A trucker in Iowa was able to get most of the way across an historic bridge before his 30-ton truck brought it crashing down behind him.
Justin Hippen, a 29-year-old trucker, was driving in a rural area in Winneshiek County on the morning of May 5th when he came to the 100+ year old Daley’s Bridge. According to police reports, the weight limit of 3 tons was clearly posted, but Hippen drove over it anyway.
Hippen was incredibly lucky that the bridge held up to his rig’s 30-ton weight for most of the journey. It wasn’t until he was about three-quarters of the way across the bridge that it began to collapse. He was travelling fast enough that his rig reached the other side with only the rear wheels of his trailer dangling over where the bridge used to be.
Amazingly, no one was injured in the collapse. Hippen had gotten far enough across to avoid injury, and the bridge is in such an unpopulated area that, in an estimate done in 2013, it was found to serve 30 cars per day.
But locals say that the collapse will cause more trouble than just adding on extra time to a few commutes. This section of the Upper Iowa River is a popular recreation area for rafters and canoers, and just because no one was injured in the collapse, doesn’t mean the danger is over.
“We just want to get the structure out of the water and get the river open and safe again,” said County Engineer Lee Bjerke according to WXOW. “A lot of fishing goes on it, a lot of canoeing, tubers, it has a big recreational draw. And we just don’t want anyone coming down floating into the bridge and impaling themselves, getting cut on it, or worse you know getting pulled under it or anything like that.”
As to why the trucker went over the bridge, there are some conflicting reports. Some sources claim that the driver was following his GPS system and didn’t see the posted weight limit.
Since the bridge has been completely destroyed, it will have to be replaced instead of repaired. Estimates for how much the replacement will cost are “a little old” according to Bjerke. “We’re going to have to go back into that now, and this could really eat up our entire $900,000 depending on how we try to get this new bridge in.”
Hippen has been charged with violating a weight embargo. There has been no word yet on if he will face any further charges or disciplinary actions.
Source: wcfcourier, wxow, kcrg, kwwl, crescotimes
Image: Winneshiek County Sheriff
Totally inexcusable
Goes w/the NEW TRUCKING Industry. Guys can’t do more than 2 things at a time. Auto Trans trucks because most, can’t shift gears & focus on staying between lines to. On shoulders, texting etc. Schools churning out students, at an alarming rate. Guys/Gals wit 3-6 months exp, becoming “Trainers”. Really! Can’t read a Mc’Donalds “game” map!! GPS only!! Don’t know how to breakdown, tonnage, etc etc.
I will agree with half of what you say.
But I take exception with your bad mouthing Auto-shift trucks.
I learned to drive stick over forty years ago and even with two worn out Arthritis knees, I can still shift faster than an Auto-shift transmission. The Auto stick has kept the Doc from Replacing that knee and having me unable to walk at the end of day.
What does help is KNOWING how to drive stick AND understanding that the Auto-shift is a Computer Controlled Manual Transmission with the limitations of A computer. Going down the Hwy at Speed does Save Fuel when the Driver does Not Fight the truck but stays ahead of it !
Is the driver related to the woman who didn’t know how to figure how much a ton is?
I’ve never been as worried driving Big Trucks, as I have the last 10+ years. Don’t like being caught up, in a cluster “F” of trucks, on any interstate/highway. These new driver’s, scare me. I still try my hardest to, run the evening into morning hours. Not much CB chatter but, more relaxing/less stress running with (so far), the BIG DOGS!!! While the PUPS, are on the porch (truck stops, Wal-Marts, etc) Stay Safe Drivers!!!
SO VERY TRUE. every year is worse (with DOT chasing off experienced drivers)
D.o.t sucks for sure and a lot of these new guys don’t give a damn about the next driver.
That’s why I’m done driving after 29yrs I’m tired of the rules that are not helping. The drivers that doesn’t know how to really drive a 80 thousand pound truck.
But the biggest thing is the ELD (E-logs) I’m done.
I hear ya. Next week is my last week because of the ELD bologna. I’ll still be driving, but a day job, paid by the hour.
