I can't speak for any other industry,but as a driver you can wake up from the sleeper,and make a mistake and go into cuffs and prison/jail the same day driving. Its the drivers responsibility to do a pre trip every day,and interim trip,and post trip inspections to identify any problems.In the event you identify a problem,you shut the truck down. On a positive note..We kill ourselves far more than we do the general public driving.Truck driving has consistantly stayed around #6 in the top 10 most dangerous jobs in America. The driver in question will have a log book/elog stating he did in fact do a pretip and the rig was fit to drive,thus making him responsible. I would still guess he smoked/overcooked the brakes,and lost them completely.He was pretty much along for the ride at that point. Most companies have in facing cameras on the driver,and Im guessing this one did not to show what the driver was doing during all of this. Again,this is all just my opinion,so don't get in my ass about it!
for what? What about those dot regulations or violations make it criminal? I’ve spent years in racing semis and other combo rigs and there is huge legit legal way around all of that just like with farming so I’m not aware of what you describe.
I don’t know any of these details but anyone that’s ever missed a shift and got a neutral coming down an incline would have an eye opening experience
For instance,lets say his front brake pads were too thin,yet he drove anyways,or he was overweight/didn't scale the load at all,or had a air leak,and still drove it. Once he dropped off that mountain,its his ass for everything that happens afterwards. If DOT found any of those things,he gets charged. I've seen drivers get completly shut down at scale houses because of those things ive mentioned by dot inspections
Thats the main reason I hate autos,and mts.The jake brakes are useless with a heavy load,and the brakes get hot quick
I'm with 27/Scott on this. I didn't hear about the accident until I saw the thread here. What insight do the experts here have that I'm missing? As unfortunate as the accident was and the bad decisions that led up to it, was there intent to harm? If so, that would justify calling for his head. If not, what's the plan going forward in punishment?
My experience in big rigs is limited to a nice 3406 Cat with big boost hooked to an Eaton 10spd, lots of Jake braking making the stacks sing
When I first started driving for Schneider,we had 2 drivers go to prison in 4 yrs.One driver high hooked his pin,missed the hook up. The trailer came loose on I-85 went across the median and killed an entire family.I don't know how many yrs he got. We had another driver going 55mph down hill in a 45.A young lady pulled out in front of him,and he hit her,and she died. DOT pulled the onboard qualcom,and got his speed,and he was charged,and jailed.
thanks Kev, that’s my impression too, it sounds horrible and I can’t imagine the suffering, but unless that driver has no soul, he is probably the worst off, after the family of the killed, with survivors remorse. I don’t see the criminal aspect. Accidents happen for many reasons and that’s what insurance and licensing/testing/skills verifications are for, prevention and corrections.
We had a driver about a month ago get pulled into the scale house in SC northbound side on 85. The inspection was so bad DOT shut him down,and my company had to pay to have a wrecker bring his truck and trailer back to our yard. This same driver signed off on a pre-trip that everything was all hunky-dory. Had this driver been involved in any accidents/fatalities,once again,he's going to jail. I bought my own camera when I drove for Coke,2 different accidents were caught on tape2.Both times,the drivers claimed it was my fault.Both times state patrol pulled my sim card and played it on his computer,made a cd,and charged the drivers.Camera saved MY ass!
We had a part time driver whose big family trucking company only uses KW and only Cummins. It killed him to admit how nice our rig pulled and drove, he said it was bad enough to know he was pussy powered while in it but it was wrapped in a Freightliner! (Figured this was the semi equivalent of chevy vs Ford vs dodge thing.) I knew nothing about semis when we bought that one but it was a really great rig, Ex NASCAR rig and they all build their rigs to haul ass around the county in convoys I learned.
What were the charges? I had no idea things like that happened with accidents. Hence my surprise about this, as horrible as it is.
Nascar guys definitely run together from track to track,and those truck scoot! I don't know how those guys keep a license! I've been passed by those guys in the past Im not a KW fan,cheap,and the cabs feel too small
My brother drives for R&L Transport, and they have multiple cameras in their rigs, so that if there is an accident, there will be no doubt as to what happened. He says the cameras have saved his ass multiple times.
I don't recall the charges,but the lady in charge of safety in Charlotte sure as hell did.She reminded us of it constantly. If you check out a forum called The Truckers Report,you can find plenty of stories of drivers going to jail/prison. They report regularly on all things trucking,as do the members that witness things on the road
Ciara Lucas on Twitter: "A trooper with Ohio State Highway Patrol is hospitalized after a serious crash on I-70 West. We have updates on #GoodDayColumbus throughout the morning. @wsyx6 @fox28columbus https://t.co/lSgS5k8zd9" / Twitter Truck driver that killed NC police officer had no CDL, fake tags on truck (cdllife.com) The Virgin River Gorge is gaining quite the reputation | TruckersReport.com Trucking Forum | #1 CDL Truck Driver Message Board (thetruckersreport.com) Brutal semi vs. semi sideswipe caught on dash cam (cdllife.com)