By Chris Daly
Overcorrection is also a common cause of curve-related crashes. How many times have we heard of a fire apparatus crash that was caused when the driver drifted off the right side of the road, attempted to bring the vehicle back onto the road, overcorrected and then caused the vehicle to roll over? We often hear training programs say that drivers should slow down, regain control of the vehicle and then bring the truck back onto the road surface.
I say stop the truck. It is much safer to bring the vehicle to a controlled stop and then gently bring the vehicle back onto the road surface at a slow and safe speed. There is no need to try and save a few seconds conducting such a risky maneuver as bringing a moving vehicle back onto the road surface. Stop the truck, take a breath, assess the situation and continue on.
If you are that concerned about the time it will take to bring the truck to a stop, slow down and don’t drift off the road in the first place!