Being involved in a truck accident is a terrifying prospect. Much larger than other vehicles on the road, semi-trucks can inflict serious damage on cars and motorists alike. Injuries resulting from truck accidents can be severe, including broken bones, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and even death.

Maryland is a state that is heavily trafficked by trucks. To make the road safer for smaller vehicles and drivers, truckers are required to abide by strict safety regulations. Safety regulations require that trucks be under a certain weight and be properly maintained. In addition, truckers have to abide by rules that set a maximum amount of hours they can drive on any given day.

Knowing that Maryland is a heavy traffic state for trucks, Maryland State Police recently conducted an intense sweep for trucking safety violations earlier this month. Dubbed Operation Tailgate, the sweep focused on trucks traveling on I-495 in Prince George's County. They found a disturbing amount of safety violations.

A total of 351 buses and trucks were pulled off the highway and inspected. Of those 351 vehicles, 35, or about 10 percent, were kept off the road because of serious equipment violations. Another 20 truck drivers had falsified logbooks or they had driven too many hours and were kept off the road. Four truckers did not have a proper commercial driver's license and one bus driver was pulled off the road for being medically unqualified to operate a commercial vehicle. In total, State Police wrote 108 citations and 128 warnings.

Unfortunately, this law enforcement sweep indicates that many truckers and trucking companies are ignoring safety regulations. When a truck accident happens, experienced truck accident attorneys understand the importance of conducting an investigation into the truck's safety records. When a safety violation is uncovered in an accident investigation, that violation can often be used as evidence in court.

Source: NBC News, "Dozens of Commercial Vehicles, Drivers Shut Down Overnight," Aaron Sinclair, 7/8/2011