Page 9 - sept-oct 2018
P. 9
safety & education
Keeping the Load on the Road:
Preventing Tank Truck Accidents
ccidents involving fuel tankers often • Speeding: 28 percent of accidents
have much larger consequences involve speeds too fast for conditions
than those limited to typical • Careless driving: Evasive maneuvers are
A passenger vehicles Just the size cited in 5-10 percent of rollovers
and weight of an uncontrolled truck make it a • Vehicle condition: According to one
danger to any people or property in its path study, 54 percent of vehicles experienced
The addition of a tank partially filled with liquid some sort of defect in the braking system
fuel makes the vehicle more prone to rollover Helping drivers understand the “slosh and
If a collision or rollover occurs, the nature of surge” effect of liquid loads is also important,
that liquid is also problematic Leaked crude as 63 percent of rollovers occurred in cargo
oil, gasoline or flammable gases can cause an tanks carrying partial loads
environmental crisis or a fire Even seasoned drivers aren’t safe from
By understanding the causes of rollovers, rollover accidents Approximately 38 percent
you can provide the information and training of rollovers involve drivers with 10 or more
your drivers need to reduce accidents and years of driving experience A cargo tank
rollovers accident can happen to any driver at any
time
Poor Driving Conditions Don’t Cause Most
Rollovers Training and Company Culture Make a
Contrary to popular belief, the majority Difference
of rollovers are not caused by environmental The FMCSA has a great video about the
factors such as rain, curvy roads or time of factors that contribute to rollovers and how
day In fact, less than four percent of single drivers can help prevent them The free, on-
vehicle rollovers can be attributed to roadway demand video is less than 20 minutes long,
or environment-related causes Don’t believe making safety training easy and convenient
it? Check out these stats from the Federal More high-tech training options include
Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA): motion-based simulators and vehicles
• More than half (56 percent) of rollovers equipped with electronic stability aids that
happen on straight roads alert drivers when they take a curve too
• Approximately two-thirds of rollovers quickly Other in-cab technologies can
occur in daylight automatically slow the vehicle around curves
• 93 percent of rollovers occur on dry roads and warn drivers of upcoming sharp curves
Because fleet managers and dispatchers
Attentive Driving Is the Best Prevention have the most day-to-day influence over
About 78 percent of rollovers involve a driver’s behavior, it’s important that they
some kind of driver error, and more than 90 understand factors impacting rollovers They
percent of the time the rollover is preceded can remind drivers of the importance of being
by dangerous behaviors such as inattention rested and alert, letting them know that the
or drowsiness Running off the road due carrier cares about their safety
to inattention is the leading cause of
serious crashes Drowsiness and inattention Additional Resources
together contribute to one-in-five cargo tank Watch the Cargo Tank Truck Rollover
rollovers You can help manage these risks Prevention video and find other helpful
by implementing policies that limit in-cab resources at www fmcsa dot gov/
distractions and encouraging drivers to be rolloverprevention ■
well-rested for their shifts Article courtesy of the Risk Improvement Department,
Other factors related to driver behavior and EMC Insurance Companies, Des Moines, Iowa. For more
vehicle condition include: information, go to www.emcins.com and select Loss
Control.
9 Alabama Propane Gas Association | September / October 2018
