Politicians don’t have a reputation for kindness or even being particularly helpful, but we now know for sure that at least one politician is looking out for trucker safety! The Attorney General of Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli, and his chauffeur, Cory Chenard, saved the equipment and maybe even the life of a driver.
Cuccinelli and Chenard were on their way back to Richmond on Jan. 25th when they noticed that the flatbed in front of them was producing a whole lot of smoke. Sure enough, when they pulled up next to the truck to signal to the driver that something was wrong, they saw that the back tires were completely engulfed in flame.
They were able to get the driver to pull over, and after checking to make sure that she was okay, they retrieved a fire extinguisher and were able to put out the fire. Cuccinelli said that the driver clearly didn’t know that there had been a problem, but it looked like the issue was that her brakes had locked up and the friction had caused the fire.
“Given where it was it was hidden from her view, you know, even in the side mirrors she couldn’t see flames,” he said. “The flames were underneath.”
Cuccinelli and Chenard stayed with the driver until emergency crews arrived at the scene. It was reported that the driver did not suffer any injuries in the incident and did not need to be taken to the hospital, but there was no word on the fate of her vehicle.
It’s nice to see a politician stepping in and lending a hand, even if they have to be prompted to do so by flames.
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Source: nbc12
Wiesaw says
Mr. Attorney General Cuccinelli…of Virginia and Mr. Chenard
admirable deed…we appraciate your social responsibility and humanity….
Admirable….acts of kindness go a long way!!! and will be remembered …
Wieslaw says
I just noticed something…. we desperatelly need to know about acts of kindness… we are full of negativity… I would like to start a project that notes the Acts Of Kindness!!! Any helpers here..
danny cannan says
Couldnt see it??Really? BS clearly this female was not paying attention and probably NEVER looked in her mirrors!!!Even if she couldnt see the flames she sure as hell could have seen the trail of smoke!!I drove Over the Road for 22 years so i dont believe this BS story for one minute!!
jack says
she clearly needs a class of the smith system, or push in that little red button on the console that says TRAILER BRAKES.That usually stops the rear tires from catching fire.
KLong says
I would hardly call that “saving her from a fire”. I would call it an overly dramatic title and probably a ploy by the politician to garner votes. It takes a pretty unobservant person not to notice their own vehicle is on fire if it was really as bad as was described in the article.
bernard proper says
Really? You have never had something like that happen to you, in your vast 22 years of experience? Wow, 22 years and no experience, thats amazing. Stuff happens, sometimes it happens quick, it is entirely plausible she didn’t see the smoke coming out from behind her trailer since she was traveling at highway speed. But I am certain that your vast experience would have clued in a dum dum like you…right? Sounds to me like you just want to bash on a female driver. Nice story, to bad the dum dums have to rear their sexist head.
John K says
There’s no comment to the driver blaming a certain sex. Clearly, as I agree, the driver was inattentive to their equipment. Even being at highway speeds, the driver must be consistently reviewing the safety of the vehicle for which they operate. And, any driver knows exactly to what I’m referring to. There are a number of guages, handling performance, brake “feel” applications, and mirror checks the driver is constantly performing. As both of these drivers point out from experience, this is a clearly an avoidable situation. Probably, from the previously posted comment, indeed, the driver did not push the either the “yellow” or “red” valve inward, because the article didn’t state the rear of the trailer or tractor. I could care less the sex of the operator behind the wheel, but, the driver was not in control of the vehicle. Inherently obvious, as the Virginia Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, had to forcibly stop the driver, to inform “the driver” their truck was on fire. At best, the Motor Carrier should give “the driver” a refresher course on the proper operation of commercial motor vehicle. More importantly, I am very glad no was injured in this incident.
Techslave says
Love the idea. It’s worth money!
P.S.I. says
Well said John K…..
thetruckinglife says
if she forget to push in her parking or trailer release valves then she should have never made it up to highway speed without noticing something, something gave while she was traveling maybe, and yeah if the tires where completely engulfed in flame she should have noticed that if here convex mirrors were properly adjusted, that’s my opinion of 16 years experience.
Steve says
I don’t know how you can’t tell that brakes are looked up. The tires dragging at 30 mph sounds like a damn air raid siren. And you are telling me the dragging tire was making no sound at highway speeds?
Thom says
DOT should have cited the driver for not being in control of the vehicle. The company should have been cited for allowing an untrained driver to operate a commercial vehicle. The Attorney General should be applauded for ‘seeing a photo op and exploiting it.’