Experienced truckers have war stories of driving on iced roadways, moving at slow speeds (e.g., 20 mph) without touching their brakes, doing things like trying to keep their right tires on the gravel shoulder just to try and gain some kind of traction.
Driving on ice is one the greatest dangers that can face even the most experienced commercial truck driver.
From the Illinois Department of Transportation Commercial Driving License Study Guide, page 34, comes the following explanation and instruction to truck drivers:
It will take longer to stop and be harder to turn without skidding when the road is slippery…. On packed snow, reduce speed by half or more. If the surface is icy, reduce speed to a crawl and stop driving as soon as you can safely do so.
Warning Signs of Ice on the Road
Truck drivers are trained to be alert to current and impending weather conditions on their route. Not only do they depend upon dispatchers to warn them of weather hazards, but each trucker should be personally aware of the dangerous circumstances they are facing on the job.
As the IDOT Guide explains, there are known signs of icy road conditions that the individual driver should recognize such as:
- Shaded Areas. Shady parts of the road will remain icy and slippery long after open areas have melted.
- Bridges. When the temperature drops, bridges will freeze before the road will. Be especially careful when the temperature is close to 32 F.
- Melting Ice. Slight melting will make ice wet. Wet ice is much more slippery than ice that is not wet.
- Black Ice. Black ice is a thin layer that is clear enough that you can see the road underneath it. It makes the road look wet. Any time the temperature is below freezing and the road looks wet, watch out for black ice.
- Vehicle Icing. An easy way to check for ice is to open the window and feel the front of the mirror, mirror support or antenna. If there is ice on these, the road surface is probably starting to ice up.
Driving on Ice and the Danger of Heavy Truck Weight
Semi-trucks are heavy. Even an empty trailer adds thousands of pounds in weight to the vehicle that the truck driver has to operate.
Different commercial trucks carry different loads with different weight capacities. In our part of the country, this can range from a single-unit truck with two axles and a maximum weight of 40,000 lbs. to a triple driving along the Indiana Toll Road with seven axles and a maximum weight of 131,000 lbs. or more. See, Commercial Truck and Bus Safety, Highway/Heavy Vehicle Interaction, published by the Transportation Research Board of the American Academes and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), page 4, and Summary of Indiana Truck Weight Limits by the Federal Highway Administration.
For more, read: 97,000 Lbs. – The New Big Rig Weight Limit? Congress May UP Semi Truck Max Weight.
As professional drivers, truckers are not timid when it comes to driving in bad weather. They understand the impact of driving a heavy vehicle in rain, snow, ice, and sleet. These drivers know how fast – or how slow – they need to go in order to keep moving forward to get their job done. Snow alone on an interstate, for instance, may provide sufficient traction for a heavy load so the truck can proceed at a higher speed than in icy conditions or a snowstorm.
Nevertheless, the extreme weight of these motor vehicles is a tremendous factor in any icy road condition truck accident. It takes these rigs much longer to come to a stop because of their weight, for instance, no matter the weather conditions. Adding slippery ice to the situation, and the risk of the driver losing control of the rig to rollover or jackknife increases exponentially.
Bobtailing Dangers When Driving on Ice
It’s also wrong to assume that a trucker who is driving his truck without a trailer on the roads is in a safer position since there is no weight of the trailer to consider. When a truck driver is driving along without a trailer, it is usually because he or she is en route to pick up a trailer after dropping another one off at its destination. Occasionally, a trucker will “bobtail” or “deadhead” (drive without a trailer) to run personal errands, as well.
While the bobtailing driver is not dealing with extreme weight loads since he has no cargo or freight, there are other dangers when bobtailing on a slick and icy road. Braking is very difficult in these situations because the vehicle is made to pull large loads. Bobtailing drivers work with lots of weight distributed on their front axles but much less weight on the empty rear wheels. Hit the brakes in this situation on an icy stretch and there is a high risk of losing control and crashing.
In the event of an accident, victims in an icy road truck crash will have to face the additional consideration of whether or not the insurance policy covering the commercial truck includes coverage for bobtailing. Insurance companies offer “bobtail liability insurance coverage” for an additional premium to the standard liability policy.
Victims of Fatal Truck Crash on Icy Road in Indiana or Illinois
In winter weather conditions, fatal accidents on our roads and highways will always provide insurance carriers and trucking companies with a ready explanation for the tragedy that they argue avoids any liability on their part for the incident.
However, an investigation of a fatal truck crash during ice and snow may reveal legal liability does exist under the state laws of Indiana or Illinois that provide for financial damages to be awarded to the icy road truck crash victim and his or her loved ones.
Bad weather with snow and ice does not automatically provide a defense to being held legally liable in a fatal truck crash.
In our next post, we will discuss the regulations that require a truck driver to operate their semi-trucks, big rigs, 18-wheelers, and tractor-trailers safely in winter weather and what happens when the trucker is bullied, pressured, or coerced to keep driving despite icy road conditions by a dispatcher or those who are signing his paycheck.
For more on winter weather and fatal truck crashes, read:
- Winter Weather Fatal Truck Crashes on Indiana and Illinois Roads
- Hazmat Trucks in Illinois and Indiana: Increased Risk during Emergency Winter Conditions
- Winter Accidents with Semi-Trucks: Driving Dangers in Indiana and Illinois
- Winter Weather Accident Deaths: Duty of Care during Winter Weather Conditions
- Indiana Interstate 94 Crash of 40 Big Rig Semis and Cars Last Week: Severe Storm Conditions vs. Truck Driver Duties Under US Transportation Code 392.14
- Different Types of Fatal Semi-Truck Accidents and Tractor-Trailer Crashes.
During winter weather conditions, it is very important for truck drivers and those sharing the roads with them here in our “Crossroads of America” to know and understand the dangers of trucks driving on ice. Please be careful out there!
