AZ I-10 Casa Grande

My intent on posting this was not to offend you or anyone else. It seems as if there's a certain part of our industry that thinks these kind of "accidents" are okay and part of the job. When I was learning to drive, it was the exact opposite. Yes, it's true that I don't know what happened in this case and it's possible the driver had a mechanical or medical issue; but, even that can be put on the driver I.E. improper pre-trip or not taking care of his health (have you been to a truck stop lately?) Every night I go out and give myself a 97% chance of returning safely in the morning. The 3% chance of not coming back can be broken down as follows; 1% I leave to fate because yes, things can happen out of my control, and 2% I leave to fools like this guy who decide to cross the median and kill someone. Notice I said "decide"? That's because safety is a conscious decision. You and I have been in the industry long enough to know what is expected of us as professional drivers. This guy apparently didn't get it. I know there will be an investigation and the facts will come out and I'd be willing to bet that there is some element of driver error. Almost every CMV accident you read about on this forum has an element of driver error. This is what really bothers me because this stuff is usually 100% preventable.

Now, on to the Cali comment. I didn't make this up to offend you, these are my observations, things that I see every night when I'm on the road. In fact, last night I was almost side-swiped when passing a guy on I-10 with yep, you guessed it, Cali tags. I'm very familiar with your state, I lived out there for 2.5 years while I was in the Marine Corps and originally received my CDL out there in the 1990's. I realize that not everyone is bad; however, it seems as if every truck I see laying on its' side or in the ditch between L.A. and El Paso has Cali tags. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe it just happens to be that way when I'm going by. I Can think of two recent multiple fatality "accidents" attributed to Ca. commercial drivers; One you may remember near Blythe when a negligent driver lost a load of pipe causing an El Paso-L.A. limousine bus to crash killing four. And then of course the Fedex tractor trailer that crossed the median up north hitting a bus killing 10 students. So what's the deal?

No state has been more destructive to the trucking industry than CA. From CARB, to high fuel prices, high fuel taxes, outrageous fines, outrageous regulation and oh yeah, an abundance of drivers from (insert immigrant country here) that cannot hablan more than 5 words of the English language and are many times illiterate in their own language.. Do we really want these guys piloting 80,000 lbs down the highway? Yet the California trucking faithful will continue to fly the flag. Come on fellas, the weather ain't that great.

 

Yep, you've got all the answers, I don't know anything.

 

Falling asleep at the wheel is a criminal act. INEXCUSABLE!

 

Yes, "shot by a bullet" totally possible.