Steel coil falls off semi, strikes 2 cars, kills 3
January 15, 2010 by Fred HosierPosted in: Bizarre Accident of the Week, Fatality, In this week's e-newsletter, Injuries, Latest News & Views, Transportation safety, What do you think?
Imagine this: You’re driving along a highway when suddenly a 44,000-pound coil of steel comes rolling toward you.
People in two cars near Orleans, IN, faced that terrifying sight, which ultimately proved fatal.
A semi-trailer hauling a load of steel coil was rounding a curve on a state highway when a 44,000-pound coil fell off the truck.
The coil struck a pickup truck, killing two people. Then it continued to roll and struck a car, killing another person. A child in the pickup was also hospitalized and is now listed in fair condition.
State police issued a ticket to the driver of the semi for having the coil improperly secured.
Should the owner of the truck face additional charges? Let us know what you think in the Comments Box below.
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Tags: coil fell off truck, improperly secured load, semi-trailer
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January 16th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
whoever secured that coil is responsible…if the driver did, than he is responsible. And each company should have a safety inspector, going about and checking and making sure it is secure.
January 19th, 2010 at 9:26 am
If the driver did not secure his own load, he still should be responsible for checking to make sure it was done correctly. As a driver, the truck and everything on it is his responsibility and he should not drive it if anything on it isn’t safe. The owner should be responsible if he condones taking shortcuts or knew the load wasn’t properly secured and allowed it on the road anyway.
January 19th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Doesnt matter who secured it. Driver is responsible to check the truck and load. There is a specific ticket that can be issued for nonsecured loads. The driver is required by federal law to stop and recheck the truck and load after the first xxx miles of the trip to double check the condition of the truck and load. He deserves to lose his CDL for life and get jail time for manslaughter, and be sued into the ground by the families of those killed. I have been a truck driver in the past and although no one likes big government putting rules on everything there is no doubt that this was preventable if the driver did his job. One of the reasons there is a requirement for CDLs is to make sure the drivers know their responsibilities and additional inspection requirements. Big trucks are not like cars. Professional commercial drivers know that. Smart drivers will always put additional straps or chains on just to be sure.
January 19th, 2010 at 10:27 am
I guess I have to play devil’s advocate, while the accident is a horrible tragedy, the article doesn’t say anything about how the load wasn’t secured. I have to say I know very little about the proper practices regarding this issue but it might have been something the was out of the drivers hands. The load could have been secured in an acceptable manner but maybe there was an equipment failure instead. Maybe a chain broke or there was a poor weld on a tie down point that caused a D-ring to tear off?
January 19th, 2010 at 11:04 am
I have always lived near the steel mills. This stuff happens quite often. The drivers know the rules and the potential hazards but many of them just ignore them. The driver is ultimately responsible for the load no matter who or how it was placed on the truck. A ticket? That’s it? So a disgruntled driver could do this on purpose knowing he would only be ticketed right? There has to be a tougher penalty. Permanent loss of license and jail time would be a great start.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
I am the health and safety manager for a big company. I also have my class 1 licence. There seems to be alot of truck drivers that have the licence to drive big trucks but have little or no knowledge of cargo securement! Its really sad that thosepeople have to suffer because there is not enough laws about cargo securement. He should be completely held responsible as well as the company who hires drivers with no clue!!!!!
January 19th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Taking this from an insurance liability standpoint, even if the driver is not at fault through negligent acts by the operation of the vehicle; he assumes any risk associated with its operation. The driver is still burdened with his share of the liability through the action causing the accident/indicent, based on the operation of the vehicle but the action of agreeing to tow the load. If faulty equipment is in play, then the owner and operator of the vehicle are jointly liable based on the percentages of fault/negligence. Then, the failure to either to safely secure or to verify the safety of the load is the fault of the jointly responsible parties. If there was no act of god, lightening didn’t strike the load; the vehicle was riding on a curve. If the mere act of turning caused the accident, then why was it improperly secured, why was it allowed to leave in that condition and how many people/companies were involved in the staging and set-up of the load. Many more people other than the driver and the owner maybe at fault and should also be held responsible/accountable.
January 19th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Sounds very similar to the incident that occurred here in San Diego a couple of weeks back: a large steel pipe fell from a semi-trailer over the side of an overpass onto the street below and passing cars. Talk about ruining an otherwise good day!
January 19th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Akula is right on. The driver is 100 % responsible for the proper securement of the load. While this is a tragedy, there are sufficient laws in affect to address this issue. The problem is, it is nearly impossible for roadside inspectors to look at every truck on the highway. We could pass a law that required 5 chains or load securement devices on each coil, but if the load slips by the roadside inspector, the problem may not be identified until it is too late.
As far as Rob C’s comment (playing devil’s advocate), equipment failure is also not an excuse. Drivers are required to inspect their vehicles and equipment, including securing equipment (chains, straps, binders, etc.) They are also required to inspect the securement points on the trailer (D rings, rails, frames, etc.)
Lastly, when pulling loaded flatbeds, a driver should use extreme caution. Training for my drivers always included the phrase “drive like you don’t have any brakes”. If a driver pretended he had no brakes and drove accordingly, flatbed loads would stay on unless some other outside influence interfered with the truck’s safety.
January 20th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
When I see one of those flatbed trucks with a steel coil on them I avoid them like the plague. Steel coils and similar types of cargo should not be allowed on a flatbed. There should be some type of encloser that will keep them from leaving the truck if their straps or chains fail.
Are there any calculations that show how much stress is on the straps when a truck is turning or has to make an emergency stop. Just looking at how they are secured I don’t think any of the loads are safe.