A truck driver was killed a fatal accident involving his rig and a local fire truck. The strange thing is that there was no collision.
The driver, 32 year old Glen Estien, was hauling a load of metal beams on his flatbed when a fire truck made to pull out in front of him. Estien slammed on his brakes, sending his load crashing through his cab, killing him instantly.
The intersection the fire station is on has a traffic light which turns red when a firefighter hits a button inside the station as they are supposed to do when pulling out onto the street. Witnesses say that the light never changed which may have caused Estien to have less time to react, forcing him to slam on his brakes.
Whether or not the driver had enough warning time, since there was no collision, the load should not have been able to shift so drastically. Investigators are looking in to who secured the load, and what they used to fasten it.
“In any normal situation, those beams should not come loose simply by applying the brakes,” said a spokesperson for the Florida Highway Patrol. “This truck struck no other vehicle. There was no other impact, so they should stay in place.”
Next Story: Jury Orders Carrier To Pay $4.7 Million In Amtrak Ruling
Source: accidentdatacenter, wftv, clickorlando, orlandosentinel, wesh
Image Source: wftv
Road champion says
Sad affair in all account but improper load securement was te cause of this man’a death I always triple check my loads still after 20 years of flat bedding
shawn gherity says
Excellent advice. A guy is going to carry all of his chains either way so why not have them on the load???
Ray says
I wonder if he had a bulkhead up. All such loads should have one.
Joe Bob says
Unfortunately bulkheads nor headache racks are no longer required thanks to the NAFTA. Depending on the load itself some steel beam, pipe or tubing loads it’s almost impossible to assure a perfect securement but regardless, the way the load securement rules are written it is ALWAYS the drivers fault. A civil suit is the families only chance in this case.
Ray says
My heart and prayers go out to this guy’s family.
snowlauncher says
I dont flatbed, but aren’t front end structures required on all cargo carrying CMV’s?
. I.e. headache racks?
Ray says
Not required. It’s just a good idea. Maybe if enough of these tragedies happen the law will change. Back in my flatbedding days at Melton I always put up a bulkhead for loads like this.
Charlie says
Actually , according to a DOT officer , No.
Paul says
I thought headache racks were required, but that was removed. Every driver should ask themselves this question…… If I stop…. will it or you
Also, obey the 20%-80% rule…… 20% to stop movement from acceleration, 80% to stop movement from stopping.
shrinkwrap says
There has to be more to this story.
And yes ‘headache racks’ should be mandatory. Also all Drivers must practice the 5 keys of safe driving.
But this guys record indicates he may have been speeding or playing with the phone and saw the situation at the last minute and over reacted.
Estien started driving trucks about four years ago, family members said.
In 2012, Estien was cited for driving 70 mph in a 45 mph zone, and in 2011, he was cited for driving 39 mph in a 30 mph zone, according to state records. Both of those citations were issued in Orange County. It’s not clear what kind of vehicle he was driving when he was issued the citations.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-glen-estien-dead-crash-20140911-story.html
5 Keys
1. Aim High in Steering – Avoid Collisions by seeing, evaluating, and acting upon all info available.
2. Get the Big Picture – Fewer mistakes are made when you have the complete traffic picture.
3. Keep Your Eyes Moving – Proper scanning techniques helps you be safe.
4. Leave Yourself an Out.
5. Make Sure They See You – Seek eye contact.
Tomas says
it’s hard to tell. is that a new volvo? i heard the new brakes really can stop fast now.
sidewinder says
I’ve been flatbedding a long time beams and coils and crushed cars are the worst plus it does not pay all that well for the hazards..
ColeTrucker says
My prayers are for his family. Too young!
Steve says
Bulkhead head or not, those beams are heavy and should not have shifted by applying the brakes regardless of how hard he hit them. It’s fairly obvious this load was not secured properly and as a result this poor driver lost his life. The Firefighters also have a role to play in this by not activating the red light system to alert traffic that they are about to pull out of the station, this is standard operating procedure and someone dropped the ball.
jon province says
I hate to say it but when I flatbedin’ I did dumb stuff somtimes hoping to cut enough corner to get me by ( tired, in a hurry to get out of town by 5:00 or whatever). I hope they look into that red light. At the end of the day, though, I know who’s fault it was that I’m dead……rip driver.
Donna says
Maddog Trucker says
Bulkheads are NOT required by law.
Why does everyone think bulkheads are mandatory?
Open up your eyes and observe. Very few flatbeds have bulkheads.
Bulkheads do NOT stop a load from shifting. Bulkheads do not protect against sudden impacts. Bulkheads are generally connected by four bolts.
We are required to secure freight to withstand a certain amount of G-force under NORMAL braking conditions. We cannot secure loads against extreme impact conditions such as the railroad.
Study the facts before formulating uneducated opinions about our jobs as Flatbed Truckers.
It’s sad this Trucker lost his life. This proves that we adhere to the unwritten code to sacrifice our life before yours.
Do Truckers gamble? Absolutely!
I follow one simple ideology: No freight is worth someone’s life and I generally over-secure my loads. I REFUSE to transport freight that cannot be properly secured under the guidelines set forth by the FMCSA.
David Dunne says
That rips out my Guts to read about that…a stupid split second that caused a precious Life…RIP…
mike says
I wolud have probably took a chance and slammed into that firetruck.It just may have saved his life.Don’t know and its to late now.
