Lessons Learned:
Maintaining Vehicle Control: The Key To Preventing Rear End Vehicular Accidents

by William Richardson, Associate

Rear end vehicular accidents stir up concern, annoyance and aggravation. Reactions are not always in keeping with the damage incurred. However, our confidence in not having made a mistake depends upon whose “rear end” we are talking about.

It’s all too easy to relax when the trailer under ride bar is pushed forward. Explanations to dispatch seem routine — almost matter of fact. You hear the usual worried questions about delays and delivery commitments, but that silent pause of serious concern is absent — the pause before the hesitant question about damage and injury.

The lower level of concern is usually appropriate — at least by comparison to tractor front bumper damage. After all, how serious can it be if the trailer under ride bar is pushed forward? The unit could have rolled backward on a hill, but that would have been a slight movement at very low speed. The unit could have been backing into position and pushed over a bumper post, but again we are talking low speed and minimal damage. A fireplug could have bent the under ride bar, but it’s not likely since clients are usually wise enough to protect their fire plugs with bumper posts.

Of course rear contact could be high speed and high impact. A 20-mph closing speed creates a severe impact. The truck could have been improperly parked or gone into an emergency stop with a Camero following too close behind. Discretion in selecting a parking spot is one mark of an experienced driver and there are options available for creating space behind.

Vehicle Control
“Struck other vehicle from behind,” “Vehicle #1 struck vehicle #2 in rear,” “Company vehicle damages rear of other vehicle” are all unpleasant, unwelcome descriptions on an accident report. Unpleasant for the professional driver because each phrase reflects something lost. The one thing a professional driver strives to maintain is vehicle control. If a professional driver wants the vehicle to stop, it should stop; if a professional driver wants the vehicle to turn, it turns. Vehicle control means that the vehicle does exactly what the professional driver wants it to do.

Striking the rear of another vehicle means the trailing vehicle somehow was not under the complete control of the driver. The trailing vehicle’s driver for some reason couldn’t bring the vehicle to a controlled stop before it contacted the vehicle ahead. Rear contact even at relatively low speeds can be dramatic. Take the case of a tractor trailer returning to its terminal when, with less than a mile to go, it strikes the rear of a car. The car had stopped in the left lane to enter a fast food restaurant parking lot. Not much of an impact — just enough of a tap to jar the car’s driver, causing the driver to hit the accelerator instead of the brake petal. Lurching ahead, the car nosed through the restaurant’s kitchen wall. There were only minor personal injuries, but “lost business” claims build quickly in the fast-food world.

Although drivers lose or give up vehicle control through an almost endless number of circumstances, at least three problem areas come to mind.

Unwarranted Driver Trust
In cases of unwarranted driver trust, the less-than-professional-driver does things like run up into the tailpipe smoke of a 1972 VW bus. The trailing driver obviously trusts that the VW driver has maintained the mechanical integrity of the bus and is running on four good tires. The trailing driver actually thinks nothing is going to fall off the vehicle ahead, that its tires will continue to roll forward even with that visible side shimmy, and that the fog will stop billowing from its tailpipe. Last week I noted a hazmat tanker drafting a municipal waste dump truck — the tanker driver trusted way too much and no doubt had sinus problems.

The national news covers several cases a year where two or three dozen vehicles follow each other into a fog bank or a winter “white out.” They follow trusting that everyone in front will maintain the same relative position, speed and direction. These drivers trust too much because they give up control by not proceeding within a visible stopping distance.

LaLa Land
You enter LaLa Land slowly, almost imperceptibly. Causes range from fatigue or worry to the hum of the road or a beautiful sunset. In any case, you lose focus and fail to receive subtle signals from the road ahead. Your mind wanders, and active, alert control slips away.

Suddenly, things appear or disappear, move when they shouldn’t and don’t move when they should. The signals to and from LaLa Land are too slow, too faint and too late! Professional drivers are excellent planners who structure their activities and schedule to keep the needed edge of alertness and anticipation.

The Cut Off
Many SUVs, muscle cars and Daddy’s borrowed station wagon seem to need to duck in front of a truck. It is obviously something in the nature of cars or their drivers. The temptation to duck in front appears almost too strong to resist. Stop-and-go traffic, work zones, toll booths and, worst of all, an approaching exit ramp brings the Cut-Off fever to a frenzied peak. Fortunately, the professional driver has tools, resources and antidotes for this fevered activity. The primary tool is anticipation with a pinch of road savvy and liberal use of rear view mirrors to read traffic approaching from behind. Recently a professional driver commented as we cruised along an interstate, “Watch for a red SUV to cut us off in about 30 seconds.” Give or take a few seconds, the red SUV came around and ducked in front. The professional at the wheel had already observed and anticipated by backing off the accelerator. If you observe it, you can avoid it!

XL Environmental Can Help
Rear end collisions are a major category in the Fleet Safety statistics of trucking fleets across the country. It’s a category where essentially every entry is a debit to company cash flow. The trailing driver either confirms a lack of professionalism or tarnishes an otherwise exemplary reputation. The XL Environmental Risk Control Division can help your company address rear end collisions and other issues through training and accident prevention. For more information, call 800-327-1414.

Bill Richardson has over 25 years of experience in the fields of safety, process/project engineering, plant operations, environmental compliance, product quality assurance and HAZMAT transportation. He has assisted clients with full safety program development as well as short-term solutions. Bill holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a Certified Safety Professional.

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

©2004, XL Environmental. All rights reserved.