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TANKER TRUCK ROLL OVER * USA - 'It looked like a war zone'
Tanker rollover forces 145 to flee in Everett. Driver cited for speeding record shows violations. Two buildings destroyed but no one is injuredEverett,MASS,USA -The Boston Globe -6 Dec 2007: -- A tanker truck speeding through a traffic circle yesterday rolled over and spilled a 9,400-gallon river of burning gasoline into a residential neighborhood, flooding streets with flames, torching 21 cars, setting a pair of three-deckers ablaze, and sending panicked residents fleeing... State Police cited Chad LaFrance, 30, of Dover, N.H., who drives for Abenaqui Carriers, a trucking firm headquartered in North Hampton, N.H., for speeding and not having in his possession a federal medical certificate, which would certify him as fit to drive, State Police said. They did not say how fast he was driving... State Police troopers, who got the first call at 1:41 a.m., found the truck on its side, its tank punctured, the vehicle consumed in flames. Fire officials and eyewitnesses said a spark - it was not known from what - ignited the leaking fuel as it flowed down a ramp and a grassy embankment toward Main Street... A study of tanker accidents released this year by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found full tankers were more likely to tip because of their instability, and excessive speed was a common cause of the rollovers. In serious crashes, it found that tankers spilled their contents as much as 37 percent of the time, depending on the tank design... The administration "has identified the need to study cargo tanks, from design through operation, to improve their roll stability," the report states... Joe Delcambre, a spokesman for the US Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which oversees tanker trucks, said federal standards require the tanker trucks be able to withstand a force of 155,000 pounds from the front, side, or rear. Trucks must be inspected and tested in intervals from six months to five years, depending on the type of the tank... (Photo by George Rizer/Boston Globe: Ice covered nearby trees as firefighters continued to battle the blaze)
* Trucking firm had above average inspection record
Everett,Mass,USA -AP/WPRI - December 5, 2007: -- Records show the trucker involved in this morning's gasoline tanker accident in Everett has had some speeding and other violations on his personal vehicle. But his commercial license is valid... And the New Hampshire trucking company the driver works for has been involved in four other accidents over the past two years, but has an above-average safety inspection record... State Police identified the driver as 30-year-old Chad LaFrance of Dover, New Hampshire... Records in New Hampshire list three speeding violations a few years ago involving LaFrance's personal vehicle. LaFrance's record also lists two failures to have his vehicle inspected... LaFrance worked for Abenaqui Carriers, of North Hampton... Federal records for Abenaqui's corporate owner give it a "satisfactory" safety rating. The company has better-than-average inspection records relating to vehicles, drivers and hazardous materials...
Labels: dangerous cargoes
posted by Unknown @ 5:16 AM
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