Chicago, Illinois — A recent FMCSA report highlights that truck rollovers account for a disproportionate share of commercial vehicle fatalities, with a significant portion of crashes occurring on interchange ramps and other high‑risk road segments.

Rollovers can destroy cargo, damage infrastructure, and endanger drivers. Unlike rear‑end collisions, a rollover often starts before the driver realizes the truck has exceeded its stability limit, leaving little time to correct the situation once the trailer lifts.

The stability of a tractor‑trailer changes with every load. Freight positioned near the floor lowers the center of gravity, while stacked cargo raises it, making high‑center‑of‑gravity loads more vulnerable to tipping. This simple physics principle means that two loads of equal weight can behave very differently when entering the same curve.

Liquid cargo introduces a surge effect. As the vehicle turns or brakes, the liquid continues moving, shifting the center of gravity and making partially loaded tankers a frequent culprit in rollover crashes. Studies of cargo tank rollovers show that these vehicles are involved in a significant share of incidents because of the internal weight shift.