Eagle Transport (Gas Haulers)

MTM lost a rig and the driver was killed yesterday ... google "tanker wreck on I-77 outside Charlotte"

 

That is too bad. I know its a chance we take everyday when we go to work. Live each day as if it were your last.

 

Smokie ... we all have to have that "get the job done no matter what" attitude to a certain degree. The question is ... what does "no matter what" mean? There is nothing that can't be accomplished in our line of work given the proper equipment and enough time to complete the job.

If I am reading your statement correctly ... I think ... you are saying that you feel as if you are having to go too fast for your level of experience and you want to do a good job but you are uneasy about some chances you may be taking because you are, by nature, a "driven" personality with an exceptional work ethic.

First of all ... you don't have to prove anything to anybody except yourself. I know you enjoy a challange and this job can certainly be a challange at times ... but you have to put things in the proper perspective. Out here ... there is one criterior that MUST be met before anything can be accomplished and that is that there HAS to be a measure of safety in whatever you are doing. We have roads out here that literally have "hair pin curves" on them ... they are more than 90 degree turns and if you are driving at night and don't know where they are and what is a safe speed to manuver around them ... then you could be a candidate for a rollover. Whenever I go someplace for the first time, I always take my time because I am unfamiliar with the terrain and what's around the next bend ... it's not because I want to be slow ... it's because common sense dictates that I HAVE to be slow enough to compensate for my lack of knowledge of what's ahead. There is no shame in that Smokie ... Eagle pays me to be as safe as is necessary to accomplish what they are sending me to do.

You've heard the expression "he has just enough experience to get himself killed" and it's usually used in refering to a rookie ... but not exclusively ... there is also the case of the "old salt" that has become too sure of himself and takes his driving too casual. Rollovers can happen to anyone that becomes too confident in their ability to handle the unexpected. There is only one way to handle the unexpected and that is to be focused on what you are doing and at a speed that allows you to do whatever you have to do to avoid a catastrophe.

When I was younger I would catch myself doing something unsafe or would see someone else ... well ... like tailgating a car and I would get on the horn and say to the other driver, "Hey buddy, not trying to tell you how to drive, but you and I both know that there ain't no future in doing what you are doing." Sure, that other driver can probably get away with it this time or the next time or even do it for a year ... but sooner or later ... sure as the world ... it Will catch up with him someday ... and then all the "I'm sorrys" in the world wont amount to a hill of beans when he looks in the back seat of a car he has just wiped out as sees a little kid tore all to pieces.

Even still I'll catch myself sometimes doing something I know I shouldn't do and I'll say under my breath "Ain't no future that" and I'll take a deep breath and back out of it. Smokie, you're in it for the long haul, just do whatever you have to do make a future out of it. And just like me ... YOU know when you are doing something you shouldn't do ... YOU are the driver, not the driven. Make your own safety my friend!

Stay Chilly
John

 

Oh sure Smokie ... I know exactly what you are saying. Kinda like saying "We're gonna take that hill no matter what it costs." The cost obviously being figured in terms of dead and wounded ... it's a mentality that can eventually grow to become the prime directive to your life. But you understand that those were extreme circumstances where somebody WAS gonna die to accomplish the mission ... it wasn't a question of IF someone was gonna get killed ... just who and how many were going to pay the price. The generals, before the battle, probably sat down and determined what would be the acceptable losses for this particular engagement ... and after doing a few short calculations they figured they could handle a loss of X percent without losing their credibility as battlefield tacticians and then proceeded to set those plans in action.

Well, the petroleum industry is a little like those generals and as was true of the generals, their credibility is of paramount importance. In this world they want to take an economic hill and have determined that their acceptable losses in terms of lives is exactly 0% and in terms of monetary losses it is also exactly 0% ... to ensure that this will come to pass they have integrated safety and double checking everything as the prime directive in everybody's mind. Tis a lofty ambition ... nobody has to die and no mistakes have to be made. The advantage that the oil industry has over the generals is that the generals are always working in EXTREME circumstances where the oil industry is working in a much more SUBDUED environment.

Methinks that your mindset is entirely appropriate considering the length of time you spent in service to our country and your work ethic is to be admired and commended ... and rest assured that there definately IS a place for you in this world, no matter how frustrating understanding the mindset of civilian entities can be at times. I'm just glad that I only spent 2 years, 8 months and 6 days in service ... you see ... I've always been a civilian at heart ... even when I wasn't

 

i am new to this but have been reading every ones post but no new ones in over 2 weeks where has everyone gone ?

 

We are busy delivering gas, and trying to lead a normal life.