Are hazmat trucks really dangerous?

Hazmat trucks – those that transport hazardous materials around the United States – account for a relatively small percent of annual traffic accidents, but crashes they are involved in can be quite dangerous depending on the type of cargo being transported.

 

One major risk factor is cargo release.  If hazardous materials are released in a collision, they can expose the truck driver, other motorists and the environment to explosions, fire, or toxic fumes.  Even though there aren’t many hazmat crashes that happen (an average of 64 a year) there is a 50 percent greater probability of a spill than for non-hazmat trucks.

 

The reason that hazmat cargoes have a higher spill rate than non-hazmat cargoes is partially due to the different distributions of truck body type.  Hazardous materials – especially flammable liquids like gasoline, diesel fuel and heating oil – are typically transported in tank bodies.  On the other hand, only about 10 percent of non-hazmat cargoes are transported in tank bodies.

 

Tank bodies are the type of truck body most prone to spillage.  About 35.7 percent of hazmat tank body trucks involved in fatal crashes spilled during the crash.  For comparison, 28.9 percent of flatbed cargo bodies containing hazardous materials spilled in a fatal crash and 19.2 percent of van type hazmat cargo bodies spilled in a fatal crash.

 

The most common cause of cargo spill-related death for individuals killed in a crash with a tractor trailer carrying hazardous cargo was exposure to gasoline.  However, the majority of hazmat truck accident victims are killed the usual way – the force of a high speed collision with a much larger vehicle.  On rare occasions, hazardous cargo can spill and complicate the accident but truck accidents are serious for motorists no matter what the cargo.