Swift crash on I-85 kills co-driver/trainer

Young driver, probably a trainee, 4:30 AM and a blown steer. Very bad combination. RIP guys.

 

It's very easy to skew the numbers with posts like that also.

1.7 trillion miles in 2 years equals 850 billion miles in one year. With 22000 drivers each driver logs more than 38 million miles each year? Interesting. Your numbers are useless.

 

I guess now you could call that a hot load..

 

If only you could down vote comments…….

 

Probably now thumping his chest and saying, HAHAHA, I made a funny

 

I haven't had to deal with a blown steer tire, except in my car. That particular incident was manageable because it happened at slow speed on a straight road with no traffic.

Going back to that training video I posted earlier in this thread, notice how the driver's getting trained had BOTH hands on the steering wheel? In addition to having the instinct to apply throttle instead of brakes to gain control, if you only have one hand on the steering wheel or worse yet you are at that moment steering with your elbows as you open a water bottle, your chances of losing control increase exponentially.

You made a good point, that little nagging thought in the back of your head when you are on a road that would make a steer tire situation worse. I have that same thought whenever I take one hand off the steering wheel. It's why I drive with both hands all the time, except for shifting, sipping a drink, or eating a snack. During those times I've got one hand on the wheel.

For anyone that wants to see how quickly a blown steer can kill you, just search for "truck tire explosion" or "truck rollover". One in particular comes to mind. You can see the steer tire go like a shaped charge, a focused cone of white smoke that extends out horizontally for about 20'. One second later you see brake lights. Within three seconds of applying the brakes that driver was dead. Rolled over the guard rail.

 

So you're saying it is possible for a newbie company driver to gross over a million dollars a year?

 

Deleted

 

Absolutely!

 

As a former "Swiftie", a former "trainer" then one of the original "Mentors", I still keep up with some goings on at Swift with their drivers, both here on TTR and out on the road. And this thread has brought some interesting thoughts to mind.
1. Why do so many that have no experience (with Swift) make comments like they actually KNOW something about Swift.
2. People who have never "trained", "mentored", or even tried teaching have the audacity to make statements of how it should be done.
3. How so many can assume expertise in accident investigation never having any experience in an investigation or its process.
4. Interesting how statistics can be manipulated to get "conclusions" that have nothing to do with the stats!

Response to:
Item 1: Swift hasn't been governed at 57 since the last century, yet we have one (or more) posters on various Swift threads making that accusation. Perhaps this poster(s) just woke from a 25 year coma and has now learned how to type again.
Item 2: Have you, or rather, can you "teach" ? Have you ever tried? In reading some responses, I can safely assume the answer for many is NO TO BOTH QUESTIONS! I have seen the standard comment; "the trainer should be in the jump seat at all times". This is only true for the truck school or "Phase 1" of a students time in driving. Once the student has his/her license, not operating with a permit, then sitting in the passenger seat is nothing more than baby sitting. By being in the sleeper...not laying down, but perched on the bunk...I had better and easier access to controls, plus I had a better visual perspective of what the new driver is seeing and doing. In addition, having the "student" almost alone in the front, offers a sense of trust, instills a beginning for self confidence to the "student" for his abilities and achievement thus far. Also, in being behind and "over his/her shoulder", conversation / instruction / advice is better heard by the student and does not tempt the student to take his/her eyes off the road and controls, and doesn't obscure his/her vision in the passenger mirror/window. Not to mention the fact, that from behind, I can see the instrument panel and know what is or what isn't happening or being done.

There are times when being in the jump seat is preferred...helping find an address, navigating in the city environment, finding a trailer in a drop yard or terminal....not when getting in the parking spot of a truck stop or getting into the dock...the trainer/Mentor must be outside the students window coaching/spotting, not barking directions or steering wheel movement at the student.

Item 3: People assume so much at first visual of an accident. It took 10 pages (100 posts) to find the conclusion that a blown steer tire is/was a strategic cause in this incident/crash. Notice I didn't say "accident"! An accident is an "oops"...this was a double fatal, quite a bit more than an "oops"! People, don't assume it was anything it isn't just because the tractor or trailer has SWIFT, or WERNER, or CRST on the units...wait until you have some facts before injecting your obvious bias of any incident. Didn't the post state that a "blown right steer" was a factor? Why is the rig at a LEFT ANGLE at point of impact if it was the right steer? C'mon experts...jump in on this factoid!

Item 4: Stop trying to make sense of statistics that have no real bearing or conclusion to actual events or theories. SafeStat, CSA, or any other group of compiled data is organized in such a manner as to get a conclusion designed to promote a theory by defining and directing the data to a predetermined conclusion. Which is exactly what media groups or reporters look at to deceive the reader/listener to their personal or corporate bias. Let's throw into this the "facts" of the ELD....nope can't do that, because we all know they are skewed in the favor of the "safety" statistics that they "promote a safer driver", and can't be cheated (as easily).....

In conclusion, I have been involved in a fatal accident! Suicide by big rig was the final analysis of my "accident". So from my "accident/incident"...does this statistic prove that I am an "unsafe driver", that I am "an accident waiting to happen"? Quite the contrary, that incident made a safer driver, more aware of "the other guy/gal" and what they are doing. When she broke out of the pack and came across the median at me, head on, I was mid shift accelerating off a stop light, under a heavy load (44,562 lbs of freight, dog food) and climbing a slight grade. My reaction time was extremely limited...she was doing 71 (speedo was frozen at that speed) came across a narrow (non-obscured) median and one lane, my speed (determined by on board computer) was 28 and braking at impact. I only had time to try and turn the nose away from her...an attempt to lessen impact, she counter steered maintaining a more direct hit. The investigation determined that I did all that I could to "avoid or lessen the results".