Rollover accidents can lead to severe injuries and even fatalities, especially when they involve a large commercial vehicle like a semi-truck. Understanding the causes of these accidents can help drivers protect themselves on the road.
What causes rollover accidents?
A variety of factors make semi-trucks susceptible to these accidents, including both vehicle-specific issues and vulnerability to environmental challenges. Common factors in rollover accidents include:
- High center of gravity: Semi-trucks, especially when fully loaded, have a high center of gravity. This increases their susceptibility to tipping over during maneuvers that a regular passenger car could handle more easily, such as tighter curves, sharp turns or sudden swerves.
- Improper loading: The way a truck is loaded can significantly impact its stability. An unevenly distributed load, or one that is too heavy, can shift the truck’s center of gravity and increase the risk of a rollover, particularly when the truck is turning or if it needs to swerve to avoid an obstacle.
- Speeding: Taking curves at an inappropriate speed is a common cause of rollovers. The centrifugal force generated by a high-speed turn can overwhelm the truck’s ability to stay upright, especially if the truck’s center of gravity is compromised by load or design.
- Driver error: Errors such as misjudging the sharpness of a turn, overcorrecting, or failing to adjust speed for road conditions are significant factors in rollover accidents. Fatigue, distraction, and lack of experience with specific truck configurations can exacerbate these errors.
- Road conditions: Slippery roads, uneven road surfaces and unexpected obstacles can all lead to situations where a driver might lose control, leading to a rollover. Road design, including tight curves and poorly designed ramps, can also contribute to these types of accidents.
- Vehicle condition: Poor maintenance of the truck, especially failure to properly maintain brakes and tires, can also lead to rollovers. For example, worn tires may not provide sufficient grip to navigate turns safely at normal speeds.
- Weather: High winds can increase the risk of a rollover. Even an empty trailer can be problematic because it’s lighter and more susceptible to the effects of wind.
When these issues impact a large truck, they often lead to serious accidents. According to safety data, a semi-truck overturning is the first harmful event in 4 percent of all fatal crashes involving large trucks.
Staying aware of the risk of a rollover can help drivers protect themselves on the roadway. They can also help people injured in truck accidents and their loved ones identify the cause of a collision and hold the correct parties responsible.