Dump truck in the Oregon forest building and maintaining forest roads.
Well stated. I too like my night run for those reasons. Don’t forget most of the scales are closed too!
Did he know how to read english? (should be a requirement to have a drivers license.)
In the fmcsa it says a cdl holder must be able to read and speak English well enough to explain a situation to any official. I see so many drivers that bring in a phone with information on it because they can’t tell the shipper what the load info is and they do the same thing at the truck stops to get fuel or other transactions
Company /driver should pay for replacement.
Oh I’m betting that his company and their insurance company will be spending quite a chunk of change over this stupidity.
Was it a 15 or 30 ton truck? http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/charges-pending-in-decorah-bridge-collapse/article_4270fc04-8fe3-5cad-9daf-0d3ec17eb8eb.html
Honestly, you can’t believe anything you see and hear from the media. They spout off, or print off, just to be the “first to get the story out.” Facts no longer matter.
Now as to the 15 ton, or 30 ton question, the bridge is gone, no matter which weight is correct. If either of them are.
It’s a sad deal a 100 year old bridge got destroyed over stupidity but what even sadder is how drivers SPAM another driver for making a mistake based on his age, by god I’ve SO CALLED veteran drivers to some dumb crap .but guess YOU folks was born with a gear shift hanging out your butt…yes I’m a product of a driving school in 1989 .
His age was not attacked it was his lack of attention to detail and poor choice of Common Sense actions when looking at a scrap metal Bridge
WoW! I bet he pulled up to the bridge and seen the weight limit, and said to himself “Damn I’m going to have to straight line back xx miles to get out of this one” Duh “but my company always says to always avoid backing whenever possible, so I’m going for it!” Point being is that Companies now a days put a lot of dumb ass suggestions into rookies heads about stuff like that. But hell if they didn’t have GPS they would be fireing alot of drivers for not being able to read a map. Back when I started driving all we had was a map, spare change for a phone call, and stopping somewhere for directions. I’m sorry but drivers these days have no common sense!
If the county updated their maps with accurate information, and the gps manufacture was held responsible for accuracy, the driver most likely would not even been able to get close to the bridge…. but then i’m sure there were other obsticles along the way that he ignored just to get there.
Don’t try to make it into what it isn’t. There is no way that a reasonable individual can expect Garman or Google or anyone else, especially printed maps, to be up to date. Yes, they should be up to date on all of the older stuff, but if it was built last year, there is no way they are going to show it. Stuff still takes time, particularly when you are looking at every roadway in the country.
There is no electronic gizmo that can replace the common sense of a human being. Unfortunately, way too many people don’t know how to use their eyes or their brains.
No one is taught how to actually think about things.
Once again, the excuse, “I was just following my GPS.” I see more stupidity from drivers over these devices, than anything else. And it will only get worse since this whole younger generation has learned to follow instructions, do not think.
I swear, most of them can’t find the toilet paper without an electronic device.
What will they do ..if that one day they turn off the satellite signal? They can do that.. and they have done it before.. you get north korea trying to send us missles and you will just have a blank screen..get a ROAD MAP and learn how to use it..they wont fail you
Who cares about gps signal if you have missiles heading your way?
Truckers Atlas, for sure. I was told that a GPS was a secondary tool. Truckers Atlas will show you the right roads to take, because GPS systems are not always accurate. Send you down neighborhoods a lot in my experience. When in doubt, consult the Atlas! Aside from that…..really no excuse for ignoring a sign that size with a weight limit posted on it. Stop the truck, call your dispatcher, ask them WTF is going on with the route.
I’m curious though, was the gps a trucker’s gps or an app on his phone? Because phone apps have no idea that you are driving a big heavy truck, therefore, will send you the fastest direction.
They’ll probably drive off the flat end of the Earth
It’s ok to use a GPS device but only as A tool along with an atlas, etc… To plan your route. The only problem now days is that someone has to be smart enough to recognise and veto any bad directions put forth by the GPS, use common sense and be to able to read signs.
I agree that the youngsters cannot live without their electronics 24/7.
