A Guide for Reducing Collisions Involving Heavy Trucks (2004) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Pages 8-20
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 8... ...
III-1 SECTION III Type of Problem Being Addressed General Description of the Problem Exhibit III-1 shows that crashes involving medium and heavy trucks predominately do not involve serious injury except for motorcycles and special vehicles, such as farm equipment on the road. Although the majority of large-truck crashes do not involve injury, the probability of a fatality is greater in large-truck crashes; for example, in 2001, 1.1 percent of large-truck crashes resulted in a fatality, versus 0.6 percent of the crashes involving all vehicles (FMCSA, 2003a; NHTSA, 2002)
|
From page 9... ...
SECTION III -- TYPE OF PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED III-2 The trend of heavy-truck fatalities is shown in Exhibit III-2 (FARS, 2002)
|
From page 10... ...
SECTION III -- TYPE OF PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED In a multidimensional comparison of the quantitative crash experiences of various vehicle types, Wang et al.
|
From page 11... ...
pounds. One analysis of trucks in fatal crashes found that almost half weighed more than 60,000 pounds at the time of the crash (FMCSA, 2000a)
|
From page 12... ...
SECTION III -- TYPE OF PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED Heavy-truck crashes differ from crashes in general in several important ways. As noted above, major problems are created by the actions of other drivers, who are often not aware of the special characteristics of heavy trucks.
|
From page 13... ...
SECTION III -- TYPE OF PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED III-6 considerable sway in the last trailer (just as the last person in "crack the whip" experiences the greatest forces)
|
From page 14... ...
SECTION III -- TYPE OF PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED fatal crashes tested for blood alcohol content (BAC) at or above 0.08, while at least 25 percent of drivers of other vehicles tested at the same levels (NHTSA, 2003)
|
From page 15... ...
usage may be more readily erroneously reported for the truck driver. Yet independent investigation based on vehicle points of contact and other physical evidence at the scene of the crash, as well as witness reports, verifies that the truck driver is less likely to have made the critical driver error in such crashes (Craft and Blower, 2003b; Blower, 1999)
|
From page 16... ...
SECTION III -- TYPE OF PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED factor in the crash. In opposite-direction crashes, in which one vehicle encroached into the other vehicle's right-of-way, almost half of the encroaching trucks (46.7 percent)
|
From page 17... ...
SECTION III -- TYPE OF PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED III-10 EXHIBIT III-7 Heavy-Truck Fatal Crashes by Functional Class EXHIBIT III-8 Number of Travel Lanes for Fatal Crashes Involving Trucks Rural Minor Collector 3% Rural Major Collector 11% Rural Local Road or Street 4% Urban Other Principal Arterial 11% Rural Principal Arterial-Other 20% Rural Minor Arterial 14% Urban Principal Arterial-Other Freeways or Expressways 3% Urban Principal Arterial-Interstate 9% Rural Principal Arterial-Interstate 14% Urban Local Road or Street 4% Urban Collector 2% Urban Minor Arterial 5% Source: FARS 2002 Two lanes 76% Three lanes 9% Four or more lanes 15% Source: FARS 2002
|
From page 18... ...
SECTION III -- TYPE OF PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED III-11 EXHIBIT III-9 Heavy-Truck Fatal Crashes: Manner of Collision for Two- and Multiple-Lane Roads No t C olli sio n w ith Mo tor Ve hic les Fro nttoRe ar Rig ht A ngl e Fro nttoFro nt Fro nttoSid e, O ppo site Two lanes Four or more lanes 24% 24% 19% 7% 12% 22% 14% 23% 18% 13% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% % o f C ra s he s Note: percents are for a given number of lanesSource: FARS 2002 0 50 100 150 200 250 6 a m to 9 a m 9 a m to No on No on to 3 p m 3 p m to 6 p m 6 p m to 9 p m 9 p m to Mi dn igh t Mi dn igh t to 3 a m 3 a m to 6 a m Period of the Day Nu m be r o f V eh ic le Ve hi cl e Cr as he s in th e Pe rio d Front-to-Rear (includes Rear-End) Front-to-Front (includes Head-On)
|
From page 19... ...
Is nighttime driving more risky for trucks than day driving? An FMCSA-sponsored study by Hendrix (2002)
|
From page 20... ...
SECTION III -- TYPE OF PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED Exhibit III-13 depicts the manner of collision of fatal large-truck crashes as they relate to the location along the road. Only those collision types with significant frequency are shown.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.