This is why Trainees should be supervised, not run as a team!

Clear skies. Dry road. Good visibility.

That means one could see the tail lights of the truck you're approaching.
That means one could see the 4-way flashers of the truck you're approaching.
That means if one was paying attention and saw these 4-ways and tail lights that you should temporarily slow down until you can get a general idea of what's going on, then plan your course of action, be it move a lane over, slow down more, or stop.

If the CRST driver had his 4-ways on, he was properly warning other motorists he was either a disabled vehicle or slow moving vehicle. It's up to the motorists that will be approaching him to recognize that warning and act accordingly.

The driver who rear-ended him wasn't paying attention, plain and simple.

 

That's a long down-grade from the top of Sherman Hill to well beyond Cheyenne. Its got a lot of curves and there are places that you crest small summits with curves as well. If the FCC driver was behind one of those small summits, its quite possible he couldn't see the tail lights or 4-ways until it was too late.

At that time in the morning, I'd think that he might have been drowsy enough to have impaired reaction time - especially if he'd been up all night driving.

 

Not according to state police.

Townsend said the area where the crash occurred is “fairly flat or slightly downgraded.”

It's totally possible both drivers were driving fatigued.
Maybe I should be more wary when approaching a CRST truck....

 

I drove past this accident as the first responder was arriving. I disagree with the article where it says it was "fairly flat" or "slightly downgraded".

In fact, despite the fact that FCC was engulfed in flames, I couldn't see the fire from my approach because it was actually a small incline. My theory is that FCC crested the small incline and CRST was right there and he didn't have time to react.

All I know is this is a terrible tragedy and I won't get the image of that truck burning up out of my mind any time soon.

 

On one of the other threads I saw concerning this, a poster mentioned that CRST dispatches training trucks as teams after 3 weeks - whether the trainee is ready for it or not.

Can't say if this is true or not - I don't pull for them.

 

Driver, I'm sure you won't, sights like that are not forgotten.

I won't try to derail this thread, it certainly was a terrible accident. But a couple things come to mind.
Like was mentioned, the time of day, we all know how fatigue can set in about that time.
The other thing, how about that CB? Maybe I'm one of the few, my radio is always on except for a few choice areas. If all would have been using it, all would/should/could have been informed of the CRST. That thing for all the BS that goes on, can still save your ###. And there are times having that thing on and working gave me enough warning to prevent an accident, not quite the same as this one, but similar. Just a random thought.

 

What none of you are mentioning is there was a faster truck that passed first the FCC truck, then the CRST. If the faster truck saw and avoided the CRST, what was wrong with the FCC?

And why didn't the faster driver try to warn the FCC about the slow truck?

What do you experienced guys do when you crest a little rise and see a cop with the tail of his car sticking out in the road? What do you do if there's an accident? A child in the road? (not necessarily on I-80, but we're not always on interstates) How do you experienced guys handle back roads in West Virginia and Arkansas?

Rise or no rise. I've been on that stretch of I-80 many times. Visibility is not completely blocked by any little rise or corner. If you think that's blocked, go north on Arkansas 7 from Russellville. On a clear night, with 4-ways flashing, you should as least be able to see the "halo" of the lights before ever seeing the vehicle.

The faster truck was able to safely get around the CRST. The FCC driver was not paying attention for whatever reason.

If someone has to change a tire...or loses a drive line along there, are you going to simply plow on through and blame the broken-down truck? Well, yeah...as long as it's a Swift, a JB Hunt, a Werner, a CRST.... but if it's one of these companies on the move and, say, the FCC broken down or limping a disabled truck to where he night feel it safer to stop....it would still be the trainee's fault. He should have seen that poor FCC driver. After all, he had his flashers on...

This &#$% irritates me. You guys always want to find fault with a lesser experienced driver with a big company without knowing all the facts. I've even heard it at truck stops: guy parks his hood on the end and gets creamed by a US Xpress. It's US Xpress's fault because he turned too tight. Next week, a JB Hunt is parked in that same spot and gets creamed by an independent. It's JB Hunt's fault because he shouldn't have parked there. You can't win!

 

That's where I was coming from with the radio.

 

Yet, like myself and others in the forum have stated, can be flown solo in less than 10hrs of flying...Whether it be a plane or a truck, a trainer or flight instructor can't possibly cover any and everything that will happen to you, it's unrealistic...Our company has NO trainer time and you'd think we'd have an abnormal amount of serious accidents, it's just not the case and I think it's because there's no trainer sitting there giving you a false sense of confidence...You know YOU have to make the best decision and use common sense...AND you can't always train the stupid out of someone or instill common sense regardless of the quality of trainer...

I've been a flight instructor for over 10yrs and there's been many a student I've sent packing as I just never saw safe flying in their future, some heeded the advise, some found someone else that did it for the money, my philosophy is I need to sleep good at night knowing I did the best I could and that you will do the same, I can't cover or prevent everything...