Could This Happen To You?
A combination of excessive speed, poor driver judgment and partial ABS killed a motorist.
Jim Winsor
Executive Editor
I recently got a call concerning a column I wrote five years ago about a fatal tractor-trailer accident where ABS (anti-lock brake system) was involved. Looking up the article, I helped the caller as best I could. Turns out one of his rigs was involved in a crash where ABS might have played a role.
As you know, all new vehicles must have ABS - trucks, tractors, buses and trailers. The safety issue I am revisiting this month might pertain to your fleet if you still operate air-braked vehicles from the '90s and earlier, some with ABS, some without.
The $1-million question: Do you know which units are pre-ABS? For example, do you have any older trailers in the fleet (1997 and earlier) that don't have ABS? Are these pulled by newer tractors with ABS?
What have you told your drivers about driving a mixed rig when only half of it has anti-lock brakes? The general rule with ABS is to apply steady braking pressure and let electronics "pump" the brakes to avoid wheel lock-up. But should drivers brake differently when a trailer doesn't have ABS? Big question.
What follows is a condensed version of the fatal accident I wrote about in February 2000. The question is, what advice to give drivers when they're pulling non-ABS trailers with an ABS tractor. I'm writing this as if this accident happened yesterday.
Trucker Joe (not his real name) is cruising along a winding two-lane state highway in his company's tractor-trailer. He only has a couple of pallets of freight and they're in the nose of the trailer. It's been raining most of the day and the asphalt is wet.
Joe is steaming right along - 55 or better. He crests a long grade and immediately starts down the other side. He doesn't see two signs at the crest, one reading "Steep Grade, Trucks Gear Down," and the other, "25 mph Speed Limit."
Joe gets off the throttle but he doesn't gear down. He's doing at least 55 mph. His rig quickly picks up speed. Peering out through his wipers, Joe suddenly realizes the hill is getting steeper and there's a sharp curve ahead. He jumps hard on the brake treadle and, as expected, his rig starts to slow down. Maybe he's down to 50 - he doesn't know - and the curve is now right in his face. Too late to gear down and it isn't on his mind anyway.
Harvey Homeowner and his family are coming up the hill on their way home. He knows the road well and he's taking it easy around the sharp curves. All of a sudden he sees this giant semi coming right at him. Harvey swerves hard right into the weeds. The trailer is still coming at him.
The next thing he knows he's in the hospital. He doesn't yet know his son is dead. The police find his car opened up like a sardine can down its left side. The rest we best not describe. The police find the trucker and his 18-wheeler pulled over about a half mile down the road. When questioned, Trucker Joe is unaware he had hit anything. He says he was so busy trying to slow down that he never had time to look in his mirrors. A later inspection shows slight damage to the trailer bumper (which is what ripped open the car) and a fresh dent behind the driver's door indicating the likelihood of the trailer having swung around so violently it hit the cab.
So, what caused the accident? Obviously the truck driver did. But what else? He was driving a tractor with ABS and pulling a trailer without it. When Joe braked heavily, the tractor ABS worked as it should. Joe wasn't even aware that ABS probably saved his butt. But what about the trailer? Without ABS and with a slick wet road and little weight in the trailer, Joe unknowingly locked up the trailer tandem with his hard braking, and the semi swept across the two-lane road like a giant wiper blade. Poor Harvey didn't have a chance.
While driver error caused the accident (Joe was charged with vehicular homicide), had there been ABS on the trailer, the brakes wouldn't have locked up, leading to trailer swing, and Harvey's son would still be alive.
My question is this: What do you tell drivers operating mixed equipment about ABS and braking? Should you legally or morally tell them anything about potential brake lock-up? What about liability issues? Those questions I can't answer.
