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Accident Description
On June 13, 2004, about 8:39 p.m., a 1991 Kenworth tractor-auto transporter, traveling west on Interstate 30 (I-30), near Sulphur Springs, Texas (see figure 1), collided with a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe sport utility vehicle (SUV) that was stopped in a 0.5-mile-long traffic queue in the right-hand lane at milepost 132.3. The force of the collision pushed the Hyundai forward, into and under the trailer of a 2000 Peterbilt tractor-semitrailer combination unit (see figure 2), which was in turn pushed forward into a 2003 Lincoln Navigator SUV. The Lincoln was subsequently pushed forward into the trailer of a 2000 Volvo tractor-semitrailer combination unit. A fire erupted, involving the Hyundai and the Peterbilt trailer. All four occupants of the Hyundai and the driver of the Kenworth truck were fatally injured. The two occupants of the Lincoln received minor injuries, and the occupants of the Peterbilt and Volvo trucks were not injured. At the time of the accident, the temperature was 80º Fahrenheit, the sky was clear with a visibility of 10 miles, 1 and winds were southeast at 5.8 mph. The traffic queue had formed on I-30 west due to a single-vehicle crossover accident with multiple fatalities (see figure 1), which had occurred 1.5 hours earlier, at 7:09 p.m. This accident prompted the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to close all eastbound and westbound lanes of I-30 and detour traffic to parallel service roads. |
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| Figure 1. Locations of Sulphur Springs accidents.
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| Figure 2. Hyundai lodged under Peterbilt tractor-semitrailer
combination unit.
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Tire marks from the 8:39 p.m. accident scene indicated that the Kenworth driver began braking approximately 190 feet before colliding with the Hyundai. Taking into account the tire marks and accident sequence, investigators estimated that the speed of the Kenworth truck was 62–70 mph prior to braking. Its speed at the time of collision was estimated at 50–60 mph, 2 indicating that the driver began braking approximately 2 seconds before colliding with the Hyundai. The posted speed in this area was 70 mph during daylight and 65 mph at night. An assessment of sight distance on I-30 west indicated that the driver had at least 3,000 feet of unobstructed view, or over 29 seconds at a speed of 70 mph, before reaching the traffic queue. Kenworth Driver
The 59-year-old driver of the Kenworth tractor-auto transporter had worked for Waggoners Trucking Company (Waggoners) since January 2004, a period of 6 months. He possessed a valid North Carolina class A commercial driver’s license (CDL) issued in October 2003, with an expiration date of June 2007. A Safety Board review of his North Carolina driving record and the Commercial Driver License Information System (CDLIS) 3 indicated no commercial or noncommercial driving-related convictions or accidents during the past 20 years. Prior to 1984, the driver’s records indicated several violations, two accidents, and a period of license revocation between 1974 and 1983, none of which were associated with operation of a commercial motor vehicle. The files of the National Driver Register (NDR) 4 contained no record of license suspension or revocation for the driver at the time of the accident. The Kenworth driver possessed a valid medical certificate issued on January 7, 2004, with an expiration date of January 7, 2005. At the time of the physical examination, the driver reported a medical history of hypertension and diabetes, for which he took medication. During the driver’s preemployment medical examination for Waggoners, the examining physician detected elevated levels of sugar in his blood and urine. He requested a written statement from the driver’s primary care physician that the diabetes was well controlled. On January 9, 2004, the primary care physician furnished a letter stating that the driver’s “diabetes is relatively well controlled.” A 30-day review of the Kenworth driver’s hours-of-service logbook and of the Qualcomm Qtracs satellite system 5 data revealed discrepancies between the two, in terms of the driver’s location, sleeper berth time, and off-duty time. According to the Qualcomm data, the driver had on at least four occasions violated the Federal hours-of-service regulations set by 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 395. 6 For example, for May 14, the logbook indicated that the driver drove 567 miles in 9 hours, while the Qualcomm data indicated that he drove 870 miles in 15 hours. Additionally, the May 15 logbook entry indicated that the driver drove 551 miles in 8.75 hours, while the Qualcomm data indicated that he drove 874 miles in 15 hours. 7 No discrepancies were found between the logbook and the Qualcomm data for June 9–11, the days prior to the accident. 8 On June 12, the Kenworth driver indicated in his logbook that he departed Fletcher, North Carolina, at 5:45 p.m., drove for 5.25 hours, and entered the sleeper berth at 11:00 p.m. in Nashville, Tennessee. His only logbook entry on June 13 indicated that he continued to stay in his sleeper berth from midnight until 10:00 a.m., when he refueled and conducted a pretrip inspection. By contrast, the Qualcomm data indicated that he departed Fletcher at 10:51 p.m. on June 12, drove 97 miles to Dandridge, Tennessee, and stopped for 3 hours; he started driving again at 3:41 a.m. on June 13. A gas receipt indicated that he refueled in Nashville at 9:13 a.m. Except for an additional refueling stop at 4:16 p.m. in North Little Rock, Arkansas, the Qualcomm data showed that the driver drove 954 miles, from Fletcher to Sulphur Springs, in about 18 hours, with only the 3-hour break mentioned above. (See figure 3.) Research has shown that a combination of reduced sleep and fatigue from
long-distance driving can significantly increase reaction time. 9 Furthermore, the longer a person is continually awake beyond 14–16 hours, the
greater the occurrence and duration of attention lapses. 10 The Safety Board and others have strongly linked driver sleepiness/fatigue with
commercial vehicle crashes. 11, 12
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