Driving the highways of Europe can be a challenge or it can be a breeze. It really doesn’t matter where you are, driving is the primary mode of transportation. Most people drive cars and even more people it seems drive trucks. In addition, almost everyone comes into contact with large freight trucks in town or out on the highway. With something that people do all the time, it’s little wonder people forget just how important it is to be safe while driving especially when it involves big heavy trucks.
Europe’s many countries have had their share of truck accidents, but as a result of many improvements to vehicle infrastructure not to mention the improved behaviour of road users, the number of injuries, fatalities and accidents are steadily decreasing. However, more work needs to be done in order to keep the numbers falling.
About 90% of the time accidents happen as a result of human error. The other 10% percent can be attributed to vehicle malfunctions or other external factors. Increased safety can only happen when active measures are taken to train drivers and change bad behaviours. In Europe, 7200 people are killed and almost 100 000 people are injured in heavy truck accidents each year. In Western Europe, 35% of accidents causing serious to fatal injuries to the truck driver occur when a truck drives off the road. Most often this happens in rural settings at speeds of over 70 km/h. An unbelted truck driver will suffer more seriously than one who is belted.
The truck cabs are designed to effectively protect the occupant but it cannot do so properly if the occupant is not wearing a seat belt. However, seat belt usage in heavy trucks is remarkably low. In 2009, a study showed that 50% of unbelted drivers in accidents could have survived had they been wearing their seat belt. The common excuse for not wearing a seatbelt has been discomfort as in most cases the seatbelt cannot be adjusted according to the height of the driver.
For the majority of Europe, the maximum permitted truck combination length is 18.75 m. This doesn’t necessarily mean that longer trucks will be less safe. It is more of a factor for load distribution. About 75% of long truck combinations have accidents in rural areas and most of these are head on collisions.
However, human error and inattention on the part of the driver is still the cause of the majority of accidents involving trucks in Europe. For truck drivers, better head and upper body support in the cabs would help to reduce the risk of injury from certain accidents. It should also be a priority to develop support systems and to educate drivers on the risks involved.
There will always be drivers that do not heed the advice. As is the case of the seatbelt, many fatalities could have been avoided had the seatbelt been worn. Driver training will continue to be a crucial part in the effort to reduce the number of accidents in Europe.