Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers | November 12, 2025 | Truck Accidents
An 18-wheeler is much more prone to equipment failures than passenger vehicles. A truck could travel hundreds of thousands of miles each year, leading to much more wear than the average car will experience. Moreover, semi-truck or lorry brakes must work harder than a smaller vehicle’s brakes since they can weigh up to 80,000 pounds with a fully loaded trailer.
The consequences can be catastrophic when semi brakes fail. A truck accident, particularly one at high speeds, has the power to crush vehicles and their occupants. Victims will often experience severe or even fatal injuries in collisions with runaway trucks.
How Tractor-Trailer Brakes Work
An 18-wheeler uses air brakes to stop. These differ from the hydraulic brakes on your car because air brakes use air while hydraulic brakes rely on brake fluid to do the work. However, the air brakes on a truck and trailer work in the opposite way from your car’s hydraulic brakes.
When you press on the brake pedal in your car, you compress a piston inside a master cylinder containing brake fluid. The fluid escapes from the master cylinder to a slave cylinder. Once there, the fluid forces a piston inside the slave cylinder to actuate the brakes and slow the car.
One way to visualize this system is to think of two balloons connected to each other’s openings. When you squeeze the air out of one balloon, the other balloon inflates, and vice versa. As the brake pedal squeezes hydraulic fluid out of the master cylinder, the piston inside the slave cylinder moves the braking mechanism to contact the wheels and slow the vehicle.
Understanding the Braking System
A truck has two braking systems that operate using air rather than fluid. The truck’s service brakes work like your vehicle’s brakes, but they use compressed air rather than hydraulic fluid to transmit force from the pedal to the braking mechanism.
However, the truck’s parking brake is activated when there is no pressure. In other words, a truck’s parking brake system is actuated when the “balloon” is deflated, exactly the opposite of a car’s braking system. When the engine is running, it operates a compressor. This compressor pressurizes the braking system, releasing the parking brake.
This system has two benefits. First, air is everywhere, while hydraulic fluid is not. If a truck’s air brake system loses pressure, the compressor can take ambient air and compress it to actuate the brakes.
Second, since the parking brake is actuated when decompressed and released when compressed, it is designed to stop the truck when the compressor fails. Thus, an equipment failure in the compressor triggers the brakes, while an equipment failure in your car’s braking system leaves you with no brakes.
How Semi-Truck Brakes Fail
Semi-truck brakes are complex systems that can fail for many reasons. However, two leading causes of brake failure are wear and overheating.
Wear happens naturally. Brake pads are designed to wear as they slow the wheels. By wearing, they dissipate heat and prevent the brakes from seizing. However, trucking companies and drivers have a legal duty to inspect and maintain their vehicles. If they do not replace worn parts, they may be liable for any resulting crash due to their poor maintenance.
Overheating results from brake misuse. Specifically, drivers understand how to reduce the risk of overheating by using engine brakes. By downshifting, the back pressure in the engine slows the engine speed, which, in turn, slows the truck’s wheels. As a result, the truck slows without using its service brakes.
A careless or poorly trained driver might fail to use their engine brakes, leading to overheating and brake failure.
Contact the Houston Truck Accident Attorneys at Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers for Help Today
Semi-trucks have braking systems designed for safety. However, no system is perfect, and brake failure happens. In many cases, brake system failure is a result of poor maintenance or driver errors.
Contact the Houston personal injury law firm of Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers by calling (713) 500-5000.
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About the Author Brian White
Brian White earned his J.D. from South Texas College of Law in Houston and is licensed to practice in Texas. As a Board-Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, Brian represents clients throughout Houston in cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, brain injuries, wrongful death, and more.
Dedicated to giving back, he actively supports local charities and community initiatives across Houston. Client testimonials highlight Brian’s compassion, open communication, and dedication to achieving the best outcomes for those he represents.
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