Is that load worth going to prison?

I have read on another site that 50 to 60 percent of big rig accidents are
the result of the driver falling asleep at the wheel. Is this true? I am a
newbie and I was shocked to read this statistic. Maybe they meant Fatigue and not sleeping at the wheel. It is unbelievable that any trucker
would take a risk for themselves, their families, the others on the road, not to mention the companys truck and the load of freight. I will always
run legal even if the company I work for fires me. It is so sad that those
students and their families had to experience this needless tragedy.

 

One thing I have control over in this life is my integrity. When I get out of school, I will run legally and will only work for a company that expects that of me. If they won't and I can't find one that will, I'll go deliver pizzas or something before I give up my integrity.

 

I used to run hard. It was expected much more back then than it is now. I used to run AZ to Detroit in like 40 hours, solo.
These days I'm a straight legal guy. Heck, the older I get the hard it gets just to do the 11 hours, especially if you toss in a couple hours of unloading. It's hard to stop for the night when you are an hour or two from home. I did it last week and considered pushing on but I didn't.
My biggest issue is the hours of servince. 11 on and 10 off. After a few days that gets you to where you are out of hours at 2 in the afternoon and then you are expected to get up at midnight or something stupid. That to me causes more problems than if they just made it 8am untill 8pm or something. Of course then you'd NEVER find a parking spot

 

the pay sucks (i do it right now actually) million dollar houses and they want EXACT CHANGE back.

 

Thanks for the news and words of wisdom. Just getting ready to go to school and was wondering if some of these companies push drivers to the point of being illegal. "just say no", I like that.
I do wonder if as a newbie, you can get in hot water with your DM on just say no? What is your recourse without being tagged "troublemaker".
I think this is a very important subject, and am glad to see alot of pros saying no way I'm running illeagal.

 

If you have Qualcomm and they tell you to do something illegal, ask them to tell that to you over the qualcomm so that it is recorded. Even if they delete it Qualcomm keeps a record. It's your life not theirs. If you wreck you will see just how fast they deny telling you anything. I would rather abandon my rig and tell them to go stuff it up their butts then to do something that could get me or someone else killed. I'm not going to prison for some sniveling little dispatcher worm that sits in a comfortable plush leather chair in a conditioned room.

 

Actually, I believe AAA had a very recent study that said that 75% of accidents involving a truck were the fault of the 4 wheeler. Of the single vehicle truck accidents, and or multi-vehicle accidents where the truck was found to be at fault, your numbers are correct as to that percentage. Fatigue is a major factor in 50% of the 25% that trucks are at fault. It may seem like a small point, but it changes the numbers greatly, and could nearly be considered misinformation if to leave it out.

Getting through the "FEAR FACTOR" and to the facts, you find out that 12.5% of accidents that involve big trucks are the trucks fault because of fatigue. Still too high a number, but not nearly as horrific or industry-wide as your original numbers indicated.

Also please remember that fatigue as a word or condition is subjective, and doesn't mean asleep at the wheel. It also means a little tired and potentially not as attentive as normal. Sounds like alot of people after a long day looking at a computer screen all day at the office, then getting in the car to drive home. I wonder when we will see the stats on the number of fatigued 4 wheelers at fault for crashes, then driving limitations and log books for them.

P.S. For the above writer suggesting we are trained professionals, not so fast. We are trained, we are required to be professionals in what we do, yes. But the very Gov't that regulates us and controls our every move, considers our "Profession" unskilled labor. Rather sad for what they require of us, but it keeps the rates down, and big business happy.

 

You tell 'm Rev. Couldn't agree more.

 

Thank You Basecase; I thought that 50% figure was too high. Had I thought about it, the public and legislators would be up in arms if it were
true as they are with 4 wheelers and drinking and driving. I will nevertheless run legal and remember this tragedy for a long time to come.
Roadworthy

 

Run legal, but most of all run smart. If you are tired, even if you are still legal, pull over and rest. Even legal doesn't mean safe, and the word legal won't stop you from falling asleep behind the wheel. That is the thing alot of drivers forget. Legal doesn't mean safe, but smart does.