Friday, March 20, 2015

THE TRUCK FUEL TANKS ARE SO EASY TO PUNCTURE AND SPILL FUEL IN THE ENVIRONMENT: DEBRIS PUNCTURES TRUCK'S FUEL TANK, PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE




MARCH 20, 2015

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Debris in the roadway led to a fuel spill and HazMat situation on a Charlotte highway Friday morning.

First responders were called to I-85 Northbound near US Highway 29, Exit 42, in the 8 o'clock hour Friday morning on reports of a HazMat situation.

NBC Charlotte's crew on the scene says a tractor trailer ran over something in the roadway that punctured a tire and the truck's fuel tank. Authorities say fuel spilled out of the tractor trailer and onto the roadway, and eventually made its way into a drain.

Crews are now working to pump out some 60 gallons of fuel.

The right lane of I-85N was closed while the cleanup was underway.

Truck Fuel Tank Design a Safety Concern

Trucking accident cases often focus on vehicle maintenance, the driver’s hours of service and crash reconstruction.  However, there are occasions where a product design defect is a key cause or contributing factor to the cause of a trucking crash injury or death.  Truck fuel tank design presents such safety concerns given that the current design standard is inherently susceptible to puncture that can lead to a leak and/or explosion.

We have all seen the gleaming aluminum tanks mounted along each side of the semi-truck, out where they dress up the truck.  They might look nice, but such an exposed position is not where 100-200 gallons of diesel fuel should be stored.  In any truck accident, this open location risks exposing the truck fuel tanks to high-density explosions and make it susceptible to punctures, just like the case described above.  At other occasions, we have seen trucks hitting fire hydrants and rupture their fuel tanks.




Truck Fuel Tanks puncture and/or Explode

In the United States, there are 80 to 100 burn deaths every year for occupants of heavy trucks or other vehicles involved in crashes with semi tractor trailers. Most of these deaths are caused by a truck’s fuel tank either exploding on impact or leaking fuel. In both situations, the result is an intense explosion of heat and flame.

Important Truck Fuel Tank Study

In 1989, the United States Department of Transportation published a Heavy Truck Fuel System Safety Study. That study published detailed recommendations along with a Failure Modes Effect Analysis (FEMA) and a fault tree analysis that is suitable as a basis for any manufacturer to design a safer product.

Some of the recommendations from that study include the following:

Reducing the susceptibility of tank mounts to failure by impact from highway structures or other vehicles

Increasing the distance to be traverses by displaced components before they reach fuel tanks, providing protective barriers between fuel trans and nearby components, to increase the puncture resistance of the fuel tank.

Of particular note, the Department of Transportation study also maintained that the objective of fuel tank design and fuel tank systems should be to reduce the likelihood of impact or puncture under typical crash conditions.




We believe we can improve safety and avoid environmental damage by relocating the fuel tanks inboard so that they are less exposed, and are shielded from potential damage due to collision or ground contact. This allows adequate space for all accessories and systems as well as provisions for energy absorbing materials surrounding the fuel tanks to further reduce intrusion and prevent fuel tank rupture.

By demanding that truck manufacturers work harder to improve safety, perhaps we can make a change in an industry that has always done it that way.  If we’re successful there, we’ll be successful in making our roads that much safer too.