Truck Rollover

Truck safety and accident prevention is a concern for all.  I wanted to call attention to a particularly lethal issue for drivers, that of truck rollovers, and offer advice on it's prevention. 

Truck rollovers account for only about 3% of all accidents, but over half of all truck fatalities.  Like any heavy-haul accident, causes can vary and can be horrific.  A trailer can start to tip as a result of an evasive maneuver, or when taking a curve.  Little can be done when the freight breaks loose at high speed, the truck starts to tip further and corkscrews.  The cab is usually violently flipped on its side.  There are only a few drivers that escape to tell about these scenarios.

Most point the finger at our crumbling interstates and interchanges.  Designed in the 1950's for slower speeds than today, cloverleaf's and exits lack the proper banking to prevent rollover accidents.  This is brought to light in my hometown Atlanta, one of the deadliest cities for rollovers.  The article Atlanta: Deadly Hot Spot of Twisting Highways and Truck Rollovers states, "a tangle of twisting roadways and densely packed moving traffic combine to create America's extreme tipping point. More than 200 trucks have flipped around Atlanta since 2001, according to a study by the American Transportation Research Institute. And more than 200 people have died in truck rollovers in Georgia during that time."  I've driven some of the top 10 rollover spots in town and seen the exit ramps with cement barricades blackened by tire marks of those unable to reduce speed.  Straightening the curves and redesigning each interchange would cost millions, but many lack warning signs or simple enhancements like flashing lights to warn of impending rollover risk from obscured sightlines. Sometimes its an optical illusion.

Truck technology can help, along with warnings.  Stability controls have helped reduce rollovers in cars and light duty vehicles since mandatory guidelines went into effect around 2011.  However, emergency braking systems and anti-rollover technology are expensive additions to the long list of devices and standards added to semi-trucks over the past 40 years. 

With increased traffic and congestion on our roadways this problem won't get any better.  The immediate solution starts with awareness and infrastructure improvements.  Give trucks room to operate and slow down at curves and interchanges. Stay alert changing lanes and exiting and lobby your local transit authority for better signage around dangerous areas where repeated accidents occur.