BACKGROUND: A log truck driver was driving his fully loaded truck westward on a state highway early one winter morning in the South, with the sun low on the horizon behind him. The driver was approaching an intersection with a county road, where crossing traffic was required to yield to traffic on the state highway. A work utility vehicle was at the intersection ahead, preparing to turn onto the state highway.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The log truck driver was 42 years old, experienced, and in good health.
UNSAFE ACT OR CONDITION: The position of the sun impeded the utility vehicle driver’s vision when looking toward the oncoming log truck. Visibility, as affected by sun angles, influences drivers differently, depending on their direction of travel.
ACCIDENT: Without seeing the oncoming log truck, the driver of the utility vehicle pulled out onto the road, was struck by the loaded log truck traveling within the posted speed limit. The utility vehicle slid 44 feet before coming to a stop. The log truck driver lost control of his vehicle, which ran off the road and finally stopped 150 feet from the collision point and 10 feet from an occupied roadside house. The utility vehicle driver was clearly at fault and was charged with failure to yield. The log truck driver, although an experienced professional, was unaware of the risk created by the other driver’s poor visibility; he was not cited for any traffic violation.
INJURY: The two drivers were treated at an area hospital for minor injuries and later released. None of the occupants of the house was injured.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CORRECTION: Driving while the sun is low on the horizon requires extra precautions. Drivers should not only recognize how visibility affects their own ability to drive safely but should also account for how other drivers in their path might be affected by the sun’s glare. Drivers with the sun at their back should be aware that other drivers looking toward them might be temporarily blinded.
Courtesy of the Forest Resources Association: https://www.forestresources.org/