---
title: "Cops Pull Over Semi Truck With the World’s Crappiest Suspension Repair"
description: "Sure, fix your multi-ton commercial vehicle with zip-ties and a bit of rope."
date: "2020-01-28"
modified: "2020-01-28"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/31998/cops-pull-over-semi-truck-with-the-worlds-crappiest-suspension-repair"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Trucks"
---

# Cops Pull Over Semi Truck With the World’s Crappiest Suspension Repair

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2020/01/bad-repairs.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Truckers are usually the most responsible drivers on the road, given the difficulty of earning and maintaining a commercial driving license combined with the scrutiny and responsibility that comes with operating a large vehicle. There are a few bad apples out there, of course, such as this semi-truck driver that recently got pulled over in Australia earlier this month, in a vehicle in an alarming state of disrepair.

![message-editor%2F1580234350938-83515609\_1682020708602029\_7507300338861342720\_o.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1580234350938-83515609_1682020708602029_7507300338861342720_o.jpg>)
**National Heavy Vehicle Regulator on Facebook**

Australia's National Heavy Vehicle Regulator posted the pictures you see here to Facebook, taken of the suspension components of a semi pulled over earlier this month. For those of you who aren't mechanically inclined and need an explanation of what you're seeing, the two pictures you see above are of a failed ball joint, a crucial component of a vehicle's [steering system](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/31711/ford-patents-f-series-four-wheel-steering-report>). Under no circumstances is a ball joint supposed to pop out of its socket like the one you see here, as that would allow a front wheel to yaw independently of what you do with the steering wheel. In short, this semi was one bad bump away from being completely out of control.

![message-editor%2F1580234664968-82791278\_1682020758602024\_1618504777061105664\_o.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1580234664968-82791278_1682020758602024_1618504777061105664_o.jpg>)
**National Heavy Vehicle Regulator on Facebook**

The truck's suspension was in a similarly worrying state of neglect; its leaf springs wired to a suspension component that shouldn't be dangling loose (we've seen that before with [the world's worst custom exhaust](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/30848/car-mechanic-discovers-the-worlds-most-poorly-assembled-exhaust-system>)). Presumably, the hanger visible just inches to the right of the wires has failed, potentially due to rust.

Fortunately, maintenance nightmares like these aren't common on the roads of first-world countries. Commercial trucks are often held to a higher standard of maintenance than privately owned vehicles, and [off-the-books fixes](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/29151/crafty-truck-driver-escapes-ticket-after-using-red-drink-bottle-to-fix-broken-taillight>) can result in citations or fines. That's not to say you haven't shared the road with a sketchy semi or two in your life, but compared to the number of dilapidated cars on the road, we're inclined to say the latter is a bigger danger.

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## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)