An often-overlooked but very serious kind of vehicular accident is the wheel separation or wheel-off accident, in which a wheel and/or tire break free of a motor vehicle and crash into someone or something else. Commercial truck tires can be particularly devastating if they hit someone after breaking loose, which may lead people to wonder: How often do truck wheel-off accidents really happen?
Answer: According to data from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as many as 750 to 1,050 tractor-trailer wheel separations are thought to happen every year.
While pretty rare in comparison to other kinds of truck accidents, that's still as many as 2 or 3 wheel-off accidents every single day. Furthermore, the catastrophic damage of a wheel-off accident should never be underestimated.
Wheel-Off Accidents Should Almost Never Happen
As mentioned above, the NTSB estimates that as many as a thousand or more commercial wheel separation accidents happen every year. Some safety experts believe that could even be a conservative estimate, since only incidents that end in crashes, damage, and/or injuries are generally reported. Many more wheel-off incidents that thankfully just didn't hurt anyone may go unrecognized every year.
Wheel separations may represent a relatively small percentage of overall truck accidents, but realistically the two or more a day that do happen should be almost entirely avoidable. Aside from a vanishingly-small number of truly accidental and unforeseeable incidents, the vast majority of wheel-off wrecks happen because of human error—and the damage they can cause is staggering.
What Kind of Damage Can a Wheel-Off Accident Cause?
When a wheel separates from an 18-wheeler and take off down the road, it basically becomes a rolling missile that can weigh 200 pounds or more. Many "dually"-style wheel assemblies effectively double that weight, meaning the wheels, potentially rolling at highway speeds or faster, could weigh anywhere from 400-500 pounds. Between that and their high air pressure, they stand a chance of dealing out catastrophic damage to whatever they might hit after breaking loose.
Put it this way: The amount of sheer force involved in a crash with a separated truck wheel is astonishing. We've seen cases where detached wheels rolled for miles down the highway after coming loose, and in many cases they obliterated anything unlucky enough to make contact with them. When that happens, it's important to find out who's to blame and hold them accountable.
Call Grossman Law Offices Today
It's easy to misunderstand a wheel-off crash as an "open and shut" situation. The reality is that like most commercial vehicle accidents, wheel-off crashes tend to be far more difficult than that to resolve. A trucking company is always highly motivated to avoid or minimize its responsibility, which means it will vigorously defend itself and its driver from any suggestion of wrongdoing. Victims and families who want to see justice done must put together a strong case built around clear evidence showing whose negligence allowed the wheels to break free.
That's a lot to ask of a badly-injured truck accident victim or a family grieving the recent loss of their loved one, which is why many decide to seek help from experienced Texas truck accident attorneys like the ones at at Grossman Law Offices. Our lawyers have decades of experience assisting 18-wheeler accident victims, including those hurt by loose truck wheels. If you were hurt or lost a loved one in a truck accident, call Grossman Law today for a free and confidential consultation.
