Rollover truck accidents are often preventable, but they still happen. There are various reasons for this, including the dimensions of trucks, the driver’s competence and actions, and factors affecting the road and the driver’s ability to drive safely on it. As with other truck accidents, rollover accidents are devastating due to the vehicle’s weight. The main difference between rollover accidents and other truck accidents is that rollover accidents are much more dangerous.
In this article, we examine how and why rollover truck accidents happen and the types of injuries they can cause.
How They Happen: The Science Behind Truck Rollover Accidents
A truck rollover accident happens when a truck overturns and ends up lying on its side. In some cases, it can roll several times, but that is not common due to the weight of a typical truck. These accidents happen under specific circumstances related to a truck’s speed, stability, and maneuverability. Its stability depends on its center of gravity, the point where the truck’s mass is concentrated, and its width, measured as the distance between the left and right tires.
If a perpendicular line from the center of gravity to the ground falls outside its width, the vehicle may roll over. A truck’s center of gravity presents several problems. First, it is difficult to find because of the odd shape of the vehicle. Second, different types of trucks have different centers of gravity due to how their weight is distributed. Lastly, the load inside the truck and how it is distributed affect the center of gravity.
Trucks that have a high center of gravity and a narrow wheelbase are more likely to be involved in rollover accidents due to how easy it is for the center of gravity to fall outside their width with a small degree of tilt.
How Instability Leads to Truck Rollover Accidents
After understanding what determines a truck’s stability, let’s examine how rollover accidents happen. As the vehicle is loaded, its center of gravity rises. A loaded semi-truck will have a higher center of gravity because it is much taller, and this higher center of gravity will make it unstable. If a driver steers or goes around a corner too quickly, or misjudges the sharpness of a corner, the vehicle will roll to the side, causing the center of gravity to fall outside its width, leading to an accident.
Instability also affects maneuverability under bad weather conditions. It is already difficult enough to control a typical vehicle on a slick road; imagine trying to maneuver an 80,000-pound truck on wet or icy roads. The more unstable it is under these conditions, the higher the risk of a truck rollover accident.
There are also situations where its instability can cause it to skid, thereby leading to a rollover accident. If you are on a highway and notice a truck moving too fast, swerving, or approaching a curve too fast, it is best to keep your distance or pass them as quickly as possible to avoid an accident. If the accident happens anyway, you may be entitled to compensation, especially if the driver’s actions led to a dangerous situation.
Causes of Truck Rollover Accidents
We now understand how rollover accidents happen, but why do they happen?
Speeding
Speeding remains one of the most common reasons for auto accidents, and it is a factor in truck rollover accidents too. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has found that about a third of all truck rollover accidents are attributed to speed.
Speeding leads to rollover accidents when drivers:
- Enter and go around curves too fast.
- Ignore warnings about speed.
- Do not take the truck’s stability, additional height, and additional weight into account when judging speed.
- Go through sharp turns too fast.
- Drive too fast when their trucks have faulty brakes.
- Do not adjust their speed according to traffic, road, and weather conditions.
Inattentive or Distracted Driving
Inattentive and distracted driving are related, but they are not the same. Inattentiveness refers to a lack of focus or attention. It happens when truck drivers are unable to maintain attention which causes distracted driving, a tendency to overlook important details, and an increased chance of making careless mistakes.
Distracted driving involves the driver being sidetracked or diverted from driving due to external or internal stimuli and their actions. For example, a driver can be distracted because they are thinking of something other than driving or are switching radio stations.
Both inattentive and distracted driving causes drivers to shift attention away from the primary task of driving, thereby increasing the risk of truck accidents, including rollover accidents.
Loss of Control
Loss of control is the driver’s fault in most cases. Loss of control due to the driver is often a result of inexperience and poor driving skills. The driver may:
- Follow other cars and trucks too closely, making them veer if the vehicle in front of them stops or tries to avoid an obstacle.
- Not knowing how to steer a large truck which leads to understeering and oversteering.
- React poorly to what is happening on the road as well as the hazards they encounter.
- Brake improperly or where they are not supposed to, leading to skidding, which can lead to a rollover accident.
Improper Loading
We have talked about how weight and load distribution lead to rollover accidents, especially if the truck shifts or swerves rapidly. What we have not mentioned is how securing the load is related to a rollover truck accident. All loads must be secured properly to ensure they do not shift inside the truck when in transit. If they do, they shift the center of gravity causing the vehicle to be unstable. Even though many drivers trust the load and do not check how secure their load is, it is a good idea to do a quick inspection to ensure everything is fine before setting off.
Truck rollover accidents happen because of several reasons, some related to the truck, some with the road, and many with the driver. Trucks are more likely to get into rollover accidents due to their instability, maneuverability, and how they are driven. Truck rollover accidents are very destructive mainly due to the vehicle’s weight and speed and they can cause serious injuries and fatalities depending on how severe they are.
If you have been injured in such accidents, and the driver was responsible, you might be entitled to compensation. We can help you start the process of getting compensated with a free consultation. You can talk to our lawyers by visiting our Los Angeles, Texas, Nevada, and California offices or contact us using the details on our website today.
