3 Tools Your Semi Trucks Will Need For Accident Prevention And Recovery
Posted on: 12 March 2015
When you own a semi truck, you need to make sure it is well-maintained to lessen the chance of an accident occurring. Additionally, your truck drivers need to be well trained to handle any type of road conditions to drive your trucks safely. Most semi truck accidents are caused by speed, lack of driver experience, and road conditions. These three tools will help to help prevent accidents and safely recover a truck if one of your semis is in a roll over or is driven into a ditch.
Tire Chains
Accident prevention is the most important step to take. Your semis should always have a set of tire chains to go on all outside drive wheels to help your trucks gain traction in the snow and ice.
Because your semi trucks are usually hauling long and heavy loads, it is easy for the truck and trailer to lose traction and slide out of control off the road. A set of tire chains on your truck's wheels will give a semi the proper leverage and not use friction against the road . The chains will dig into the snow and ice so your drivers do not encounter a spin out without traction.
Tow Hook
Some semi truck's front bumpers do not have tow hooks mounted on them. Usually these front bumpers have been installed this way for looks. They will not help you out in the event of a recovery situation.
A heavy recovery tow truck will need to hook onto a stable part of your semi truck to pull it back onto the road. Usually, the front of the truck is the best place to pull from, otherwise the heavy rescue tow truck will attempt to pull from your truck's front axle. By using the front axle, the tow operator will not have the best control of your semi when it is being recovered from off the road. This can cause the process to take longer
In a situation where your semi's axle has been damaged and broken from the crash, the tow operator will not be able to adequately get a good hook onto a damaged axle. Without a tow hook, the recovery operation will be difficult and cost you more in lost revenue and time.
Trailer Structural Support Plate
When a semi truck has gone off the road into a ditch, often the semi and its trailer will overturn. When a heavy rescue tow truck arrives, they will need to attach one or more tow straps over the top of the trailer and semi to pull them back on their tires. When a tow operator attaches tow straps to the trailer, the force of moving the trailer back upright can crush and cause damage to the trailer and any goods inside.
Excess damage to the trailer will cost you and your business, so it is important for you or the tow operators to use a structural support plate on the corners of the trailer's roof. The support plate will spread out the pressure from the tow strap and keep the trailer's structure intact.
This type of trailer structural damage can happen to a trailer with soft sides or hard metal sides. A semi truck and trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds combined. So, with the right amount of weight from the trailer's load, the straps can put excessive pressure on the integrity of the trailer frame.
To protect the investment in your semi truck and cargo trailer, it is important to be ready for a truck crash. These three items are small in comparison to your semi truck, but can save you a great deal in time and money when an accident occurs. Be sure to keep them available for your trucks and drivers.
Check out sites like http://www.arrowtruck.com/ for more info.
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