As with any machine, even the strength, the size or the reliability of the truck could fail. It could happen someday and even "get tired" because of a mechanical failure, or the lack of maintenance. The trucks must be attended, not only the engine, but the rest of the mechanic or electrical parts, the tires, the lights and such.
There are multiple types of truck failures. Some are simple ones that can be resolved by even the trucker. Other ones are more dangerous and deeper that only an expert mechanic could fix them. But no matter the nature of the problem, it cannot be ignored. A little problem can turn into a huge one and may even cause fatalities on the road.
Many organizations of safety, expert analysis and traffic statistics have pointed to the mechanical problems as one of the causes of truck accidents in the United States. Defect lights in the rear, steering problems, and blocking of the brakes are part of the list.
There are small problems that require the attention of the driver or owner operator because they can be properly repaired by them to prevent bigger problems in the future. For example, the common problematic belts, the leaks on the hoses or the radiator, the water pump and such. Some of them can be fixed with electrical tape for the leaks, changes of coolant, water or replacement with a spare. It is part of the checking procedure.
Having no maintenance routine is like a hidden bomb for the truck. Among the most common failures in truck crashes are the brakes failures or brakes blocking. Many of the truck drivers involved in fatalities blame the brakes for the accident. But the truth is that there are very few cases when the brakes spontaneously fail in an emergency maneuver. Actually, the brakes fail because of the minimal maintenance done by the drivers.
Why was the problem hidden until the accident day? Because even though you do not give the brakes the proper inspection and adjustment, the system is able to give normal service on the road. But when the driver requires extreme stopping, the brake system might work but slower than the needs of the stop. On the edge of a situation, the overcharged system could block itself.
According to a Car Forensics analysis focused on fatal brake problems, it indicates that two important issues to review are the brake balance and the brake lag time. The proper maintenance with these two axles will improve the efficiency of the brake system in 60 to 80%.
For the air brake trucks, the balance of the brake is extremely important. Without a proper adjustment of the balance, part of the system can be overworking and finally be locked. This adjustment consists in two procedures such as the torque balance, which refers to adjusting all the pieces of the system, and the pneumatic balance, which refers to adjusting the pressure of the tires (the imbalanced tires could overwork part of the break system).
The balance procedure of the break is also important to be matching with the balance of the trailer. If the truck brake has more force than the trailer or the opposite, the whole tractor-trailer will loose control.
Another common cause of crash fatalities is the loss or failure of the lights, which can be easily repaired. If for any reason a trucker or the load trailer decide to stop in the middle of a lonely highway on a dark night, and he or she does not know it, but the lights of the rear are not working and then a high-speed, light car approaches on the same way and does not see the truck. You can suppose the rest. And this is a frequent story in real situations. The headlamps have a 200 day average of life, and the replacement lamps can last until 540 days. Again, they ought to be checked.
Tires are also another point of the list of checking and maintenance for the truck. It is normal for the truck drivers to have problems over the road because of a flat tire. But the dangerous problems of the tires are frequently caused by the limits of retreading the tires.
Retreading is a cheaper process than to get a new tire. But some people wait until the legal limits of 21/432 inches or 41/432 inches tread instead of retreading, which could be very dangerous. Also, the bad inflation of the tire, the overloading, the imbalance or the poor maintenance of the truck can cause failures with the tires.
Leaving the purely mechanic problems, we can also find the electrical failures at the top of the list of the over the road problems. The battery is generates most of the electric troubles of the truck. The factors of voltage, driving cycle, chemistry and cranking amounts are involved in the battery functioning correctly.