Seven Reasons for Truck Rollover Accidents
Unfortunately, of all the truck accident rollovers that occur on highways and byways across the country, almost all of them are preventable. But don’t think these types of accidents are always the fault of the truck driver as the behaviors of other drivers on the road and defective parts often play a part in rollover crashes.
Researchers published a study in the journal Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine titled “Analysis of Large Truck Rollover Crashes,” in which they disseminated data for 239 truck rollover crashes to determine contributing crash factors. The study broke these causes into seven categories including:
Speed
Speed is the biggest contributing factor to rollover truck crashes
- Speeding on curves, typically off- and on-ramp curves, accounted for 77 rollover crashes
- Misjudging how fast a curve should be entered
- Driver is in a hurry
- Some behavior triggers anger and overly-aggressive response in truck drivers
- Oversight (not seeing) of speed limit signs
- Vehicle stability compromised because loads were too heavy, not properly secured, or mounted too high
- Condition of brakes were poor, and driver was aware of brake problem
- Road that had slippery surfaces and long downgrades
- Approaching an intersection too fast, encountering a surprise intersection, or making a turn at the last minutes because they might have missed it
- Truck driver unable to stop in time for stopped vehicles or slowed traffic
- Tires were too worn for speed traveled
- Drivers having limited sight distance such as when approaching the top of a hill
Attention
- Lack of attention on what was going on in front of the truck
- Falling asleep behind the wheel
- Distracted driving
Control
- Poor steering control
- Steering overcorrection
- Tailgating or inadequate following distance
- Improper maneuvering
- Failing to downshift on downgrade with known brake issues
- Locking the brakes up
Search
- Failing to search the side when making a lane change or crossing at an intersection
- Failing to look forward far enough ahead to be aware of a problem
Pre-operation (before truck gets on road)
- Load needed to be secured better
- Driver lost consciousness due to physical ailment or medication used to treat physical ailment
Other drivers
- Truck struck by another vehicle
- Accident caused by another vehicle and truck driver rolled the truck trying to avoid collision
Vehicle condition
- Tire Failure
- The way the truck was loaded
- Sudden brake failure on long downgrade
- Part failures
The high center of gravity of a truck makes it more likely to tip when something goes wrong, and sometimes this includes tipping over onto another vehicle. If you are a truck driver who was hurt when your truck rolled over because of a negligent driver or defective vehicle part, or if you were injured when a truck rolled over on your vehicle or caused a collision, contact us to learn if you are eligible for compensation for your injuries and losses.