Now a cliched Alabama song...

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by millsjl01, Jan 17, 2014.

  1. millsjl01

    millsjl01 Light Load Member

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    Jan 24, 2012
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    I'm so very disappointed in myself. Hours after listening to "Eighteen Wheeler" on the radio....the "highway patrol has found a jackknifed rig, in a snow bank, in Illinois".

    Me.

    The weather sorta sucked off and on, but other than some pretty nasty winds, was manageable, just a little snow. Nothing I haven't been playing around in for the last few months up here. I came around a slight curve in the road and saw police lights and the marker lights of a T/T stretched out in what was clearly a wreck of some kind.

    I began slowing down by down shifting, staying off the brake. I was only going about 40 at the time, got down to about 30 and next thing I knew the trailer was sliding out on me.


    It was like an inexorable, slow motion, horror movie.

    Nothing I could do, the truck and trailer were completely unresponsive, I knew standing on the brakes, or jerking the wheel was the absolute wrong move, so I didn't do either. I guess I was hoping I'd catch at least a smidge of traction before the "point of no return" and be able to get it all lined back up. The truck started turning towards the median, the trailer looming large in the mirror, slowly but surely the truck revolved around so I was now facing southbound in the northbound lanes as it slid into the grass, the trailer stayed stretched out across both lanes, and both came to a sudden jarring halt when the driver side slammed into the trailer.


    I've been over and over it in my head, again and again...and I can't figure out what I did to cause it to slide out, how i might have recovered from it, or how I ended up in that bloody ditch?!

    What did I do wrong?

    I've driven in far, far, worse without so much as a slip in a parking lot....and now? Jackknifed across the interstate like an idiot.


    :biggrin_25513:
     
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  3. 10speed55

    10speed55 Light Load Member

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    sorry bout your accident just glad your ok. sounds like maby the road was elevated to one side causing the trailer to start the problem. just guessing
     
  4. MrEd

    MrEd Road Train Member

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    You said conditions where manageable. Maybe not so much. I have been called a wimp, or worse, over my reluctance to drive in questionable weather. I can tell ya for sure, if I ever end up like that, it will only be after I over-ruled myself after thinking "I Should park it". That is likely all you did wrong. You didn't park it. I never consider bad weather to be manageable. Just my humble opinion. Although I am sure a number of drivers will disagree.....
     
    86scotty, Numb and millsjl01 Thank this.
  5. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    Don't want to sound like a 'know it all' because I don't. I've found that sometimes, going too slow can be a bad thing, especially around banked curves. Gravity will take you off the road if you're going too slow.

    Blizzard of 93. The bigroad was shut down for 3 days in Bama. When they opened it up, it was 'at your own risk'. So I went for it. Was going around the 459 loop. The road curved and banked right and went downhill and back uphill. The truck in front of me crept down the hill. As so as he hit the curve, his trailer went sideways and the whole rig slowly slid off road.

    SCARY!

    So, I started down the hill. I could see my trailer start to step out. "UHOH!!!!!" I started grabbing gears. She picked up speed and the trailer came back behind me, I went around the banked curve and up the hill. That section of road is 3 lanes wide. I started in the left lane, went to the middle and finished in the left lane...you know, kinda straightening out the road.
     
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  6. ‘Olhand

    ‘Olhand Cantankerous Crusty

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    Jan 18, 2011
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    First off-glad you are ok--
    NOW--and I hate to speculate NOT being there--my first thought--reading your post--is possibly your downshifting was the culprit--as you said you didnt want to touch your brakes--BUT--did you get into too low a gear too quickly--by slightly overpowering the gearing--ie--got into a little two hi an rpm for the situation--the quicker slowing of your tractor--was too much for your wagon--kind of the same as using too much jake in a situation--the inertia of your trailer is going to want to keep going--and IF you slowed your tractor too quickly--the trailer really didnt have a choice--its simple physics...again just speculating...I would have had to been there--witnessed it and talked to you to know...
    OK now to step two--and only you can answer these(and no need to do it publically)..
    What kind of shape was the road in?
    Were you possibly going faster than you should have? in this situation...
    There are many questions you need to answer yourself--and I could go on and on--but you know where Im going
    The key to this--is to LEARN from this incident--
    Some of us could probably give a little more guidance--IF we had many more details..
    and I would be happy to answer any(non judgemenatlly)if you care to expand
     
    millsjl01, KW Cajun, bigtssa and 4 others Thank this.
  7. x#1

    x#1 Road Train Member

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    Cherokee County, Alabama
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    You did not mention any damage to truck or trailer.If all that happened was the jack knife and then a wrecker showing up to get you straightened out,I'll go out on a limb and assume that you'll chalk that one up to experience.you've experienced it.