Physical Road maps wont fail you is a lie. Road maps dont show you where a road is if its not clearly posted and it doesnt help you find an address that doesnt follow convention. They are only good for getting you accross the country from state to state and planning. They are next to useless if things dont go according to plan(ie detours and road construction) A lot of time is wasted if you are solely dependent on them. Many times ive been in areas where there were no street signs and no point of reference where a map book just wouldnt do. I advise having one in your truck in a pinch, but in todays modern world its stupid to solely relie on a physical map book.
Very true.
Following a g.p.s what ever happen to common sense,
What’s with this “Common sense” talk…no one told me anything about that and I cannot find it in the Manual…
Common sense would have kept a lot of these rookies away, FAR away, from any truck driving school.
Unfortunately common sense is not part of driving these days, large or small vehicle
Does not make any difference , both are over the limit. Insurance is responsible for the limit of the policy which is $750,000., and the county can sue the owner and driver, separately for any expense beyond the Insurance limit.
Swift, nuff said!?
G.P.S. does make a driver unattentive & stupid if I follow a GPS five times to the same place without paying attention to land makes and so forth the 6Th time without the GPS I will be lost.
Older school truck drivers including myself grew up around the trucking Industry as teenagers so A lot of tell-tale common sense stuff was embedded into our brains before we actually started driving.
And we knew how to use Paper maps!
What makes you “older generation drivers” any better?? That you know where to turn because there’s a tree on that street you have to turn and you remembered that? Or because the company wrote down the exact directions as to how to get there? Please get real, you guys are washed out make room for us new generation drivers. I worked for halliburton and none of the temporary rigs i drove to was on the gps. New and old have done stupid things. We use whats at our disposal, why does that make me stupid?
You drove for Haliburton, I’ll be, that must make you a professional truck hearder. Only time I ever saw Haliburton .trucks, they were being led by a pickup down a flagged out road, after leaving the concrete. Tell us about your experience.
I’ts an experience that made me the driver that i am today. And the only time youre being “led” by a pickup is when youre done with a job not only unloading cement. Bad roads and Big balls go hand in hand.
Stupid people do not embrace technology and they still have flip phones.
G.P.S. does make a driver unattentive & stupid if I follow a GPS five times to the same place without paying attention to land makes and so forth the 6Th time without the GPS I will be lost.
Older school truck drivers including myself grew up around the trucking Industry as teenagers so A lot of tell-tale common sense stuff was embedded into our brains before we actually started driving.
And we knew how to use Paper maps!
And GPS even truck GPS’s are completely unreliable that’s why I think autonomous trucks are many years away maybe even decades.
What happened to GPS for TRUCKS??
even with a GPS, still you have to use your head.
What happened to common sence for truck drivers? Funny thing about those road maps.. they wont send you where you cant go..
Just looking at that bridge should have been that drivers 1st clue NOT to go over it
I agree. This is ludicrous. Small road = small bridge.
probably didn’t want to back for miles to find a place to turn around
I came across a 5 ton bridge. I pulled a 53′ drop deck and managed to back up and turn around. It was not fun but I wasn’t going to collapse the bridge and look like a dummy. That driver should have seen that coming based on the route he took.
Auto transmission is not because us new drivers can’t shift. I can shift just fine. The reason is so the students don’t have to worry about it. I will be very honest, When I was a student, I struggled with shifting. The other reason is fuel mileage. I get 9.5 mpg weekly in my automatic. Yes, I use GPS but I use my map and common sense. GPS is a tool, not the rule.
What are you driving, a 2 axle box truck.
Looks more like the backend of a cement mixer than a semi and trailer I think this story is a little tainted
It’s a empty tanker trailer, not a cement mixer.
Like a food grade grain trailer or something. That’s what it looks like to me anyway… could be wrong, But its definitely not a cement mixer…
It’s a feed truck/tanker.
……and here we go with the comments about how dumb new drivers are. The trailer looks like a tanker,he may be a local driver just in a new area.
If you use a gps you need to use common sense , mathematics and visual aid.
