Passenger vehicle crashes into stationary large trucks : incidence and possible countermeasures.

Roberts, Gary L; Lynn, Cheryl · 2003 · ROSA P / Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC)

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Summary

This study, commissioned by the Virginia General Assembly via House Joint Resolution No. 23, investigates the causes and potential countermeasures for crashes where passenger vehicles strike large trucks stopped on the roadway or shoulder. The research was motivated by the high severity of these incidents, particularly the risk of "underride," where a passenger vehicle slides under a truck, leading to disproportionate fatalities among passenger vehicle occupants. The study aimed to identify spatial, perceptual, and physiological factors contributing to these crashes and to propose practical solutions to reduce their frequency and severity. The researchers analyzed Virginia crash data from 1997 through 2001, extracting 1,630 records of two specific crash types: lead vehicle stationary (LVS) rear-end crashes and single-vehicle roadway departure (SVRD) crashes into parked trucks. The methodology also included a review of federal and state laws, a survey of officials in five other states, and an assessment of the prevalence of rear-impact guards on Virginia-registered trucks. The study examined legal constraints, noting that federal preemption limits state ability to mandate vehicle equipment standards beyond federal requirements, such as retroreflective tape and rear-impact guards. The analysis revealed that while LVS rear-end crashes involving large trucks were relatively infrequent, SVRD crashes into parked trucks were significantly more severe. Environmental, roadway, and surface conditions had little influence on these incidents; instead, driver inattention was identified as the primary contributing factor. Although large trucks are highly conspicuous due to their size and required reflective markings, they continue to be struck due to various forms of driver inattention. The study also found that straight trucks, which are exempt from federal rear-impact guard requirements, were involved in 63% of truck-involved LVS crashes. Furthermore, it was estimated that 30% to 40% of semi-trailers in Virginia lacked compliant rear-impact guards, posing a continued risk. The report concludes that effective countermeasures must focus on two areas: increasing driver attention and removing large trucks from the shoulder. Existing methods to enhance attention include infrastructure warning systems and continuous shoulder rumble strips, with future improvements expected from advanced collision warning systems. Addressing the presence of trucks on shoulders is more complex, tied to the supply and demand for commercial vehicle parking. Short-term recommendations include strictly enforcing existing parking regulations, developing pilot programs to alert drivers of available parking, and utilizing weigh stations for parking. Long-term strategies involve documenting the extent of shoulder parking, assessing statewide parking adequacy, and prioritizing the development of public and private parking facilities to reduce the need for trucks to stop on highways.

Key finding

Driver inattention was the major contributing factor in crashes where passenger vehicles struck stationary large trucks, despite the trucks' high conspicuity due to size and reflective tape.

Methodology

dataset

Sample size: 1630

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• incidence prevalence
• bus coach
• crash typology
• naturalistic crash near crash
• vehicle conspicuity
• rail grade crossings

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes, observational prevalence
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource