Which kind of trucking world is this???

If it was manipulation, the driver should have noticed on his walk around...Oh yeah, most people don't do those, just start and go, my bad...I listed that as one of my biggest fears as a driver and visually inspect it EVERYTIME before I pull away, even when first hooking up...

 

I do the walk around too. I also visually check the glad hand seals. That's another favorite place for idiots to pull stuff on a driver.

 

Part of your job is to ensure the safe condition of the equipment before you move it... that includes inspecting the coupling to ensure that fifth wheel is latched, and the claw around the kingpin is properly seated.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regu...srruletext.aspx?reg=396.13&keyword=inspection

§ 396.13Driver inspection.

Before driving a motor vehicle, the driver shall:

(a) Be satisfied that the motor vehicle is in safe operating condition;

 

To piggy back on Nana's comment. Don't just check the air lines are connected, but make sure someone didn't switch them on you, either.

 

Leaving a truck stop and loosing a trailer. Hmmm. If said driver picked up the trailer at the truck stop then its possible he failed to check the fifth wheel on the pre trip. But I bet IMO he was running his pie hole on the CB and some one did an under handed "I'll show you" job on him.

A easy way to prevent that from happening is to set the trailer brakes first then ease out on the clutch and step on the brake and set the tractor brake, the fifth wheel cant/should not be able to be unlatched.

 

Lotsa tricks to be learned from the experienced folks !!!!

 

I always give it a tug before I go...


If I ever saw someone doing this to ANY truck, They would have a very bad day.

 

If I were to catch someone doing that, they would definately get aquainted with the backside of my hand..............and then some. No call for crap like that.

 

I'll never forget...I pulled for Boyed Brothers once...a flat bed carrier..

and one of the trainers at orientation told us...a 100% sure way that trailer would always be coupled to truck was to do a visual inspection...and that has stuck with me to this day...nothing beats a visual inspection to make sure trailer is coupled to 5th wheel...