Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Texas

Causes, safety duties and evidence at a glance

Each row below starts with a cause. It then points to a safety rule, the records that may show what happened and the people or companies who may be responsible. Treat each row as a lead for an investigation. It is not a finding of fault.

Whether a federal rule applies depends on the vehicle, the type of operation and any exemption. These are general summaries. The fatigue and weather sections below explain narrow safety exceptions. A listed party is not automatically liable. Each party's role, connection to the crash and legal basis for responsibility need review. For a carrier, both its own conduct and its relationship with the driver may matter. Our guide to who can be held responsible for a truck crash walks through each party.

Driver fatigue

A tired driver reacts more slowly and can drift out of the lane. Federal rule 49 CFR 392.3 says a driver must not operate a commercial motor vehicle while their ability or alertness is so impaired, or so likely to become impaired, through fatigue or illness that it is unsafe. It also says a motor carrier must not require or permit that.

Federal hours of service rules limit time behind the wheel. Staying inside those hours does not prove a driver was alert. Rule 392.3 asks about the driver's actual condition, not only the clock.

Hours records help, but they have limits. A log can be incomplete, wrong or even falsified. It should be checked against dispatch records, fuel and toll receipts, GPS data and phone records obtained through lawful process. Do not assume that a missing electronic log proves a violation without checking which recording rules apply.

Rule 392.3 has a narrow grave emergency exception. If stopping would increase danger to the truck's occupants or other road users, it allows travel to the nearest place where that danger is removed.

Speed and following distance

A heavy truck needs a lot of room to stop. Speed that is too fast for the conditions takes that room away, and so does following too closely. The federal crash study coded both among the factors present for large trucks in serious crashes. Our semi truck stopping distance guide shows why stopping takes so long and covers the Texas speed and following distance rules.

Federal rule 49 CFR 392.14 adds that speed must be reduced when conditions like rain, fog or ice hurt visibility or traction. Engine data can show speed and braking on some trucks. That depends on whether the truck has a system that records it, whether the system was set up to save it and whether the data was kept. Video, marks on the road and witness accounts can help fill in the rest.

Distraction and phones

Distraction can come from inside or outside the cab. The federal crash study coded inattention, internal distraction and external distraction for some trucks in its sample.

Under 49 CFR 392.80, a driver may not text while operating a commercial motor vehicle, and a motor carrier may not allow or require its drivers to do so. The rule still counts the truck as being operated when it is stopped for a moment in traffic with the motor running. There is an exception for contacting police or other emergency services.

Phone and dispatch records can show whether a device was in use near the time of the crash. Obtain them through lawful means. Device use alone does not prove it caused the crash. The timing matters.

Brake and tire problems

Brake problems were the factor coded most often for large trucks in the federal crash study, and tire problems also appear on its list. Being coded means the condition was present. The study made no judgment that it caused that particular crash.

Under 49 CFR 396.3, every motor carrier must systematically inspect, repair and maintain the motor vehicles under its control. Parts must be in safe and proper operating condition at all times. Where the rule's recordkeeping requirements apply, files must show what inspections and maintenance were due and what work was done.

That makes the maintenance file, inspection reports and repair invoices worth requesting early. The truck itself is evidence too, so ask that it be preserved before it is repaired or sold. A repair shop or parts maker may share responsibility only if the evidence shows its work or its product contributed to the failure.

Cargo that shifts or falls

A load that shifts can change how a truck handles. A load that falls off can hit the vehicles behind it. Federal rule 49 CFR 393.100 says cargo must be loaded and secured to prevent it from leaking, spilling, blowing or falling from the vehicle. It must also be secured to prevent shifting that hurts the vehicle's stability or maneuverability.

The federal crash study listed cargo shift among the reasons a truck can lose control. A loss of control can end in a rollover or a jackknife.

Who loaded the trailer matters. Sometimes the driver or carrier loads and secures it. Sometimes a shipper or loading company does. Bills of lading, load photos, the straps or chains used and weigh records can help show who did what.

Weather and road conditions

Rain, fog, dust and smoke can affect visibility or traction. Rule 392.14 calls for extreme caution when conditions like these hurt visibility or traction. It says speed shall be reduced. If conditions become dangerous enough, the rule says operation must stop until the truck can be operated safely. If following the rule would increase danger to passengers, it permits travel to the nearest point where their safety is assured.

Bad weather is not an automatic excuse for a truck crash. It is not automatic proof of fault either. The question is how each driver responded to the conditions they faced.

