Truck-Tractor Double Trailer Median Crossover Collision with Motorcoach and Postcrash Fire on Interstate 5, Orland, California, April 10, 2014.

摘要

On April 10, 2014, about 5:40 p.m., a 2007 Volvo truck-tractor in combination with double trailers, operated by FedEx Freight, Inc., was traveling southbound on Interstate 5 (I-5) in Orland, California. At the same time, a 2014 Setra motorcoach, operated by Silverado Stages, Inc., was traveling northbound on I-5. In the vicinity of milepost 26, the combination vehicle moved into the left lane, entered the 58-foot-wide center median, and traveled into the northbound traffic lanes. The truck-tractor collided with a 2013 Nissan Altima passenger car, which then rotated counterclockwise and departed the highway. The truck-tractor continued moving south in the northbound lanes and collided with the front of the motorcoach, and both vehicles partially departed the highway. A post-crash fire ensued. Both the truck and the motorcoach drivers died, along with eight motorcoach passengers. Thirty-seven motorcoach passengers were injured. The two occupants of the passenger car received minor injuries. This investigation identified the following safety issues: inadequate fire performance standards for commercial passenger vehicle interiors, pre-trip safety briefings for commercial passenger vehicles, improvements in commercial passenger vehicle design to facilitate evacuation, and event data recorder survivability for crash reconstruction and safety improvements. As a result of this investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board makes recommendations to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.