Atlanta: Deadly Hot Spot of Twisting Highways and Truck Rollovers
Atlanta is the fatal center of the U.S. truck rollover syndrome, but the problem is nationwide. Above, a rollover near San Francisco backs up highway traffic at rush hour for nearly 10 miles.
Photographer: Laura Oda/Oakland Tribune/Zuma PressIt was almost midnight when Walter Price eased his 18-wheeler into the right lane on Interstate 75 near Atlanta. As he began to bank onto the exit ramp he’d been taking for the past 10 years, Price had no idea he was entering America’s most dangerous hot zone for truck drivers.
As Price rounded the curve onto Exit 238-B that cold night in February 2012, a small black car darted in front of him on an otherwise deserted highway. The car’s driver slammed on the brakes to negotiate the exit’s sharp curve. Price had to veer left and hit his brakes to avoid a collision. But the curve was too sharp and Price’s 36-ton rig carrying car parts began to roll.