None of which are taught in schools nor by the so called I got 6mo OTR trainers.
Well i use my gps but common sense will tell you look at your route before hand. Look on the gps on the roads your taking. Nothing to really do with the gps about what happened. Before he went across the bridge obv there was room for him to back up and not go across the weight restricted bridge. Drivers choice wether to do it or not. He just wanted a short cut which costed him fines and his companies insurance to pay out for the damage.
Following the GPS is not an excuse, you still have to read the Signs for weight and height limit ??
The G.P.S. company should be sued.
Not if he was using a car gps in a semi. I use the rand McNally for trucks and it will alert you if you on a restricted road or over weight structure.
Your run of the mill GPS is made for a car….the GPS have shows weight restrictions
Martin Richards you are so full of it. The GPS makers did not cause this to happen. Laziness and inattention caused it.
Please, the GPS did not have control of the brakes, accelerometer, nor steering wheel.
When the driver saw the bridge thru his windshield is when he should have taken a moment to ponder and or call someone to help him make a decision. It is apparent his decision making skills could use some tweaking.
I agree Tammy.This driver should also have seen the posted weight limit as well,There are no excuses for his actions and should be held accountable for the entire cost to replace it and not his company!
Ford, Chrysler and Government Motors should be sued for all the drunk drivers. Remington, Springfield, Kimber, et al, should be sued for all of the shootings that happen. Burger King, Mac Donald’s, et al, should be sued for all of the fat people. We got you Mr. Richards. No one is responsible for their own choices these days.
Story said “feed truck”…is that the only route to get to farm? And did the farmer not inform feed company of weight limit to get feed to him? And I find it interesting that a bridge only has a weight limit of 3 tons in a farming community (barely enough strength for vehicles to cross, let alone tractors and farm equipment)!!
Where my farm is ,there are several small bridges,smaller than that one and trucks do go over them every day. In some areas a map is worthless because local govts would rather spend the tax dollars on high profile projects than fix a bridge that just a few are going to go over. So they never bother putting on the map that they just turned the road into a dead end and barricaded the old bridge. And in some areas with gravel ?dirt roads big greedy farmers have actually plowed up the road and made it part of their corn field!!So there is no map or any sign that shows the road disapears.
Hate to be the one to explain this to you, but you are wrong. That is exactly why the sign was as big as it was. I have hauled milk, and cattle, I learned very early on to call the people and ask those questions before stumbling around, and setting myself up to fail, not really a big thing. Driving anything over 2 axles, or attempting to , across a 3 ton bridge is purely stupid.
You go Bil,I use to haul pigs and grain to local parties and yes I have made calls as well to know the route.Iowa and most every rural roads throughout the the Midwest have these weight limit restrictions usually3-8tons and clearly posted
He should have gone back the way he came in instead of trying a short cut.there is a main route in and out and.
I agree he should have used common sense, but that is no excuse for all the bad comments about other drivers , you all were young drivers once and had a scrape or two while learning to be a trucker.
The GPS is a tool to be used. Not unlike a screw driver being used as a chisel. It’s a tool . I visited a driving school a couple of years or so back and I could not believe that not one student could read an atlas.Had no idea where to start… Had no idea there was a section to tell you if trucks were allowed. Highways that were restricted to trucks. All knew of a GPS but none could read a map. They were nearing graduation too. After class I held class and taught them how to use an atlas. I more or less shamed them into learning and I was thanked when I began to tell them of the idiots that did not question the GPS.It should be mandatory to be able to read an atlas and a fine if one is not in the truck . That is for the new drivers that have not yet be asked to train after 3 months on their own.. How the hell did we manage to survive all these years with out a GPS? Astounding isn’t it.??New technology is not always good. How some of it is used is scary as hell.
We as truck drivers can’t blame gps or anyone else for that Matter! I was driving when there were no such thing as gps or smartphone! Most of the new generation rely on everything else but not on common knowledge or common sense! There’s to many drivers out there that just don’t care about nothing around them anymore.!
I was also . Had to rely on the spoken word of other drivers .
