Not much is known yet about the causes of collisions between trucks and passenger vehicles. Signals coming from the transport sector indicate that an important factor may be that the truck driver and the motorist (mutually) misunderstand the situation in which the other person acts. This document - a quick-scan of the American literature about accidents between trucks and passenger cars quickly available at AVV - gives us a first impression of the possible causes of such accidents. This quick-scan is meant to generate a general impression of the problem matter and additionally to give direction to the project ‘interaction between truck driver and motorist’. The quick-scan shows that it is more often driving acts of the motorist attributing to an accident than driving acts of the truck driver. It seems that the motorist is not enough aware of the limitations with which the truck driver has to deal. In addition, the consequences of accidents involving a truck and a passenger car are often very serious and it is usually occupants of the passenger vehicle who get killed or seriously injured. In the U.S. a campaign has been started to make people aware of at least the limitations in sight the truck driver is dealing with. The first results of this campaign seem positive. This document ends with recommendations for the continuation of the project ‘interaction between truck driver and motorist’ based on the American findings. (Author/publisher)
Abstract