weather related accidents?

There is no job security in this industry. Some will fire you, others may give you another chance. With that on your record future advancement Will be limited if you can find anyone at all who will hire you.

Moral of the story be safe use wise judgment, and know what type of weather you may be running into.

 

There are very few weather events where a driver was in command of a vehicle and suffered damage, that he could be held blameless. In those few, such as a micro-burst or a tornado intercept in the dark, one can only hope the carrier will be understanding, but there is no guarantee. Often there is no concrete evidence other then the driver's account to prove one way or the other, and it will be up to the safety man to play the odds and make the call. When the winds are/have been blowing side-ways 45+ MPH with higher gusts, and the truck is light, and proceeds anyway, that may be a case where the driver assumed the risk and could be held to blame in a blow-over event.

Otherwise, in most cases the driver was fully aware of the risks and proceeded, and assumed the risks.

 

I agree that drivers should be aware of the surrounding weather. Do the trucking companies ever monitor bad weather and make sure their trucks in the area are off the road?

 

plan for the weather ahead of you and know what youre runnin into keepin in mind finding a place to park before you get into a winter storm that has potencial to close roads or put yourself in danger and if ya dont feel rite park it ...and tough sh#t if a deskjockey has to work a little harder ...its your saftey record and the motering public that counts !

 

You're the captain of the ship, it's YOUR call if the road conditions are unsafe. If you're uncomfortable then pull over. Remember it's not just you out there, if the road conditions are terrible you also have 4 wheelers that can run into you and those Fedex drivers that will drive 70MPH in the mountains regardless even when there's ice lol.

 

You might get away with a rock slide or mud slide but all others you have to be a gambler like we've all done.

 

Hurricane Sandy. Late October 2012, My state was the least affected receiving 60-70mph winds. Doing line haul Flatbed. Rains were hard, the wind was fierce. The winds knocked around the cab. 4 wheelers weren't seen and open highway. All 5 of us line haul drivers no issues and completed the runs. Could we all said no too this mess? YES ! but we didn't because it wasn't a safety issue. Side winds blowing over billets on a flatbled is a non issue and no roads had enough debris to cause concern.
On the flip side. If this was dry van work. would of said to employer pound sand and I'll be in tomorrow.

Know your equipment/ weather and don't be afraid to tell your employer to go fly a kite when weather conditions affect yourself.

 

I rode out Sandy at the J in Frytown PA on the 78... Had a Hunts Point Delivery that went in late. I could just picture myself sitting across the desk from our Safety Director and him asking "Once again, Why did you drive into a Hurricane?"

Dispatch wanted to load delivered... Said you can make it in before the storm hits, To what end I asked? Even if I do, I doubt anyone will be there, and even if there is, likely they won't be unloading.

As others have said, you as the driver have to make he call.