NTSB makes safety recommendations to FHA.
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Press Release Summary:
According to NTSB, the Federal Highway Administration should work with AASHTO to evaluate vehicle design characteristics specific to rollover thresholds of heavy trucks. Information should be used to develop best practices in highway design that will mitigate increased rollover risk. FHA should also work with AASHTO to develop guidance for bridge pier protection program that will allow state transportation agencies to conduct risk-based assessments of bridges located within highway interchanges.
Original Press Release:
NTSB Safety Recommendations H-11-13 through -17
The National Transportation Safety Board makes the following recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration:
Work with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials to evaluate vehicle design characteristics specific to the rollover thresholds of heavy trucks, including those having cargo tanks. Use the information obtained to develop best practices in highway design that will mitigate the increased rollover risk caused by reduced effective superelevation through changes in cross slope that high center of gravity commercial vehicles experience when they migrate onto the shoulder while negotiating curve sections of high-speed highways. (H-11-13)
If the results of the evaluation in Safety Recommendation H-11-13 and -14 warrant such action, work with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials to develop and implement best practices to assist state transportation agencies in identifying existing locations where cross-slope breaks pose a rollover hazard, placing an emphasis on those roadways having high volumes of heavy truck traffic, and develop appropriate strategies for mitigating the hazard. (H-11-14)
Until the best practices in Safety Recommendation H-11-13 have been developed and disseminated, provide information to state transportation agencies about the safety risks associated with cross-slope breaks and their potential for increasing the rollover propensity of commercial vehicles that have a high center of gravity. (H-11-15)
Work with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials to develop guidance for a bridge pier protection program that will allow state transportation agencies to conduct risk-based assessments of bridges located within highway interchanges. At a minimum, the program should consider each structure's redundancy, continuity, and the distance of bridge pier columns from the edge of traveled ways. Additionally, consider traffic volumes, traffic type, and the percentage of commercial vehicles transporting bulk liquid hazardous materials in identifying and prioritizing initiatives for preventing vulnerable bridges at high-risk interchanges from collapsing if struck or otherwise damaged by a heavy vehicle. (H-11-16)
Once the guidance for a bridge pier protection program as described in Safety Recommendation H-11-16 has been developed, require that it be applied to bridges that are vulnerable to collapse if struck by a heavy vehicle. (H-11-17)
http://ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/2011/H-11-013-017.pdf
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