Lessons Learned:
Vehicle Accident Analysis - How Preventive Steps Can Reduce Risks

By Frederick C. Clark, ARM
Vice President, Transportation Services

It was routine practice for the drivers of “We Haul” Trucking to drop their trailers in the en-route yard for other drivers to pick up later. Typically, the drivers approached the yard from the east and pulled into a stone berm located across the street from the yard’s back (or north) fence.

One night Melvin was following this normal procedure, but just as he was backing across the street, Joe Pub (returning home after Monday night football) struck the side of Melvin’s trailer. Joe Pub was severely injured.

The accident investigation revealed the following: Drivers had used the en-route yard “swap” procedure for over a year. They had not reported any problems with the procedure. Usually, there were only two or three trailers parked in the yard – never more than four. The section of roadway the drivers used had no auxiliary lighting, but all the lights on Melvin’s trailer were operational at the time of the accident. It was unlikely that Joe Pub was exceeding the speed limit when he struck Melvin’s trailer. Though Joe had been drinking, his blood alcohol level was below the legal level.

How could “We Haul” and their driver have prevented this accident? Trailers that are used for a good deal of backing and maneuvering in their operations would benefit from improved side visibility. This can be accomplished with permanent lights or with temporary portable lanterns that the driver can place before crossing the roadway. For emergency or unusual situations, the tractor trailer unit should be equipped with auxiliary warning devices. These can include triangles, flares or flags. If Melvin had used warning devices. These can include triangles, flares or flags. If Melvin had used warning devices, vehicles approaching from east or west would have seen him. Cones placed in the roadway provide a similar warning to drivers. Using his tractor horn also would have alerted drivers to potential dangers.

Most importantly, driver feedback and/or management visits to the yard would have revealed that it wasn’t necessary to back across the highway to gain access to the yard. A “route guide” should have directed drivers to circle the black and approach the yard gate from the west. That way, the tractor trailer could have pulled directly into the yard and “dropped” the trailer against the east fence.

Frederick Clark has a BS degree in Chemistry and over 30 years of experience in the safety, health and environmental field. He has gained expertise in many aspects of personal and fleet safety and loss control management. He serves the fleet safety needs and distribution-related needs of clients by providing training, assessments, risk analyses, and other loss prevention programs.

XL Environmental • Risk Control Division • 520 Eagleview Boulevard, PO Box 636, Exton, PA 19341 • Phone: 800-327-1414 • Fax: 610-458-7285 • xlenvironmental.com

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