As with any automobile, one of the primary safety features of commercial trucks is the brakes.
They allow the vehicle to stop and, in many cases, are the reasons why collisions do not occur.
Since trucks are such large and heavy vehicles, they require a special type of brakes that can produce enough force to slow them down.
Commercial trucks use air brakes to serve this function.
These brakes differ from the brakes on traditional passenger automobiles in a couple of ways.
While the primary function is still to produce friction to slow down the vehicle's velocity, air brakes achieve this result in a different way.
Passenger automobiles have brake pads that press against the rotor to slow the car down.
Air brakes, on the other hand, use compressed air to provide force behind a brake spring, which is used to slow the rotor.
Since air brakes and commercial trucks in general differ so much from passenger automobiles and their functions, trucking companies must employ mechanics with the training and certification to work on commercial trucks and air brakes.
In many cases, passenger automobile mechanics may not be able to identify errors within the truck's braking system.
Though specialized mechanics may command a higher salary, they are better equipped to identify errors and correct them.
When trucking companies fail to hire the correct mechanics, commercial trucks may be unsafe for road use without the knowledge of the trucker.
In these cases, the trucker may cause accidents if there are problems with his or her brakes.