Road collision with CGH2 hydrogen trailer

A coach with 42 passengers crashed into a truck containing hydrogen. The truck was hit from the back, where the gas control system are usually placed. Despite some damage to the rear protection structure, there was no loss of confinement and hydrogen leak. According to the online news, the truck was transporting liquid hydrogen, but this appears an inaccuracy, by looking at the pictures of the trailer.
Three coach passengers reported minor injuries.

The INITIATING CAUSE was tentatively attributed to a micro-sleep of the driver

Theoretically, a ROOT CAUSE could be identified in management factors, in case the driver was not allowed to respect the legal breaks in service. The news available however do not provide details which could support this thesis. In absence of further details, the root cause is assigned to a human error, as done in most of the road collisions and crashes.

trailer

The coach was badly damaged by the impact but cargo did not lose confinement.
Three of the passengers were slightly injured, with one hospitalisation.

Three fire brigades teams from neighbouring villages were involved. For three hours, the highway was reduced to only one lane in one direction.
The truck drove with an escort vehicle to an industrial area where the hydrogen bottles were reloaded by professionals.

Road crashes will always happen. In general, the rear of compressed gas trailers is the most delicate area, because the gas pressure control system and connections for gas loading/unloading operation are placed there.
It is very therefore important to design transporters able to keep containment under the worse crash scenarios.