Even if there is no trailer attached, the cab of a standard tractor-trailer is generally the biggest and heaviest vehicle on any road. With a fully loaded trailer hooked up, a truck like this can weigh tens of thousands of pounds more than the average commuter car. Unfortunately, some trucks hit the road even heavier than they are mechanically designed or legally allowed to be, often due to intentional misconduct by the companies that own and operate them.
Overloaded/overweight truck accidents in Tucson cause exceptionally severe injuries and are difficult to file a solid civil lawsuit over. A seasoned truck accident attorney from Phillips Law Group can provide the support you need to get past the legal hurdles and recover fair financial compensation for the harm you have unfairly sustained. Reach out to our experienced team today.
How Heavy Can Commercial Trucks Legally Be?
Under federal law, the maximum gross vehicle weight rating (the maximum weight across cab, trailer, and cargo combined) a tractor-trailer can have while traveling on interstate highways or across state lines is 80,000 pounds. Additionally, the truck cannot put more than 20,000 pounds of weight on a single axle or more than 34,000 pounds of weight on any one tandem axle group, with the underlying assumption being that the truck’s total weight is distributed equally across all of its axle groups.
Arizona Revised Statutes §28-1100 establishes identical weight limits for trucks traveling solely within the state of Arizona, but trucks traveling over short distances within state lines can apply for an oversize/overweight permit and carry weights in excess of 80,000 pounds along pre-approved routes. Either way, anyone who intentionally or unintentionally puts a commercial truck on the road in Tucson that is heavier than allowed by federal or state law has violated their duty of care towards other people on that road and may hold civil liability for any accident and subsequent injuries caused by that breach of duty.
Holding the Right People Liable for an Overweight Truck Wreck
It is true that overweight trucks sometimes end up on public roads solely through the negligence of an individual driver, loading dock worker, or third-party supplier. However, the vast majority of overloaded truck crashes in Tucson can be traced back to the company that owned and was responsible for operating the truck and, more specifically, back to a decision made to knowingly put overweight trucks on the road in order to save time and money on routes.
Unfortunately, trucking companies that are willing to break the law in this way are also often willing to break the law in various other ways to hide their initial illegal act. This means dependable records like cargo manifests and trip logs may be deceptively hard to come by after this sort of wreck. This, in particular, is where help from a seasoned legal professional can be all but essential to achieving a positive result from a settlement demand or lawsuit over an overloaded truck crash.
Contact a Tucson Attorney for Help With an Overloaded/Overweight Truck Accident Claim
Overweight trucks are not just harder to control and more likely to break down, but also far more dangerous in the event they collide with anything else on or off a public Arizona road. Nevertheless, more trucking companies than you might like to think are all too happy to break the law by overloading their trucks and putting everyone else in harm’s way in the pursuit of financial profit.
If you have been hurt in an overloaded/overweight truck accident in Tucson, you should not be the one paying financially for the harm you did nothing to cause or deserve. Call Phillips Law Group today to learn from one of our team members how we can help you demand the compensation you need. We have been serving the local community for over 30 years and look forward to giving you the guidance you need during a difficult time.
Available 24/7