HIGHWAY ACCIDENT REPORT MULTIPLE-VEHICLE COLLISIONS AND FIRES. US. 101 NORTH OF VENTURA, CALIFORNIA. AUGUST 18, 1971

ABOUT 4:45 P.M., AUGUST 18, 1971, A NUMBER OF CARS AND TRUCKS ACCUMULATED IN BOTH SOUTHBOUND LANES OF U.S. 101, ABOUT 8 MILES NORTH OF VENTURA, CALIFORNIA, FOLLOWING THE DISABLEMENT OF A CAR WITH A FLAT TIRE AND A MINOR TRUCK/TRUCK COLLISION. THE HIGHWAY WAS ADJACENT TO NEW HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION, AND THE SHOULDER AREA WAS PARTIALLY RESTRICTED BY A WOOD-SLAT FENCE ERECTED BY THE CONTRACTOR TO REDUCE THE DISTRACTION TO DRIVERS AND TO PREVENT DIRT FROM BLOWING ONTO THE HIGHWAY. A TRACTOR-SEMITRAILER LOADED WITH CABBAGE, GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT OF 74,600 POUNDS, CAME SOUTHBOUND AT THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT (55 M.P.H.) AND CRASHED INTO THE STOPPED VEHICLES, CRUSHING THEM TOGETHER; FIRES ERUPTED, AND EIGHT PERSONS WERE KILLED IN THE CRASHES AND FIRES. THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD DETERMINED THAT THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THIS SERIES OF COLLISIONS WAS THE STOPPING OF A VEHICLE IN AN UNSAFE POSITION IN A TRAFFIC LANE, WHICH IMPEDED TRAFFIC FLOW, AND THE FAILURE OF A TRACTOR-SEMITRAILER, MOVING AT POSTED SPEED, TO REDUCE ITS SPEED SUFFICIENTLY TO AVOID COLLISION WITH STOPPED AND SLOW-MOVING VEHICLES AHEAD. /AUTHOR/

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1972-7-6

Media Info

• Pagination: 45 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash causes; Crash investigation; Crashes; Fires; Highway safety; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Motor vehicle accidents
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00222049
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 25 1973 12:00AM