Trucks don’t just jackknife. There is a root cause.
From news reports it sounds like trucks were not designed to brake hard when it is raining. To me, this sounds ridiculous. To many people, the combination of rain, a rookie driver and having to brake hard are the root cause of jackknifing tractor trailers.
All the aforementioned factors can (and do) contribute to jackknifing. But they are not the root cause. Root cause is the one thing that, if perfect, wouldn’t have allowed the rain and the hard braking to make the vehicle go out of control.
In a LinkedIn post, a reader – trying to prove my root cause analysis incorrect – sent me a picture of a major rental and leasing company’s trailer. The picture was of the corner of the trailer where there’s a warning sign that reads, “Tires: 95 PSI minimum." Just one PSI, regardless of load, that’s the root cause of the problem. When someone rents an empty trailer at that pressure, the driver doesn’t stand a chance of avoiding jackknifing under the right circumstances.
A professional in the trucking industry with more than 20 years experience couldn’t believe 95 PSI was incorrect except when the trailer was 100% loaded.
The PSI for a trailer in a rental fleet should at least express some concern for safety by posting: 95 PSI minimum when fully loaded. 65 PSI maximum when empty.
