Brake failure on a heavy truck is often the end of a process, not a sudden event. Brakes wear, drift out of adjustment, overheat, and leak air, and the rules require someone to catch those problems on a schedule. So when a truck’s brakes fail and it plows into traffic, the real question is who skipped an inspection, ignored a defect a driver reported, did a bad repair, or supplied a defective part. The answer sits in records the trucking company controls and only has to keep for a limited time.
What federal rules require of the carrier
For trucks operating in interstate commerce, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations put maintenance squarely on the motor carrier.
- Systematic maintenance. 49 CFR 396.3 requires every motor carrier to “systematically inspect, repair, and maintain” all motor vehicles subject to its control, with parts and accessories “in safe and proper operating condition at all times.” The carrier must keep records showing what inspections and maintenance are due and when, and what was actually done. Those records must be kept for one year where the vehicle is housed or maintained, and for six months after the vehicle leaves the carrier’s control.
- Driver vehicle inspection reports. 49 CFR 396.11 requires the driver, at the end of each day’s work, to prepare a written report on any truck where a defect was found or reported to the driver. The report covers the service brakes, trailer brake connections, and parking brake, among other parts. If no defect was found or reported, no report is required for that day. Before the truck runs again, the carrier must repair any listed defect likely to affect safety and certify on the report that it was repaired or that no repair was needed. These reports only have to be kept for three months. Carriers running a single truck are exempt from this section.
- Driver review. Under 49 CFR 396.13, before driving, the driver must be satisfied the truck is in safe operating condition, review the last inspection report when one was required, and sign it to acknowledge that any needed repairs were certified.
- Annual inspection. 49 CFR 396.17 bars a carrier from using a commercial motor vehicle unless it passed a periodic inspection within the preceding 12 months, with documentation on the vehicle. In a combination, the tractor and each trailer must each be inspected.
California’s BIT program and the 90-day inspection
California adds its own layer. Vehicle Code section 34501.12, which the statute names the Basic Inspection of Terminals or BIT program, requires motor carriers operating covered trucks to identify their terminals to the California Highway Patrol and make vehicles, vehicle inspection and maintenance records, and driver records available there for inspection. The CHP inspects terminals and rates them, and a terminal rated unsatisfactory must be reinspected within 120 days.
The 90-day rule is in a separate section. Vehicle Code section 34505.5 requires carriers to have each covered vehicle inspected at least every 90 days, or more often if needed for safe operation, and the inspection must include brake adjustment and brake system components and leaks. Defects must be corrected and signed off before the truck goes back on the highway other than to a place of repair, and the inspection records must be kept at the terminal for two years.
A carrier with poor terminal ratings, missed 90-day inspections, or brake defects written up and never fixed is in a weak position to call a brake failure an unavoidable accident.
The records that prove or disprove maintenance
- The 90-day inspection reports and the annual inspection report for the tractor and each trailer.
- Repair orders, parts invoices, and outside shop records for any brake work.
- Driver vehicle inspection reports and repair certifications for the weeks before the crash.
- Engine control module data, which can show speed, braking, and throttle in the seconds before impact. Some of this data can be overwritten once the truck is put back into service.
- GPS and telematics data, dispatch messages, and the driver’s logs.
- The bill of lading and any scale tickets showing how heavy the load was.
- Any post-crash inspection of the brakes by police or the CHP, including measurements of brake adjustment.
Who can be liable
Brake failure cases often involve more than one responsible party:
- The motor carrier. It carries the systematic maintenance duty and is generally responsible for its driver’s conduct on the job.
- The driver, for driving with a known defect, ignoring a low air pressure warning, or overheating the brakes on a long downgrade.
- A maintenance contractor or repair shop that did the brake work carelessly or signed off on an inspection it did not properly perform.
- The maker of a defective part, such as a slack adjuster, brake chamber, valve, or air hose.
- A trailer owner or chassis provider. Federal rules put inspection and repair duties on intermodal equipment providers for the chassis they hand to carriers.
- A shipper or loader that overloaded the trailer or loaded it improperly, where the extra weight helped overwhelm the brakes.
Identifying every party early matters, because each one may have its own insurance and its own records. Our guide to comparative negligence in California explains how fault and damages are divided when more than one party is responsible.
Why the preservation letter cannot wait
Look at the retention periods above. Driver inspection reports: three months. Federal maintenance records: as little as six months after the truck leaves the carrier’s control. Engine data: at risk the moment the truck is repaired and driven. The most important physical evidence, the brakes themselves, changes the day a mechanic adjusts or replaces them.
A preservation letter puts the carrier and its insurer on notice to keep the truck, the trailer, the electronic data, and the records, and not to repair or alter the brake system until it can be inspected with notice to everyone involved. It should go out within days of the crash, not after medical treatment ends. A company that destroys evidence after notice can face serious consequences in court, but the better outcome is that the evidence never disappears in the first place.
The deadline
A personal injury lawsuit in California generally must be filed within two years of the crash under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. The same section gives wrongful death claims two years, which generally run from the date of death. If the truck belonged to a public entity, such as a city or county, a written claim must be presented within six months under Government Code section 911.2. Two years is far longer than the life of some of the most important evidence, which is why the first few weeks matter so much. More on how these cases work is on our truck accident page.
What to do this week
- Get the police or CHP report number, plus the trucking company’s name, its USDOT number, and the trailer number, from photos if you have them.
- Send a written preservation demand to the carrier and its insurer covering the truck, trailer, engine data, and records.
- If you can do it safely, photograph the scene, including skid marks or the absence of them, before the road is cleaned or repaved.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company’s insurer. Here is why.
- Keep every medical record and bill from the first visit on.
About the author. Joshua B. Adelpour is the founder of Not My Fault Law Group, APC, a California personal injury firm based in Woodland Hills. He is licensed by the State Bar of California, Bar No. 318226, and spent nearly a decade defending insurance companies in civil litigation before opening the firm. Call (213) 800-0706 for a free consultation.
This article is general information about California law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts. Last updated October 6, 2026.