Truck smashes through guardrails
Sequence of events:
A truck driver was driving a silo truck on the highway when he swerved off the road to the left and smashed through the guardrails. The vehicle then toppled onto its left side and collided with an oncoming articulated truck in the lane of oncoming traffic. Its driver became trapped in the driver’s cab. At the site of the accident, the highway is almost level and straight; the road surface was wet at the time of the accident.
A truck driver was driving a silo truck on the highway when he swerved off the road to the left and smashed through the guardrails. The vehicle then toppled onto its left side and collided with an oncoming articulated truck in the lane of oncoming traffic. Its driver became trapped in the driver’s cab. At the site of the accident, the highway is almost level and straight; the road surface was wet at the time of the accident.
Vehicles:
Two articulated trucks
Two articulated trucks
Consequences/injuries:
A driver became trapped and died.
A driver became trapped and died.
Cause/problem:
An inspection of the vehicles conducted by the accident analyst found no technical defects that caused or contributed to the accident. The accident can therefore be attributed to inattention or human error.
An inspection of the vehicles conducted by the accident analyst found no technical defects that caused or contributed to the accident. The accident can therefore be attributed to inattention or human error.
Avoidance measures, mitigation of consequences/ strategy for road safety measures:
Under some circumstances, the accident could have been avoided or at least the severity of the consequences mitigated if the silo truck had been equipped with a driver assistance system (lane assist system/driver fatigue detection system). The accident would not have happened if the party responsible for the accident had been more attentive and focused while driving and had reacted sooner. With regard to infrastructure, the installation of stronger, more resistant guardrails on highways is to be considered.
Under some circumstances, the accident could have been avoided or at least the severity of the consequences mitigated if the silo truck had been equipped with a driver assistance system (lane assist system/driver fatigue detection system). The accident would not have happened if the party responsible for the accident had been more attentive and focused while driving and had reacted sooner. With regard to infrastructure, the installation of stronger, more resistant guardrails on highways is to be considered.