Monday, April 27, 2015

6,000 GALLONS MILK, 100 GALLONS OF FUEL SPILLED ON HIGHWAY 1 AFTER LOUSY DRIVER FAILED TO NEGOTIATE A TURN




APRIL 27, 2015

TOMALES BAY, CALIFORNIA

Caltrans crews worked Sunday to clean up roughly 6,000 gallons of milk and 100 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled near Tomales Bay earlier in the day, according to the California Highway Patrol and Marin County fire officials.

Both directions of state Highway 1 were closed as of around 5:30 p.m. so Caltrans crews could assess the scene, CHP Officer Damian Cistaro said.

Officers responded to a report of an overturned tanker on state Highway 1 roughly a mile north of Nick’s Cove around 11:45 a.m., CHP Officer Andrew Barclay said.

Barclay said 6,000 gallons of the big-rig’s roughly 10,000-gallon tank spilled into the street, while the rest remained in the tanker.

The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries and was transported to the hospital, according to officials with the Marin County Fire Department.

Fire officials said the truck, which was heading south near Nick’s Cove, failed to negotiate a turn and landed on its side along the highway. Firefighters were able to use absorbent materials to sop up the spilled milk and diesel fuel.

Crews were monitoring the spill to ensure it does not threaten bay waters, fire officials said.

A Sig-alert was issued around 1:10 p.m. for both directions of Highway 1 and was lifted around 1:45 p.m. before authorities closed the highway again for Caltrans crews, Cistaro said.

As of around 5:30 p.m., Cistaro said the roadway was expected to be closed for one hour.

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THE ROLLOVER RISKS OF TRUCKS:  

FAILURE TO NEGOTIATE A TURN, EVEN SMALL OVERCORRECTIONS CAN RESULT IN ROLLOVERS.  



We have written many times before about the rollover risks of trucks.  Here is of the earlier blogs.

Dynamic Stability of a Vehicle Carrying Bulk Liquid and Driving Over a Bump or Negotiating a Turn


The forces generated by the sloshing of bulk liquid carried in tanker trucks can cause accidents.  The roll-over tendency of a vehicle can be measured in terms of how many "g" (gravitational acceleration) that vehicle can withstand in cornering.   

The higher this value, the safer the vehicle.  For example, full size passenger cars can withstand around 1.2 g.  For a loaded semi-truck the number is 0.4, and for half empty tanker truck it can be as low as 0.15.   

Tanker trucks are used for transporting milk, water and a number of liquid fuels.  The trucks sometimes need to operate on rough terrain at relatively high speeds.  This exposes the truck to a roll-over risk. If the tanker is partially empty, the risk of roll-over becomes much higher.

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THE ROLLOVER RISKS OF TWO-TANK TANKERS ARE TOO GREAT TO CONTINUE TO ALLOW THEM CARRYING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS WITHOUT ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES

  The recent rollover of a two-car tanker in Los Angeles reminds how dangerous these two-tank tankers are for carrying flammable liquids.

 The fluid slosh can definitely throw you around if you're not expecting it. You have to be smooth with your inputs.  If the driver was being stupid/distracted/whatever he could have easily steered/braked too quickly and caused the slosh to tip him over.

 Tankers are actually the hardest commercial vehicle to control.  Any tanker that has to be completely cleaned out between loads cannot have baffles. Imagine the kind of things that would grow in a tanker full of milk if you could never wash it out. There are also still older tankers out there that move things such as fuel that have baffles today, but did not always have them in the past.
No question its the driver's fault, but he really could have had some surging that contributed to the incident.