Projects/Heavy Vehicle Research Center

H01 Heavy Truck Rollover

completed

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Heavy truck rollover crashes are not frequent occurrences. They represent approximately three percent of all crashes for combination trucks. Although this percentage is low, fatalities associated with heavy truck rollovers are inordinately high. Truck rollover is a factor in about 13 percent of all fatal crashes of combination trucks.

The research conducted in this project initiated a long-term focus on truck rollover efforts under the National Transportation Research Center, Inc.  The ultimate goal is to improve the roll stability of heavy trucks to reduce fatalities and injuries. Additionally, avoidance of truck rollover crashes will help stabilize the profit margins of the trucking industry.

The project contributed significantly to the understanding of the roll stability and roll characteristics of heavy trucks. The data and analyses suggest that real and significant improvements in roll stability for tractor-trailers are indeed possible via tire and suspension improvements. The data in this project did not lend itself to statistical testing, but the preponderance of evidence and the associated data trends suggest that the performance of new-generation single tires consistently resulted in improved roll stability over the performance of standard dual tires. When the wider-slider suspension was added, performance improved even more.

The research was conducted within a public-private partnership under the direction of NTRCI for the U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration as a collaborative effort by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Dana Corporation, Michelin Americas Research and Development Corporation, and Clemson University.