Truck Safety: 4 Ways To Prevent A Rollover Accident
Truck and trailer rollover crashes are deadly. More than half of the truck driver deaths that occur in an accident happen in a rollover accident. Several factors can cause a rollover accident, including excessive speed, an imbalanced load, driver inattention, and driver error. Fortunately, most rollover accidents are preventable. If you pay attention and make a few changes to your driving habits, you can greatly reduce your risk of being involved in a rollover crash. Following are four ways to prevent a rollover accident.
Check Your Load
A lot of rollover crashes occur on curves or exit ramps. Speed and misjudgment are factors in many of these accidents. However, a good portion of them are caused by loads that are too heavy, improperly secured, or unevenly balanced. Since a shifted load can roll your truck before you know what's going on, you have to take steps to ensure that your load is safe. Never overload your truck, and always make sure that your load is centered and distributed over your trailer axles. Also, make sure your load is secured before leaving the lot.
Do Not Speed
As mentioned, speed is a major contributor to rollover accidents. The simple solution to this is to not speed. You should also take care to drive slowly when you're in areas that you're not familiar with. If you've never used a particular exit ramp, slow it down a little until you know you're going to make the turn successfully.
Pay Attention
Many accidents are caused by distractions. When you're driving, avoid all distractions. Do not text or dig around in your briefcase for paperwork. Keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. All it takes to cause a rollover accident is for you to drop a tire off the side of the road and onto a soft shoulder.
Call a Tow Truck
Some accidents are caused when the driver drops off the road temporarily and onto a soft shoulder. When they try to bring the truck back onto the road at a high rate of speed, it tips. If you drop off the side of the road, slow down before bringing the truck back up onto the road. Stop if you have to. If the shoulder is soft and your truck is tipping, do not attempt to go further. Instead, call a tow truck company like River's Truck Center for advice or to pull you back up onto the road.
There are several ways to prevent rollover accidents. If you pay attention and drive cautiously, you will greatly reduce your chances of having this type of deadly crash.
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