Are there any " Warning signs" for A Jack knife?

we could ask the 2 separate incidents on I24 between mont Eagle and Chattonooga they probably could help


my jacknife in 1982 at first i thought it was my other truck passing me then i realized it was my own trailer
rush hour friday afternoon northbound route 1 Saugus Mass
Made Joe Greens WBZ helicopter report 9 times
only traffic getting by was thru Kappy's Liquers

 

Thanks for the posts everyone. There are some good responses. Enjoyed the one about swift. I thought this would be a good question to post to keep us thinking about prevention and to see what responses I get about how other drivers keep alert. I posted another one about roll over, also. Rolls and J knifes are a drivers worst nightmare. Anyways, thanks again, I will be sure to record some of these answers in my binder that I have. I have been recording everything I learned about trucking since school in hopes to one day pass it onto another generationbof furure drivers.. :0) keep on truckin'

 

When your trailer is passing you, something's wrong.

Another warning sign would be the sudden need to change underwear.

 

Yep, when you see your trailer off to one side and it's supposed to be behind you... that's your sign!

Prevention? it's when your tires quit rolling and start sliding - generally you're going too fast and you need to be going less fast real quick. Which is a problem, because your trailer has decided up yours, it wants to go even faster.

 

Good info. I always wonder of im gonna j knife. Im slow as hell already. I rarely do pass the limit. But some of the roads over here are bad that it makes you feel like your gonna. Can you jack knife if doing below or at the limit?

 

When I was going straight I felt this weird feeling in my seat and I looked on my mirror and trailer started to come around... let off brakes slightly and it kicked back behind.

When im turning or going around the curve you can feel it because it feels like you're doing something "Tokyo Drift" style... Not a good feeling but as long as you are paying attention and react quick enough without over correcting you'll be fine.


Sent from my DROIDX

 

WOW...Just Wow...The main thing is always, always don't try and out-drive your self( read experience/and or road conditions). If its raining slow down, if its snowing slow down even more, if you MUST drive in icy conditions even slower. Where EXPERIENCED and inexperienced drivers make most of their mistakes is trying to over drive the conditions. Always temper your speed with common sense and caution while paying attention to everything going on. Never, and I mean never depend on great reflexes or quick reaction time to get you out of a jack-knife situation...the only thing that will help is to not be running at speeds that will or could put you there...anything else is GODS hand on the wheel not yours. Over-confidence coupled with arrogance is an accident just waiting to happen.

 

Thanks guys and thanks T street. I took those notes. Deffinitely great advice.

 

Oh heck yeah! You can certainly be driving much too fast for conditions, be well under the speed limit, AND be at risk for a jackknife. It's the action that causes your tires to break loose that initiates it. That could be a side load on black ice, having to stop quickly, trying to control speed build-up on a grade...

You've got to leave yourself an out. That means driving much slower than usual (your truck will give you little clues when you need to slow down more, better if you anticipate it) and leaving a lot of room to slow down between you and the next vehicle.

 

yes.. when you see that trailer trying to pass you.. You have been warned.. that is about all you get if you don't have your eyes on the mirrors..

To be honest if you are on the verge of a jack knife it happens so fast you won't ever know.. slow down on slick roads don't use jakes wet or ice roads and try to be aware of what is going on.. If something doesn't feel right start to slow down.. if your rear end is trying to walkl on you slow down and find a good place to get out and check things.. NEVER apply hard breaking. I have heard stories of guys preventing a jack knife with the trailer brake.. but I have never been in that situation don't know if it is true or not..

A long time ago an old timer told me that if you see your trailer coming around you give that brake bar a quick pop and it will straighten you up.. Makes sense in theory.. I just don't know if I believe it and wouldn't recommend it..

Like ironpony said.. it is the actions of the operator that causes the tires to break traction and start the jackknife.. best to leave an out.. I think anyone should read what Ironpony said and live by it..