Flippin' eck love... I lend you the truck and look what happens! No don't worry you're not witnessing a new Biglorryblog 'domestic' rather a photo that accompanies the latest press release from Volvo on the truck manufacturer's Accident Research Team which has been collecting data on Volvo truck accidents for over four decades, feeding its finding back to the Swedish maker's designers and engineers in order to come up with a safer truck not just for the driver but other road users too.....And after 40 years of accident investigations the team has come up with some interesting facts (some well-known, others less obvious) for example:
The accident team's archives contain both well-known and less well-known facts such as:
- Only 10-15% of all those killed or seriously injured in truck accidents are actually in the truck.
- Between 55-65% are in cars while between 20-30% are unprotected road users.
- In a frontal impact between a truck and a car, in nine out of ten cases it's the car driver who has strayed onto the wrong side of the road.
- Single-vehicle accidents, in which the truck rolls over or drives off the road, account for half of all fatalities or serious injuries in truck-related accidents.
- And 20% of all single-vehicle truck accidents are caused by driver drowsiness.
Now click through here to find out more...
The Accident Research Team's material also includes data about many accidents that could probably have been avoided through increased interaction between the truck driver and vulnerable road users, such as cyclists and pedestrians. As Anna: "We have considerable responsibility for giving truck drivers the best possible all-round visibility. This is being tackled with better mirrors and cameras. However, it is also important that other road users learn to appreciate how hard it is for truck drivers to see them from their high, screened-off position."
A key part of the investigation process is talking to the truck drivers to find out how they perceived the accident and the situation immediately preceding it. Also, because the drivers know the investigation is not linked to the official police investigation, they are often more candid in co-operating with the Research Team!
"The research initially focused on the truck's occupants. Nowadays we work from an overall perspective that includes everyone involved in the accidents we document," Anna concludes.
Well all power to ART says BLB, if it makes for safer roads here's to the next 40 years!
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