I hate sensationalism of news. They ask, “why was he on this out of the way rural rd?” Well, In looking into the facts, they forgot to mention it was a grain truck so assumption would guess he was an intrastate regional who hauls grain from farms, and perhaps he was looking for a farm he hadn’t been to…also…looking at the satellite map of the bridge, it looks like a dirt road and it’s after a curve, possibly, signs were dirty, old, unreadable in certain situations. I can’t judge but hey, it’s plausible that this was an “accident ” and not some gps or rookie related incident. Just a thought.
Todays wider farm equipment ,the signs were probably knocked over years ago or shot full of holes by some “sportsman’.Or fell over and sometimes the sign is a “patch” on a wagon or building or in some teenagers bedroom.
I have a old MIO gps, it worked so good and accurate they discontinued them. It was based on Infrared technology not nav-google junk. EVERY ROAD, EVERY PATH was displayed on it if it put off a infrared signature to satellites. BUT, it could not sell you a cup of starbucks or some adware so it was discontinued. I still use my 2008 MIO 503T hauling cattle because its more accurate and not ate all the F*3k up with locations to shop, junk pictures, movie clips, crapola and adware.
Best part of a MIO is its accuracy in warning info. Bridge like this, It would have never pointed me there in the first place but I would have highlighted it as a option only with a infared record internally as a high risk area.
Now if you buy a GPS, you have to pay to get them hacked to get all the distracting crapola out of them to even trust 1/2 what they show.
I found myself in rhe same predicament, I had to back down an actual road. Funny though, the people behind me were so helpful. When I apologized for what was happening everyone just tried to help, the complete opposite of what I thought would happen.
Before I had my $500 Rand McNally trucker GPS, I used some cheap car ones that took me down some “bad paths” like this. I hated it, but I reversed for a mile when I had too.
Problem is, this guy was both lazy and ignorant. That’s why he isn’t working for N.A.S.A but instead for some lying OTR company who treats their drivers like trash!
Guess somebody needs to back to school and get refreshed in simple math..the municipality should demand that this yahoo and his company PAY for the replacement of that bridge to equal or better condition than it was in before he drove over it.. but.. but… he didnt see the weight sign? If he was looking out the front windshield.. and could see the bridge..he saw the sign.. they dont hide them in the bushes or where you cant see them..but ..but.. thats how the GPS sent me…a gps is not the honest to God truth.. it is a tool to help you make decisions..ever hear of a road map? Just like a computer.. it does not replace your brain..but is a tool for your brain to make decisions..
Douglas Kirk…this is what we get from the meat in the seat types that think they are truck drivers..as you i have put many a mile under me with 46 years now .. we can go into any truckstop in the nation and will always find one of these meat in the seat types telling everybody just how great they are..so great that they are parked on highway 80 in the middle of the freeway in winter time.. or that ball of metal all rolled up at the bottom of a hill because they thought they knew how to get down that 3% ,2 mile hill.. they know everything.. and why does he think that all of these truckstops had lot lizzards? Maybe mama had him in tow..
It seems like bridges are collapsing every day. The roads across the country are UNSAFE. This bridge was 100 years old and needed an upgrade. This is what it takes for an upgrade to happen these days. Meanwhile, the rich government workers will have something to do for the next five years besides mowing grass, driving a snow plow on a wet road, or sitting behind a desk collecting a 100k to 300k per year salary.
This is exactly what FMSCA needs to investigate, regarding training qualifications, so that CDL mill companies can no longer issue CDLs.
Where did this driver get training, who trained the driver, etc?
A 100 year old bridge with a low weight limit. The county knew it was an accident waiting to happen. They had already discussed replacing it. Along comes a rookie driver to expedite the process.
Who is going to pay for the new bridge, and life goes on. Justen’s DAC file will have a great big Black star on it for the next 7 years. They use to say if you broke a mirror, you would have 7 years of bad luck, but in his case that is the statue of limitation.
You guy’s are missing the point. Who cares about what type of tractor he drove. He was irresponsible and careless. He is very lucky that nobody got hurt.
