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Sanitation Truck Slams into Side of 18-Wheeler Making U-Turn on FM 45
Posted on Aug 30, 2011
When Two Trucks Collide: City Sanitation Truck Slams into Side of 18-Wheeler Making Ill-Advised U-Turn on FM 45 in Brownwood, TX
A leased 18-wheeler with First Place Transportation, Inc. of Texarkana, AR caused a City sanitation truck to collide with it broadside when the big rig made what sounds like an illegal U-turn on FM 45 in Brownwood, TX. News reports say that the driver of the fully loaded City sanitation truck, Larry Roberts, said he had been traveling eastbound at about 40-45 mph behind the 18-wheeler when the empty big rig suddenly tried to make a U-turn in front of him.
Mr. Roberts' speed and full load prevented him from being able to stop his City sanitation truck as the 18-wheeler made its unexpected maneuver and the sanitation truck plowed into the front of the trailer. Larry Roberts, couldn't open his truck's door from the inside after the impact from the two-truck collision. But a passerby opened the cab's door from the outside, and Mr. Roberts managed to exit the vehicle after crawling over the dashboard.
Both Mr. Roberts and the City's solid waste manager, Tim Airheart, complained that trucks making U-turns when they miss the turnoff the turnoff to Kohler is a problem on that road. They maintain that, after missing the turn, the trucks should continue until they can turn around properly and safely. News reports mention no statements from the driver of the 18-wheeler. The reports state that authorities continue to investigate the two-truck collision.
Trucks making sudden and illegal U-turns on the roads present a common hazard that regularly leads to accidents. Tractor-trailers turned broadside to the road present particular dangers of underride accidents to cars. This two-truck collision on FM 45 in Brownwood, TX very fortunately seems to have damaged only the vehicles and left the occupants unharmed.
But this no-injury outcome presents more of an exception than the rule. When a truck driver negligently makes a U-turn from the middle of the road in front of a car, that car and its occupants often suffer massive damage and injuries from an underride event. Underride accidents of a smaller vehicle with a truck can be both catastrophic and fatal.
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