New safety video examines causes of truck rollovers
August 17th, 2010 by Kurt Niland
“So, what causes a rollover?”
That’s the question at the center of a new 17-minute instructional safety video produced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in cooperation with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and other industry partners.
“The answer you get most often is driving too fast for road and weather conditions. And that’s true. Sometimes. But that’s not the only reason,” the video says. “We want to go beyond that general answer to look at all the different factors that contribute to rollovers. By the time we’re finished, we’ll know how they happen, why they happen, and how you can avoid them.”
While the safety video is geared toward drivers of commercial tankers containing hazardous materials, much of the advice is applicable to all commercial drivers hauling cargo. The video covers the four approaches to reducing cargo tank truck rollovers: vehicle design and performance, load effects, highway factors, and driver factors.
The video’s main focus, however, is on the driver because statistically drivers are 10 times more likely to be the cause of a truck rollover than any of the other factors.
“With this video, we hope to improve and enhance the consciousness of cargo tank motor vehicle drivers and the hazardous materials industry about common driving errors and to provide valuable driving information,” the FMCSA says on its website.
“Fleet safety managers are encouraged to use this video to supplement their driver training programs, as this information offers preventive measures that cargo tank motor vehicle drivers can take to help avoid a rollover crash.”
“Although rollovers are rare, we recognize that they can be serious,” said National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC) President John Conley. “This outreach video is part of our proactive commitment to work with the government or anyone else in improving truck safety and minimizing the risk of such incidents.”