READING IS FUNDAMENTAL. …
This industry attracts the bottom feeders of humanity. Truck drivers used to to be of another breed.
There is absolutely no excuse for this and the idiots that are nit picking this are cut from the same cloth as the guy who dropped the bridge
Shelly, I have a friend of mine that was making a delivery to this place in Florida . There was no way to get to the building without going over an 8 ton bridge . He was told by the local police to follow them and as they led him across one of those bridges on the other side they gave him a ticket for going across a weight restricted bridge . It takes all kinds .
I hear the same crap when someone hits a bridge..inexscuseable etc etc..
And then the cities and counties keep posting signs that say a certain ton limit. Then the drivers that hit them say they didn’t realize how many tons their truck is.
You would think these dumbasses would develop another system.
Just sayin…
I know my ton ratio but not everyone does or remembers
I am an older driver 70 yrsand driving auto shift but never forgot the manual tranny.
I use GPS and carry the atlas for dire need and have my lap top with Microsoft street and trips since 2005 and it still work fine.
I use it in replacement of the atlas but it happen that i got better description of where I am going than the newer gps.
So driving is part of living and surviving.
What I’m wondering is why did it take an idiot in a truck too heavy for the bridge destroying it to have them consider upgrading/reinforcing it?
Here’s my two cents worth… now I’m broke!
I agree with Shelly !!!!
If the driver had any common sense he wouldn’t have become a truck driver to begin with. Enough said.
Problem is, yes his capacity probably was 30,000, dout it. Plus with the local news people over exaggerating everything to sound more dramatic, I’m sure his actual weight was 28,000 lb. load and truck an trlr. GPS’ s are for cars unless specified by the GPS maker. I’ve driven for 12 years, and the condition of the road, and area are always a factor. Classifying this guy as a “truck driver” is vague to say the least, it’s probably a local daycab, which means NO sleeper, and lives in the area, so area familiarity is a factor, probably wanted to save 10 min. home for a short cut. Road truck driver’s, are always being put into the same category as local truck drivers, and class “B”‘s as well larger trucks are always pointed at cause of the size that NO one really give the right away too. Everyone is about one person, themselves, NOT whatever is safest. This is the perfect example of miscatorization, just because of where it’s at, and it involves an old as hell bridge that the village and/or county never wanted to replace, that’s why it had a low weight restriction on it. Wood, and concrete doesn’t last forever, but it’s a perfect escape goat for this one local truck driver, who will loose his loc. over a bridge the state should’ve replaced a long time ago…
Ted,I used to live in that area,the state will not replace country road bridges when it has very minimum traffic (maybe 1 car per hour),but it is still a local commute to their smaller towns.that 3t limit has been there for awhile and that truck weighed at least 35,000lb MT.that is a bulk-a-matic trailer.
I wonder if there was a sign even before the one at the bridge or even a no trucks sign on the road?
Yes,there is a sign clearly posted 3ton limit.this driver was in a hurry to get where he was going and didn’t care.that bridge wore down its weight limit better than 10 years ago.He knew better than to try to cross that bridge.He should get jail time for this same as the female driver in Ohio who did the same thing.She did get I believe 90 days for that.These driver tried to take a shorter route.
A blind man could see that bridge wasn’t made for a big truck.
To end all arguments here I’ll say: The truth of the matter is, not everybody who becomes a big rig driver is cut out for it. Now I know some people say they could train a monkey to drive a truck, but as we can see from this story, the results are not always pretty. It’s true that truck drivers always complained about the new generation of truck newbies, but working in the city for now, I clearly see the quality of the candidates entering this sport. Let me tell you, it ain’t pretty. I mean, after driving for a year they still can’t back a truck. They are ALL constantly talking to somebody on their phones ( and this is a night shift!), texting while getting in the way of other trucks and traffic, driving only automatic. To the point that they’d rather go home and not work their shift if automatic is not available. You guys demand a common sense, but sense these days doesn’t appear to be so common. So how can we expect common sense from someone like the one who the other day asked me at a rail yard, which side of the sea container is the front?! Of course I just couldn’t help myself. I told him it’s where the doors are. This is what’s out there fellows. Enjoy!
