What are Trucks Hauling?
Do you know what tractor-trailers are hauling on our roadways? Truckers haul tons of munitions on our nation’s highways everyday. How is a driver to know that a truck could be carrying dangerous materials? Most of the time your only clue is an orange placard on the trailer stating “explosives.” That is why it is so important that all of us give truckers the room they need on the road. For example, when a driver changes lane, he or she should give a trucker plenty of room. Drivers should also avoid abrupt stops in the path of a trucker. Over a five-month period from October 2006 to February 2007, about 30 collisions involved trucks hauling munitions. These wrecks are very dangerous given the probability of fire. For example, in 2005: a truck operated by R&R Trucking carrying 38,000 pounds of mining explosives overturned near Provo, Utah, because the driver was going too fast on a mountain road. The truck caught fire and burned for 17 minutes before detonating, creating a crater 70 feet
