The rollover in question produced a massive cloud of flame, a displaced bridge pier, and multiple severe injuries near downtown Indianapolis in October 2009. The report blames an undertrained driver and a laden vehicle that offered little tolerance for his excessive evasive steering. The NTSB maintains that a stability system (such as the one on the truck pictured above) might have prevented the 2009 rollover.

The report argues that while a prevention program won’t stop all rollovers, it could help drivers and management find ways to work together to prevent them more effectively. The NTSB has no regulatory power, but its report contains 20 safety recommendations to other agencies, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and the Federal Highway Administration, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

You can see a synopsis of the NTSB report at www.ntsb.gov/news/events/2011/indianapolis_in/synopsis.html.

To help control the surging of liquid loads, tanks are equipped with baffles. Baffles are dividers inside the tanks with openings in their tops and bottoms that allow the liquid cargo in the tank to move, but without the surging that takes place in a wide-open or smooth bore tank. However, there are major problems with baffles: they control only the forward and back surging of liquid loads and do nothing to control the side-to-side surge that can accompany cornering in tanker trucks.

In addition, baffles are not allowed in tankers carrying food grade loads. Because they are too difficult to clean, baffles could lead to contamination of foods such as milk and are therefore illegal on trucks carrying such loads, leaving drivers of milk trucks and other liquid food grade loads at constant risk of dangerous surges.

In one recent example of a milk truck accident, on June 7, a semi-trailer carrying a load of milk flipped onto its side and skidded into the ditch while traveling on U.S. 68 in Greene County, Ohio. The Ohio State Highway Patrol is continuing its investigation into this truck accident and it is not known if surges played a part, but experience tells me it is likely. Luckily this accident occurred at an early morning hour on a nearly empty highway and no other vehicles were involved. The driver of the big rig received only minor injuries.

Unfortunately, as I’ve seen in the cases involving milk trucks that I’ve handled, such a lucky outcome is not always the case.

Drivers of trucks transporting milk and other food grade liquids need to be especially cautious when operating their vehicles. They must understand fully the safest way to negotiate turns; the challenges involved in starting and stopping a vehicle with a smooth bore tank; and the precautions necessary when driving such a vehicle into an intersection where a surge could carry the truck into the intersection despite the driver’s best efforts to stop.

I have handled several truck crashes on I-75, including a recent one in this area. I hope that everybody who was injured recovers quickly. I hope that if there are permanent injuries, the families of those injured find a law firm that understands the importance of moving quickly to preserve “black box” ECM data on the truck, speak with motor carrier enforcement officers to make sure skid and yaw marks were photographed and slack on the brakes checked, news footage obtained, and all other facts and evidence collected in order to prove fault and help the injured with medical bills and future needs.

Preliminary reports indicate that the accident occurred when either the SUV or the big rig, described as a hydraulic auger used to dig the holes needed for utility poles, ran a red light at the intersection of Stanley Avenue and Webster Street.

I have experience handling this type of crash. In some cases, the truck driver will refuse to be held accountable and make excuses that it was the fault of the other vehicle, and while it is not clear which vehicle failed to stop before entering the intersection, professional truck drivers are trained to expect the unexpected. They are expected to be aware of all hazards and potential hazards on the road and to always have an “out” or escape route in mind. It is essential for motor carrier inspectors, police, and lawyers with accident reconstructionists to determine exactly what occurred and whether the driver was fatigued, on a cell phone, or otherwise distracted. It is also important to determine if mechanical defects, such as improperly adjusted brakes, played a role, especially given the initial information on this accident, which indicates that failure to stop was involved.

If you or someone you know needs legal advice about an accident with a semi-truck or other commercial vehicle, contact our Ohio truck accident attorneys for a free consultation.

Truck Accident Summary
Day: Monday, September 28, 2009
Type of Accident: Fatality Truck Crash
Location: Dayton, Ohio

I have experience handling this type of crash. Sometimes, the truck driver will refuse to be held accountable and make excuses that it was the fault of the vehicle that stopped in front of him. However, professional truck drivers are trained to be aware of all hazards and potential hazards on the road and to always have an “out” or escape route in mind. It is essential for motor carrier inspectors, police, and lawyers with accident reconstructionists to determine exactly what occurred and whether the driver was fatigued, on a cell phone, or otherwise distracted. It is also important to determine if mechanical defects, such as improperly adjusted brakes, played a role.

If you or someone you know needs legal advice about an accident with a semi-truck or other commercial vehicle, contact our Ohio truck accident attorneys for a free consultation.

Truck Accident Summary
Day: Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Type of Accident: Fatality Truck Crash
Location: Miami County, Ohio