While it is true that human error is one of the main causes of truck rollovers, environmental and road factors can also pose a great risk. With the expense of a rollover soaring into the millions, fleet managers cannot overlook all potential high-risk rollover scenarios and provide drivers with skills to handle dangerous situations on the road.
The number of truck crashes is lower than passenger vehicles but garner more notoriety because of the level of tragedy and destruction that results. The CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, says: “When passenger vehicles are involved, consequences can be significantly more devastating due to size difference. Even if the crash involves another truck, loss of life is still common.
“Additionally, a truck rollover often results in loss of cargo, repairs or replacement to the rigs with expenses in the millions, time off for injured drivers placing extra pressure on other employees, clean-up following the crash and numerous other expenses that far surpass expenses associated with passenger vehicle crashes.”
Losses also extend further than this. “While the full cost cannot be quantified in Rands and Cents, the reality of the negativity associated with an incident, will also impact on the brand of company. In a few brief moments, years of reputation can be compromised.”
Considering these serious consequences, no fleet can afford to neglect any scenario that places drivers, vehicles and cargo at risk:
- Road conditions
According to statistics in the USA, three quarters of truck rollovers occur on rural roads. In the study, rural roads are those without centre barriers. “In South Africa rural roads have additional challenges such as potholes, pedestrians and animals on the roadside as well as ineffective road markings and traffic lights often not working. While trucks tend to stick to highways, rural roads can be unavoidable in the final stages of a journey.
“Rollovers are more likely due to the difficulty to regain control once hitting or trying to avoid an obstacle like a pothole. As a result of the truck’s high centre of gravity, the sudden or over correction of the vehicle is what increases the risk of a rollover,” says Herbert.
- Off camber verges on roads
A research study by the USA’s Transportation Research Board says a rollover is nine times as likely to occur even on a minor slope. “Should a driver need to move off the road and encounter a slope, the severity of any resulting crashes is double.
“Drivers need to be able to assess the obstacle before them and understand it likely takes much less for a rollover to occur than what they may expect. Even the most experienced drivers need to exercise extreme caution when judging the risk of driving onto a slope,” says Herbert.
- Weather
According to the US’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, almost 27% of truck crashes occur during adverse weather conditions (it was not stated what percentage is rollovers). “USA does, however, experience more adverse weather conditions than South Africa.
“The best way to avoid this danger is to adjust driving to conditions. Yet, extra precautions can provide further protection from this high-risk driving scenario. These include never skipping a pre-trip inspection (particularly of tyres), regular brake checks and securing loads correctly,” says Herbert.
Rollovers can result from more than just driver error and it is the responsibility of the organisation to ensure drivers can handle whatever challenge is thrown their way.
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