Electronic Stability Control and its Effect on Heavy Truck Crashes

The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) estimates that Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems on tractor-trailer trucks prevent 4,659 crashes, 5,909 injuries, and 126 heavy truck crash deaths each year. Our Houston 18-wheeler accident attorneys point out that heavy trucks are particularly susceptible to loss of vehicle control and resulting crashes and rollovers on curves, during lateral direction shifts such as lane changes, and on turns and ramps. In fact, the chance of a heavy truck crash occurring on a curve is 4.7 times greater than on a straight road. So the issues of electronic stability control and its effect on heavy truck crashes are of key importance to road safety.

Because of the high toll in lives, injuries, property damage and productivity loss caused each year by wrecks that occur when a truck becomes unstable, the government has mandated ESC systems on heavy vehicles. The Houston 18-wheeler accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC note that the U.S. NHTSA has also invested in research to try and find ways to mitigate the danger of trucks becoming unstable and causing the drivers to lose control of the vehicles.

In May, the NHTSA released a detailed report (Tractor Semitrailer Stability Objective Performance Test Research – Yaw Stability) based on a series of tests regarding tractor-trailer instability on the road. The research focused on truck stability when negotiating ramps, during lane changes, in obstacle avoidance maneuvers, when braking, and when negotiating curves. The tests looked at loaded and unloaded heavy truck conditions, different road surfaces, and at tractors alone and in combination with trailers to pinpoint the situations most likely to lead to a crash or a rollover.

Some of the NHTSA Research Findings Regarding Tractor-Trailer Instability

• It wasn’t necessary for a truck to be fully loaded for the driver to have difficulty controlling the massive vehicle. Crash data revealed that tractor-trailer trucks were experiencing loss of control crashes when loaded with as little as 5,000 pounds of cargo. And our Houston 18-wheeler accident attorneys emphasize that some types of cargos, like liquid tanker cargos, could be even more likely to unbalance a truck when only partly full. For example, the liquid in a partially empty tanker might slosh around heavily on turns or curves and unbalance the truck.

• The physical size and mass of a tractor-trailer truck make it less sensitive to quick lateral steering inputs and so slower to respond to lane change directions or obstacle avoidance maneuvers.

• More over-steering accidents, yaw instability events, and spinouts were observed on dry, high friction road surfaces than on lower friction surfaces.

• In situations where the truck’s lateral limits were approached gradually, a stability control system’s ability to exert control over the engine was sufficient to maintain the truck’s lateral stability. Where the lateral limits were approached more rapidly, our Houston 18-wheeler accident attorneys mention that the ESC system needed to exert control over both the engine and the truck’s foundational brakes to maintain lateral stability.

How ESC Systems Work to Help Prevent Heavy Truck Crashes and Resulting Injury

ESC systems are designed to mitigate over-steering or under-steering conditions that lead to loss of vehicle control and potential crashes and rollovers. When it detects over-steering or under-steering, the ESC system will selectively apply the brakes to generate a yawing moment that helps the driver maintain vehicle control. Heavy vehicle ESC systems also incorporate Roll Stability Control (RSC) that automatically reduces engine torque, decelerates the vehicle, and applies the foundational brakes. Our Houston 18-wheeler accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC remark that the RSC systems can also help reduce the rearward amplification of trailer oscillations in double and triple trailer combinations.

Learn More about the Unique Complexities of Tractor-Trailer Crashes and What to do if You’re Injured by One

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