to surrounding motorists. The force with which shreds of blown rubber fly into the air at high speeds poses a risk to nearby motorists. That's all the more reason why a tractor trailer driver must take care to conduct a complete examination of his vehicle before starting a trip.

In the above case, the truck driver could have easily avoided this incident if he had simply checked his tires during his required pre-trip inspection. Instead, he decided to drive a large truck with balding tires that were close to a blowout, placing not just himself but other drivers at risk for serious injuries. The trucking company that owned and operated the tractor trailer was also negligent in its failure to make sure that its vehicles were fit to be operated on busy streets.

Victims injured in an accident with a tractor trailer can file claims against the driver and trucking company involved, if evidence shows that there was failure to inspect and maintain the truck. If you have been injured in a truck accident, contact an Atlanta truck accident lawyer at my law firm for a free consultation.

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We lawyers who are over forty years old know that we get better with age.  Tires, on the other hand, have a limited service life regardless of tread depth and use. The dangers of "aged" tires is a little known problem outside of the industry and one that is likely the cause of a significant number of tread separation problems. "Aged" tires are often unsuspectingly put into service after having served as a spare, stored in garages or warehouses, or simply used on a vehicle that is infrequently driven. In many instances these tires show no visible sign of deterioration, and absent any visible indicators, tires with adequate tread depth are likely to be put into service regardless of age.

As of June 2, 2008 Safety Research & Strategies (SRS) has documented 159 incidents in which tires older than six years experienced tread / belt separations—most resulting in loss-of-control crashes.

ABC News recently exposed the hidden danger of tires that are six years of age becoming extrememly dangerous.  Many serious injuries and deaths could be avoided if the motoring public is properly warned and protocols were in place to remove old tires from the shelves.

The bottom line is that there are many tire failures out there because of this phenomenon. The key to good tire structure is to put antioxidants into the slip coat between the tread and the carcass prior to vulcanizing the tire. Antioxidants raise the cost of the tire, so the industry uses as little as it thinks it can get by with. The seepage of air between the tread and the carcass causes oxygen to invade the space and to degrade the adhesive bond between the tread and the tire. This can be from a puncture, even one that is repaired, or it can be caused by a defective inner liner which allows air to escape into the body of the tire.

The industry generally continues to claim that there is no adequate way to warn.  People will continue to die unnecessarily unless and until this problem is properly addressed.

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