Is it rare for high wind to blow a truck over?

i will give you a few hints for driving in the wind with high profile lightweight trailers, 1. Close up the tractor to trailer gap as tight as you can (the less room for the wind to get between tractor and trailer the better) 2. Don't slow down or stop in a heavy gusting wind (heavy crosswinds have 3 times the effect on a vehicle standing still than one doing 70 + mph, also the time exposed to gusting crosswinds is significantly reduced. When in the towing business I once had 5 trucks rolled over on the side of the hiway, you could have thrown a rock from one to another, the first stopped to help a lady with a flat the other 4 were stupid. 3. If you are watching the trailer and see the wheel lifting off the road in the wind turn your wheel to the side opposite to the side the wheels are lifting on, when the wheels come down and the gust drops off slowly as possible bring the truck back on course (if the drivers side is coming up steer towards the passenger side and vice versa. 4. If you are trying to get off the road to get out of the crosswind don't turn into the wind but rather away from it, make as wide turn as possible and park with your tail facing the wind.
Picked up lots of trucks blown over in the wind mostly with light loads, used to travel I80 across WYOMING in the wind westbound always less than 10,000 lbs in the box never rolled in the wind but do recall a little incident with a trooper because I would not stop or slow down one day when several had already upset due to gusting and sustained winds close to RAWLINGS. TOM REED Millions of miles trucking 10 yrs heavy towing.

 

i'm pretty sure those stats are that high because most roll overs are cars doing about eighty and flipping into the median or down hill sides and what not.. remember back in the mid 90's when the ford explorer got popular, and all of those tires were blowing out causing roll overs all because people were put the wrong amount of air in them.??... the 45% that's not fatal will most likely be semis falling over.

 

I remember a few years back where several trucks in San Bernadino were parked, but crossways to the Santa Ana's. Wind blew them all over, just like dominos.
If you see winds whipping other trailers around, it's time to park it and face either into the wind or tail into the wind.

 

i'm not understanding how people are saying if the wind is picking up to park it.. on the part of I10 i drove across NM there was no where to pull off other then the shoulder. and that doesn't make any sense. it's not like i can turn off of the interstate and drive into the desert to so that i can face the wind.. usually the wind blows across the highway, so how would someone suggest facing into it with out blocking the road??.. i just keep rolling, atleast if i i have forward momentum i can coax it.. kinda like a running back getting hit verses that dummy bag.

 

If the winds are strong enough... You don't have a prayer.

Case in point:

Couple of years ago a F4 tornado came through MN traveling from the southwest to northeast. I young kid driver working for the same company I was at the time(bulk tanker) was southbound on I35 heading home after his last load on Friday. I was already home and the sirens were all blowing in my area... I was in the basement, trying to call him to warn him... but didn't get through. Thankfully, he missed the tornado, but did get in the Rear winds of the thing... 90+ MPH winds.

He later called me and told me about it... The winds were so strong that they blew the empty tank trailer off the road... it was still on the fifth wheel with all the tires off the ground at about a 45 degree angle... Somehow, he managed to keep from tipping over. The rain was bad too, and he said the wind was so strong that it blew the windshield wipers off the window rendering them useless.

Can it happen? You bet.

 

I've had one blow over and one almost go over. You learn a very healthy respect for mother nature after that. I-25, between Ft. Collins, CO. and Douglas, Wyo. is the absolute worst for wind, with the worst of the worst being mm 39 to mm 72 Chugwater to Wheatland. Bordeaux Rd. exit has claimed thousands of trucks over the years. If it's windy and moving the trailer, when I get I watch the wind socks, if they are straight out, I'll drop down and across the exit/entrance ramps to avoid the overpass. I've seen lightly loaded trucks blow over there. Number of years back, there were 15 blow overs in the 4 miles from Bordeaux So. to the next exit, all on the NB side, and a couple were horse trailers or RV's.

 

Man o Man, I never have witnessed such wind, would be a crazy thing! I know coming down Mt. Cresson here in PA on Rt 22 there is alot of blinking yellow "High crosswind" signs but I've never felt that it would be strong enough to topple a truck. There must be some hellacious winds out west compared to the east coast.