A report of a driver’s death, caused by a rollover, brings forward the importance to understand what is required to avoid this problem.
Rollovers have become the number one mistake that will take a driver’s life!
This is a totally preventable situation. Knowledgeable drivers will never allow a mistake to occur when they know the outcome can result in their death.
When we all realize that the equipment we are driving has a high center of gravity, due to its size, plus the added weight and height of the load being carried in the trailer, it is not surprising that vehicle rollovers occur.
When entering a corner or turn, you need to break our momentum BEFORE you execute the turn! If your speed is not reduced prior to beginning the turn, it doesn’t make much sense to slow down into the turn. This does not break the momentum of your vehicle or cargo – it only delays when a problem will occur.
Instruct your students and drivers to get their foot on the brake early. When leaving a highway, they will notice a speed sign for the deceleration lane and they should break their momentum prior to that sign, so that the entering of the turn causes no problems.
A rollover is the largest loss you will see in a single vehicle accident. Not only is the driver’s well-being or even life at risk, but there is the chance that there will be a total loss of the vehicle and its cargo. For instance, there was a story of a US company using a crane to lift the entire tractor-trailer at a cost of $56,000. The write-off of the cab, trailer and its contents was a total loss of $300,000 US.
We can avert these disasters simply by managing the momentum and speed of our vehicles entering and driving through corners and turns.
Remember our catchphrase for the year 2024: training, training, training.
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