The Problem

Fuel Sloshing

The design of tankers plays a major role in their safety. Partially filled tanks can create a sloshing effect, where the liquid moves around inside the trailer’s gas tank. This movement can destabilize the Big Rig making it more prone to swaying and flipping over and potentially causing massive accidents especially during turns or suddenly stopping.

Vehicle Instability:

Sloshing fuel can act like a giant pendulum inside the tank, shifting the truck’s center of gravity. This can make the truck more difficult to handle, especially when turning or braking, potentially leading to trailers losing control and rolling over.

Chances of Catastrophic Road Accidents

In normal conditions, a fully loaded Big Rig carriers (8,500) gallons of gas and weighs 58,565 pounds, 1 gallon of gasoline weighs 6.89 pound. A Big Rig tractor-trailer traveling 65 miles per hour could take 525 feet to stop. This is a dangerously long way to stop. 

Sharing the road with a massive 18-wheeler can be nerve-wracking. These huge tractor-trailers carry a tremendous amount of cargo, often flammable liquids or hazardous materials. Due to its immense size and weight, a collision with a big rig can be catastrophic. Even a minor accident can result in serious injuries or fatalities for those in a smaller vehicle. Other dangers may also create a massive accident. Blind spots around large trucks can obscure smaller vehicles, leading to dangerous situations. Their sheer size makes maneuvering difficult and sudden stops can be a severe hazard to cars too close to the truck. Additionally, unsecured cargo can fall onto the roadway, creating a hazard for everyone. These dangers are real and pose a constant threat on our highways. Fortunately, technologies like LifeSaver’s self-sealing fuel tanks are working to mitigate these risks. Improving fuel tank safety can reduce the most significant hazard of fires and spills, making our roads safer for everyone. These aren’t just your average engineers. LifeSaver boasts a team of experts and motorsports veterans, each with over 30 years of experience pushing the boundaries of safety and performance. 

Lifesaver LLC, 100% would have prevented this horrible accident.

East Palestine, Ohio, Rail Car Derailment

On February 3, 2023, at 8:55 p.m. EST (UTC−5), a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The train was carrying enormous amounts of hazardous materials when 38 of these cars derailed. Several railcars burned for more than two days, and emergency crews also conducted controlled burns of several railcars, which had released hazardous materials, including, the release of chloroethene (vinyl chloride), butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, isobutylene, combustible liquids, and benzene residue.

Residents within a radius of (1.6-kilometer) were evacuated.

Agencies from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia aided in the emergency response, including trying to put out the remaining airborne toxins.

Palestine Rail car derailment (February 3, 2023) and by October 2023, Norfolk Southern removed more than 167,000 tons of contaminated soil and more than 39 million U.S. gallons of tainted water from the derailment site.

As of February 2025, Norfolk Southern has paid out more than $115 million to East Palestine. Additionally, the company has also paid out $22.21 million directly to residents.

In January 2025, East Palestine and Norfolk Southern reached an additional settlement of $29 million.