News

Anti-lock Brakes Reduce Heavy Truck Accidents

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Plans and Policy is currently evaluating crash data to statistically evaluate the effectiveness of antilock brake systems (ABS) and rear impact guards for heavy trucks. The NHTSA believes that such an evaluation is necessary to further reduce the chances of semi tractor-trailer crashes that often produce serious personal injuries or even death.

States will send data to NHTSA on every crash they investigate that involves a tractor-trailer, a bobtail tractor, or a medium or heavy single-unit truck. It is believed the data will comprise 10,000 tractor-trailer crashes and 5,000 single-unit trucks. A report will be issued once the data has been analyzed.

Anti-lock braking systems are designed to help maintain directional stability and control during braking, and reduce stopping distances on some road surfaces. ABS could reduce crashes involving jackknife, loss-of-control, run-off-road, lane departure, or skidding, or where trucks with conventional brakes were unable to stop in time to avoid hitting something frontally.

ABS Are Required On Certain Heavy Trucks

Antilock Brake Systems (ABS) are required on air-brake equipped truck-tractors manufactured on or after March 1, 1997 and on semi-trailers and single-unit trucks equipped with air brakes and manufactured on or after March 1, 1998(1). ABS is required on hydraulically braked single-unit trucks over 10,000 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight if they are manufactured on or after March 1, 1999(2).

Types of crashed that could be positively affected by ABS include: Jackknifing, run-off-road accidents, sideswipes and, rear-end-collisions.
For more information go to http://www.nhtsa.gov/

back to top