I got one just as good. one of the drivers I work with asked me one day while we were both fueling our trucks,”Where do I add the oil if it needs it ?” I was so tempted to point out the windshield washer container but I didn’t because he would say ,” well he told me that is where it goes .”
Okaaaaayyyyy….and we used to get everywhere with horses!! That’s like saying “People just don’t know how to lick a stamp anymore…just no common sense using email and texting to communicate!!” I actually have Rand McNally 8″ TND in my truck. I bought it because it was the GPS advertised on the back of my Atlas. It has all the same Maps that my Atlas has inside of it… all of the information that is in the atlas is in the GPS. Welcome to the future old timers you no longer have to use the telegraph machine!! Technology can help you do your job easier if you just learn how to use it.
Truck GPS’s aren’t always right. My Garmin constantly tells me to go down roads in TN with 53000lbs wt limits, even though truck specs in it are 80000 lbs. Also tries to divert me from I64 in St. Louis because of a 0 ton wt limit. And in many cities and rural areas it will try to divert you because of a weight limit on a crossroad. It has sent me down roads and poped up trailer restricted area 50′ ahead. Damn near threw it out the window many times.
following his GPS “Again” . To many incidents involving that darn thing . I had one my sister had given me and tossed it out the window because it told me that the place I was going didn’t exist. Yet my other sister was informed that she was living in an imiginary house .That GPS became history at that time .
It really should start at the school of training I’m only out here for a year but been around this stuff my hole life, but in all honesty the schools are only teaching what needs to be done to pass your exam for your license ,nothing comes into play on this other stuff except for common sense which I admit some of the new drivers have very little or none just saying. Good luck and stay safe everybody.
That driver needs to get a minimum of 60 days suspension of his CDL and complete a 3 month course in basic math which includes understanding weights and measures with at minimum 93% passing grade.Once these are completed,must be on provisional driving of no more than 8.5 hours per day for another 45 days
These stipulations should adhere to all drivers who lay down their trucks and are at fault for any and ALL accidents.Accidents are caused by drivers,both car and trucks due to careless and wreck less driving.NO MORE!!!!!!!!!
I’m giving up after 40 yrs and 3 million miles of safe driving.
These so called truck drivers now a days are a joke. Most of them couldn’t even be classified as steering wheel holders. They actually scare the living day lights out of me. They have no sense let alone common . I don’t blame the drivers as much as I do the gov’t, companies, and the so called driving schools. (what a joke)
God bless all the safe drivers out there and Please God watch over them around these so called NEW Drivers!!!!
Blame clearly rest on the driver… period! Common sense isn’t
Trucking ( just like everything else) with the computers telling you when to sleep, when to drive, where to drive and how fast to go has removed common sense from our vocabulary as well as stunted it in our humanity.
More like this will continue to happen and like in war, things like this bridge will just be called bureaucratic and profiteer collateral damage.
I’m just another 50+ year old old school driver with 28 year perfect record who is tossing my CDL to avoid being a 60 mph road zombie with cameras on me, gps tracking me, 20 “handlers” harassing me, and the Grubberment stalking me while I am living in misery feeding the world from the wheel of a truck.
Now, I just work local and prefer a job asking “do you want fries with that” over todays 11 hour rolling jail cell life.
GPS is great. If you have the correct specs you will surely have no problem about 94% of the times. Then there is common sense. A missing tool in today’s world no matter what the job. I use google maps and my Rand McNally and together they are perfect. Well 99%. GPS is not easy. It will take you to someones front porch. Just have to be AWARE of your environment!! Oh and have knowledge of tonnage weight,,,,lol
Don’t blame the gps yet. I’m Jim 30 year’s in the saddle… as a trainer I’ve had newbies bring car routing gps in the truck. That mess will get you a ticket almost anywhere on the east coast. The gps company protects itself by offering downloadable updates, its up to you to keep it current. As far as age of drivers I’ve trained drivers in their 50s that have been downsized into new careers.