Roadway problems were also among the factors coded in the federal crash study. Road work or debris can be part of the story. Weather records, photos of the road and engine speed data can help answer what happened.

Illness, training and experience

Rule 392.3 also covers illness. A driver must not operate a truck while illness makes it unsafe, and a carrier must not require or permit it. The federal crash study's driver reasons included a driver who fell asleep or was disabled by a heart attack or seizure.

The study also lists driver training and experience among the things that can influence a crash long before it happens. It does not tell you how often these problems happen today, and this page does not guess. Records that may matter include medical records obtained through lawful process and the carrier's driver qualification file.

Evidence that can show the cause

Proving a cause comes down to records. Depending on the crash, these may be available:

• Hours records. Electronic logging device data or other hours records, if the driver was required to keep them or the carrier kept them anyway.
• Dispatch and phone records. Messages, delivery schedules and phone activity, obtained through lawful process.
• Engine and telematics data. Speed, braking and location data, if the truck was equipped and configured to record it and the data was kept. Our guide to what truck black box systems may record explains what varies from truck to truck.
• Maintenance records. Inspection reports, repair invoices and the truck itself.
• Load records. Bills of lading, load photos, straps and chains and weigh tickets.
• Scene evidence. Photos, video, marks on the road, vehicle damage, the crash report and witness names.

No single record tells the whole story, and no truck records everything. Records are kept for different lengths of time depending on the record and the company. Ask about preservation early instead of assuming a set deadline.

Drug and alcohol testing after a crash is not automatic in every case. Federal rules require it only in certain situations. When a test is done, a positive result does not by itself prove that impairment caused the crash. Our guide to FMCSA rules in Texas truck cases covers hours limits and when testing is required.

If the other side blames you for part of the crash, the same evidence matters. Our guide to how shared fault works in Texas explains the rule.

What the federal crash study can and cannot tell you

One federal study looked directly at why serious large truck crashes happen. It is the Large Truck Crash Causation Study, run by FMCSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. FMCSA published its analysis brief in July 2007.

The study used a national sample of 963 crashes from April 2001 to December 2003. Each crash involved at least one large truck and caused a death or an injury. A crash researcher and a state truck inspector went to each crash. The data came from 24 sites in 17 states.

Four points help you read the study correctly.

• Factors overlap. The study says crash experts rarely conclude that a crash was the result of a single factor. One truck could be coded with several factors at once.
• Present is not the same as proven. The study recorded associated factors, which are conditions present at the time of a crash. It made no judgment on whether a factor was related to the reason for a particular crash.
• The immediate reason was not always the truck. For each crash, the study coded an immediate reason for the vehicle whose action made the collision unavoidable. Across all study crashes, that reason was coded for 55 percent of the large trucks. When it was coded for a truck, it was most often a driver reason, such as inattention, going too fast for conditions or following too closely, rather than a vehicle failure or the road or weather. Percentages from that table describe only those trucks. They do not describe all truck crashes.
• It is old and national. The crash data is more than twenty years old, and the results are national estimates from a sample. They do not measure how often each cause happens in Texas now, and they cannot decide fault in your crash.

The study is still useful as a list of questions to investigate. For recent Texas numbers, see our Texas truck accident statistics page.

Questions to ask about a Texas truck crash

A Texas truck crash raises the same questions as one anywhere else. These are worth asking early:

• Where did this load start, who loaded it and how was it secured?
• What delivery time was the driver given, and how long had they been on duty?
• Was there rain, fog, dust or smoke on that stretch of road at that hour?
• Was there road work, debris or a damaged road surface near the crash?
• Was the truck operating only within Texas or across state lines? That can affect which rules apply.

A short preservation checklist

These steps help keep evidence from being lost. They do not replace legal deadlines or anything your insurance policy requires you to do.

1. Get medical care first, and follow police directions at the scene.
2. Take photos only if you can do it safely and out of traffic. Photos that others already took count too.
3. Write down the trucking company name, any truck or trailer numbers you saw and the names of witnesses.
4. Keep damaged items, and ask about an inspection before your vehicle is repaired.
5. Ask a lawyer about sending a written preservation request to the carrier early.

Common questions

Talk with us about what caused your crash

If a truck crash hurt you or someone in your family in Texas, we can look at what may have caused it and which records may still exist. Request a free case review, or call the number at the top of this page.

This article is general information. It is not legal advice about your situation, and no article can predict the outcome of a claim.

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