SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Highway Patrol officials are concerned that incidents like the fatal crash on Interstate 80 Tuesday evening will become more common as more trucks are found non-compliant with various regulations.
Officials report the incident was started by a runaway semi truck that lost the function of its brakes before hitting a 24-foot-long construction trailer containing epoxy paint, bursting into flames.
"It appears it was some kind of mechanical failure, possibly breaks,” said UHP Sgt. Scott Attridge.
According to Cpl. Dustin Livingston, the inspection of brakes is the responsibility of the driver and their company. In the event of a brake failure, it's also their responsibility to utilize brake checkpoints and runaway ramps for their safety.
“Typically drivers with heavy loads, as they are trying to use their brakes will say their truck wasn’t stopping as fast as it normally does or it took them a longer distance," he said. "To me, that’s saying that brakes aren’t engaged all the way, something is going on."
Using the brake checkpoints ensures that vehicles are inspected regularly and brings down their speed when coming down roads with a steady decline.
Livingston also said that pre-checks are very important before starting a trip, as these failures are easily preventable if caught earlier on.
The failure to do so results in a violation, a trend Livingston is finding to become more and more common.
“It’s becoming more and more regular, very common," he said. "Numerous times a day we’re running into violations that drivers aren’t compliant with.”