    offer to pay the tow truck bill out of your check.I bet the DOT or police didn't write you up for a thing.shake it off and carry on driver.it was just one of those things that you encounter or will be a part of if you stay w/trucking for a few years.

    things do slo-mo it in situations like that.i had a log trailer beat me down a hill once.wild ride. happened lightening quick but seemed slow.ran a truck w/no brakes that i had adjusted backwards(old mack w/mud guards)into a runaway truck ramp once.brakes were still metal to metal regardless.as i realised what was about to transpire,i prayed and was standing on the brakes/grinding it into lower and lower gears.over quickly yet slo-mo.i actually drove the truck out of the gravel and delivered the load to the wood yard.go figure.

    thankfully you didn't report injury or worse.I am sure you'll keep your job as you didn't mention that you worry about losing it.all that has happened is your perspective on driving just changed,you gained a bit of hands on knowledge,and you shared the incident w/the forum.
     
  8. HeWhoMustNotBeNamed

    HeWhoMustNotBeNamed Crusty Pogosticker!!

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    It sounds to me like 'olhand gave you some good advice there. When you tried to slow by downshifting, that was like only applying your brakes on your Drive tires. I'm sorry this happened and hope the outcome works out as well as possible. The Truck ahead of you might have encountered the same slick spot as you and had the same problem.
     
  9. millsjl01

    millsjl01 Light Load Member

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    Jan 24, 2012
    Driver seat/sleeper berth
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    After re-reading my post...I noticed that never did I mention, it was on ice that I slid, not snow. I probably should have mentioned that.

    Olhand- you may very well be correct about the gears. The 40/30 mph scenario was "best guess" I might have been going a little slower but....it all happens so fast and yet so agonizingly slow...I do know that the "trouble" started with the trailer and not the truck...so it makes sense.

    I probably was going too fast for the conditions, because most of us forget (i did) that "conditions" include being able to react to things like other trucks wrecked in the road...not just the road itself. Had there not been a need to slow down or adjust to an accident, it might not have happened...maybe i've only been lucky not to encounter the need for a sudden slowdown during bad weather or this would have happened sooner.


    MrED- I did in fact consider shutting down not too long before this happend, not because of the road conditions so much as because of the effect of the wind on my nearly empty trailer and the fact that the road was slick. It was making it a little difficult to keep the trailer in line, and having to constantly yank her back in line was making me nervous given the road conditions. I did exactly what you said, I overrode my inclination towards caution.


    I just wonder if my confidence in my abilities might have been misplaced, and I've only been "lucky" this far and not "good" at my job.
     
  10. millsjl01

    millsjl01 Light Load Member

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    Jan 24, 2012
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    I was actually able to get the truck and trailer up and out without the svcs of a wrecker, so the officer was kind enough to only cite me for too fast for conditions. He gave me a clean inspection report, with no violations.

    I am more than happy to pay the fine for too fast for conditions...because obviously I was doing just that. I consider myself lucky to have gotten off with a fine, and not someones death or injury on my hands.

    Trailer suffered no more than a small dent in the side wall....truck did not fare so well. Mostly cosmetic, crushed fuel tank and the apparatus that the airlines are attached to was also damaged. The wrecker who came out worked some magic on the trailer brakes that allowed me to drive truck and trailer (following him, and being followed by another wrecker) a few miles back to a shop.

    The company, and this never fails to amaze me when I make what I consider to be rather large mistakes...are treating this as "just one of those things, don't be so hard on yourself".
     
  11. HeWhoMustNotBeNamed

    HeWhoMustNotBeNamed Crusty Pogosticker!!

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    Even the Very BEST Drivers get lucky at times. Don't beat yourself up too much, it happens. Conditions were bad. I went out and was stopped already at my second drop one night and while pulling my parking brake knob on the dash had the trailer slide over twenty feet. The parking lot was sloped and I had to go through a gate in a fenced lot. As long as no one's hurt is the important part. Look on the bright side to help yourself get through this. Things happen. Danny Sullivan did a complete 360 degree turn and still won the 1985 Indy 500. In an interview, he admitted that he was just lucky that the car regained traction at exactly the proper heading.
     
    'olhand Thanks this.
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