Donovan Skidmore says
Bulkheads don’t stop everything. That’s a lot of weight, and being that bulkheads are usually aluminum, they are a minor set back to a large heavy steel beam. 90% of the time when they do work, it wasn’t the bulkhead that stopped the load, but the chains and binders hanging offit. This driver was able to stop in time for the fire truck despite have little to no warning. He quite possibly saved the lives of a firefighter or two. I hope that’s what makes the papers this time. Not how yet another driver failed to secure his load properly, IF that is the case.
John says
NO amount of chains would prevented an I-Beam from sliding forward in a hard breaking situation. Especially when the shipper wants to load them one foot away from your cab. It’s like chaining down a greased pig. This is what happens when shippers try to get around OVERSISED restrictions and charges.
IZ says
JOHN, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WRONG!! A properly secured load WILL NOT go through the cab just by braking . PERIOD!!!!
Kwopper76 says
I AGREE 1000%, If your load is properly secured IT WILL NOT SHIFT THAT DRASTIC FROM BRAKING!!!!! A HEADACHE WONT STOP THOSE BEAMS CUZ THEY’RE MADE OF THIN ALUMINUM! I ALWAYS PREFER TO OVER SECURE THAN UNDERSECURE MY LOADS!
AkRoadhound says
Most who have hauled pipe, that this is always a possibility. No normal bulkhead can stop pipe from sliding through it like butter. And securing your pipe is never 100% guarantee with chains or straps. Although, hard braking shouldn’t have sent it sliding. It might come down to speed and inertia.
John says
IZ, you have COMPLETLY missed the point of my post and have regurgitated some large company BS. A “Properly secured load” INCLUDES using the PROPPER EQUIPMENT!! A number of years ago, large companies lobbied to have the bulk head requirement removed for flatbeds despite the reservations of drivers. This was to save weight and allow what should of been an OS load based on length be loaded with the overhang towards the cab. There by, getting around OS charges and restrictions. Again, drivers at that time said it was insane. IZ, keep your corp BS to yourself and go troll Schneider’s web site please.
By the way, found more info here: http://www.clickorlando.com/news/semi-driver-killed-trying-to-stop-for-fire-truck-in-st-cloud/27995244
It was NOT I-beams and it did look like it was kinda sketchy with the securement. My point still stands. Had he had a bulk-head, he still my be alive.
Charles says
I agree as well. There are a few different methods to secure I beams that will prevent them from sliding forward. John, you need to get with someone who can teach you the correct way to secure a load because if you say its not possible then you have no business pulling a skate board and if there is a load where there is NO POSSIBLE WAY to safely and fully secure from all directions of movement then the item at hand has no business being shipped and in my eye’s can sit right where it is at no matter how much it pays. Money is never worth your life.
Dave Hutchison says
I have t agree with IZ. I pull a stepdeck. I pull high, wide and heavy. A properly secured load won’t move. Hauling beams or pipe I always use chocked chains to keep thinks pulled together and tight. Also, I have always been a believer that there is no such thing as too many chains/straps.
A d Enstoss says
Flatbed has dangers like this more with steel beams and pipe it’s hard to grab it all with straps and chains but wrapped chains can help. Then bulkheads can only go so high with wood and chains the factory head rack willnotstop anything. Still speed and following distance will kill you every time
ML Johnson says
The load did not move until the vehicle actually came to a complete stop. That is when the load came forward. All truck drivers and especially flatbed truck drivers know (at least they should know) that just before the vehicle comes to a complete stop the driver must get off the brakes to stop the forward momentum movement of the load otherwise it will continue to move forward.
ML Johnson (ex truck driver)
Tim says
Why cant they weld eyes on the I beams, so a driver could put extra chains to keep it from sliding forward?
The eyes could always be cut off, at the final destination.
Charles says
They don’t for many reasons one being that welding something on and then removing it causes an integrity problem of a beam especially if is used as a load baring beam in a building or ship. It creates weak spots which 99% of the time would render the product useless and would be pointless to ship or even manufacture. For such loads belly wraps/chokers accompanied by the use of “X” chains in the front and back as you would pallets to prevent fore and aft movement by starting on the bottom of one side and going up and over the corner on the other side. plus 2 straps/chains in the first and last 5 feet and one or more every 5 feet in between and making sure the combined WLL on all securement devices for a particular load meets or exceeds the weight of the load and prevents forward, backward, side to side and up and down movement.
But then again, Murphy’s law sucks too and no matter how much or how safe you think it is, everything at some point has a breaking limit no matter how strong so nothing you do to keep you safe is ever a 100% guarantee.
Bill says
You can X chain the front. Or even one chain run diagonal and tightened down would have saved his life. Most flatbedders do it right but for the few who don’t pay attention. This should be a wake-up call. I’ve seen guys hauling 40k coils loaded suicide with only 2 chains. It’s pure laziness.
Outlaw says
You can never use too many securement devices but the best prevention is to drive with a sense of caution. I once had the absolute *^%&#% scared out of me when some young people did some sudden lane changes about 15 feet in front of me while I was hauling a load of pipe. The load never moved even though I was forced to lock it down. I was well taught by an old time flat-bedder. Do it right the first time or it may be your last run …
Marc says
Lots of good advice here… I-beams have a tendency to shift during transport, no matter how tight your straps or chains. Stopping and checking your loads is not only required, it’s so much more important on these types of loads.
My thoughts and prayers go out to this driver’s family. Be safe out there.
Robert says
Good comments by all, I just wish someone could have pulled him aside beforehand and showed him the right technique to prevent the results that unfortunately occurred here, my heart sends prayers to his friends and family.