Downhill braking failure, 8 deaths and 6 injuries on Lianhuo Expressway. Cause investigation: Overloading hazard of the truck causing the accident | Facilities | Accident

In order to deeply learn from the lessons of the "7.17" accident in the Zhangye section of the Lianhuo Expressway in Gansu Province, the General Office of the Ministry of Public Security and the General Office of the Ministry of Transport jointly issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Safety Management of Summer Road Traffic", deploying local public security and transportation departments to take effective measures to strengthen the safety management of summer road traffic, prevent major traffic accidents, and fully safeguard the safety of people's lives and property.

The Notice requires that local public security and transportation departments should combine the 2023 National Major Accident Hidden Danger Special Investigation and Rectification Action, the refined improvement of highway safety facilities and traffic order management action, and implement various measures such as source supervision, road surface control, hidden danger treatment, publicity and warning. We need to conduct a law enforcement inspection in depth for road passenger and freight transportation enterprises, promote the consolidation of the main responsibility for safety production, focus on supervising passenger transportation enterprises to implement the exit inspection system, freight yards and other source units to firmly control the exit, strictly prohibit vehicles and drivers from operating with diseases, strictly prevent hidden dangers such as overloading and illegal modification of trucks from driving on the road, and strictly punish and supervise enterprises with problems in accordance with laws and regulations to implement rectification. We should guide the operation and management units of highways to comprehensively carry out self inspection and evaluation, strictly implement the requirements for weighing and testing at the entrance of highways, and resolutely prevent oversized and overloaded vehicles from entering highways. We need to deepen the summer traffic safety rectification action, increase the inspection of key passenger and freight transport vehicles, strictly crack down on serious traffic violations such as speeding, overcrowding, overloading, fatigue driving, and illegal modification, deepen the analysis and precise detection of key hidden danger vehicles, and improve the effectiveness of road control. We need to thoroughly investigate and manage key sections of highways that are prone to waterlogging, collapse, water damage, and landslides during the flood season, such as long and steep downhills, sharp turns, cliffs, and construction sections. We should promptly address relevant issues and add and improve warning facilities as needed. Especially for continuous long and steep downhill sections, we should comprehensively adopt scientific speed limits, control flow, promote right-hand driving, add parking areas at the top of slopes, escape lanes, and cooling facilities to improve road safety and security capabilities. We need to organize and carry out promotional activities such as the "Summer Safety Campaign", the "Bright Screen Action on Highways", and the "Beautiful Countryside Tour" to promote safety. We should make good use of typical accident cases and warning education videos, use cases as a warning, and effectively strengthen warning publicity and safety reminders.

In the "7.17" accident on the Zhangye section of the Lianhuo Expressway in Gansu, the maximum allowable total weight of the heavy semi-trailer truck was 49 tons. However, at Zhongsheng Mining Co., Ltd. in Cangzhou, Hebei, more than 70 tons of stone tar were loaded, and the actual total weight of the vehicle and cargo was 87.1 tons. Using an illegally installed jumping device, the truck entered the Cangyu Expressway from the Cuierzhuang toll station in Cangzhou City and headed towards Jiayuguan, Gansu. When driving to the 2089 kilometer and 300 meter maintenance and construction section of the Lianhuo Expressway in Zhangye, Gansu, the vehicle lost control and collided continuously with 5 small buses and 2 heavy trucks waiting in line for passage. According to the preliminary investigation by the local public security organs, the heavy semi-trailer truck that caused the accident was severely overloaded and exceeded the limit, resulting in brake failure and vehicle loss of control on long downhill sections. This was the direct cause of the accident. The public security organs have taken criminal coercive measures in accordance with the law against the driver and actual owner of the heavy semi-trailer truck involved in the accident, as well as the relevant responsible persons suspected of illegal modification of the truck, illegal loading, and illegal weighing. At present, the relevant problem clues and the management responsibilities of relevant departments and personnel are still being further explored and investigated.

The Ministry of Public Security reminds passenger and freight enterprises and drivers to fulfill their safety responsibilities in accordance with the law. Enterprises should strengthen daily vehicle safety inspections, implement GPS dynamic supervision, strengthen driver safety education, enhance driver awareness of prevention, and improve safe driving and emergency response capabilities. Special attention should be paid to avoiding overloading behavior of trucks. Overloading can put vehicle components in an overloaded state, seriously affecting the braking and handling performance of the vehicle, and easily leading to safety accidents such as brake failure and tire blowouts. When trucks pass through water and cliffs, sharp turns and steep slopes, as well as construction sections, they should slow down and drive carefully. Especially when driving on long downhill sections, they should shift to low gear and use the engine's restraining effect to control the speed. On the downhill journey, they can choose a safe place to stop and rest, reduce the brake temperature, and reduce the risk of brake failure.