Truck Driver Failed To Slow For Traffic In Collision

ntsb.gov, Jan 29, 2007

In a report adopted today, the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the driver of a Freightliner tractor-trailer failed to slow for traffic as he approached the queue waiting at the Hampshire-Marengo toll plaza on Interstate 90 in Illinois. The tractor-trailer, moving at about fifty miles per hour, struck the rear of a twenty-five passenger specialty bus operated by Leisure Pursuit Charters, which traveled forward striking a Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck and pushed it into the rear of a Ford tractor-trailer. Eight passengers on the specialty bus were killed in the accident. The Board also cited, as a contributing cause, the intermittent traffic backup created by vehicles stopping for the toll plaza.

"It's terrible to see an accident like this when we have the technology to prevent it," said NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. "It's time to put those technologies to work - saving lives."

The Board determined that the truck driver did not notice traffic slowing ahead of him and had the truck been equipped with a collision warning system, the technology might have prevented the accident. As a result the Board reiterated previous recommendations issued in 2001 calling for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to create standards for collision warning systems and require their installation on all newly manufactured commercial vehicles.

Cited as a contributing factor in the collision, the Board noted that traditional toll plazas, such as the Hampshire Marengo plaza interrupt the flow of high-speed traffic and tend to increase the incidence of rear-end collisions. The Board noted that the conversion to electronic toll plazas should reduce such hazards and recommended that the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the International Bridge, Tunnel, and Turnpike Association cooperate to develop guidelines on toll plaza design providing information on current tolling practices, electronic toll collection strategies, and other equipment that will eliminate queuing and improve toll road safety. Read more at ntsb.gov