Fatal flaw possible in semis’ hitches
BATAVIA, Ohio — On a twisty, snow-lined hill called Devil’s Backbone, a 12-ton semi-trailer came loose from its tractor and plowed into an oncoming line of pre-dawn commuters.
At 40 mph, the trailer struck the side of one pickup truck and careened head-on into another, killing the drivers of both vehicles.
At first, the Jan. 24, 2014, crash on U.S. 50 in Cincinnati’s eastern suburbs drew only the attention of Ohio authorities, who faulted the semi driver for not properly inspecting the hitch that holds the trailer to the tractor. But 17 months later, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has raised the possibility that the hitch was defective.
On June 9, the agency began investigating a potentially high rate of trailer separations for the hitch involved in the crash — the “Ultra LT” made by Fontaine Fifth Wheel of Trussville, Ala. Fontaine says it is cooperating with the probe.
The Ultra LT could be in use on as many as 6,000 semis across the nation.
Gap in inquiry
Given the nearly 1½year gap between the crash and the investigation, the safety agency could face renewed criticism for failing to analyze its own data to uncover a safety problem — the same failure that delayed recalls of defective GM ignition switches and faulty Takata air bags.
Connect the dots?
Although the agency’s new administrator says reforms are underway, one frequent critic of the safety administration sees remnants of an old problem.
The Fontaine case “sounds like an artifact of what we used to see from the agency over time, an inability to connect the dots,” says Sean Kane, president of Safety Research and Strategies.
The agency says it acted properly, opening the investigation after Fontaine said it wanted to replace all 6,000 hitches for unspecified “non-safety” reasons.
The safety agency investigated the hitches once before, in 2011, after Fontaine issued a service bulletin. The agency found 12 complaints about the hitches, plus one crash with no injuries. Truck companies Freightliner, Kenworth, Volvo and Mack recalled 2,400 tractors to replace a bar that locks a pin from the trailers to the hitch.
The safety agency said Fontaine made a design change at that time to prevent the problem from occurring in future products.
In 2012, Fontaine revealed another problem with the Ultra LTs in a second bulletin, but the agency decided the issue didn’t warrant an investigation.
As required by law, Fontaine notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in August, as did the truck’s maker, Navistar. Fontaine subsequently submitted reports that blamed the crash on an improper hookup by the driver, so the agency didn’t pursue the matter further.
Once Fontaine said it wanted to replace the hitches, the agency decided to act.
Fontaine has until July 24 to turn over communications on the Ohio crash and other information.
Steve Mann, vice president of engineering for Fontaine, which is part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, says the company analyzes data to help ensure “safety and reliability.” NHTSA said in documents that Fontaine believes operator error caused the Ohio crash.
Driver convicted
Before he drove on the hill that frigid January morning, Michael Simpson tried to hook his grocery trailer to a tractor. Three times, it didn’t latch, he told police. It locked on the fourth try, and Simpson drove a short distance to make sure. He checked again while en route to an IGA store, saying he was “concerned.”
Then, about 6:30 a.m., as he was climbing Devil’s Backbone, the trailer came loose, killing the two pickup drivers.
Simpson, 62, was convicted this year of vehicular manslaughter, a misdemeanor. His commercial driver’s license was suspended for 90 days, and he got a year’s probation. His lawyer had no comment.