Oklahoma-2 Deputies killed in crash with Semi

Yeah right? Cops, sheriffs, troopers, you name it. they are prone to ripping around at high speeds just cause then can. And in this case it nipped two of their own in the butt because they forgot that even as LEO's they still have the legal duty to leave enough distance between themselves and other motorists in front of them so as to be able to stop in time to avoid a collision, no matter what the car/truck in front of them was doing.

My sincere hope is that the everyone, especially the law enforcement community learns from this and will realize that slowing down reallly does save lives.

If I had been in the same position as those deceased sheriffs I would have had numerous tickets tacked to my cold dead chest while lying in the coffin.

Disclaimer, please, don't think for a second that I do not value and respect the service that police departments offer. I have several close friends that are local police and one is a a DE tropper and know first hand how tough the job can be. However, they drive like nuts when responding, not responding, and even off duty. So like i said, hopefuly this is wake up call.

 

The company that I currently drive for told us if we are caught U-turning, we were fired on the spot. The sun blindness, I have witness that on I40 westbound last winter in TN at the 419 mile marker. It even blinded me where I had to really slow down. But a car came to a complete stop and another car slammed it into the concrete barrier in the median. In the case ( the deputies) the worse case scenario happened.

 

Well, ya know. Along the lines of truckers making regretable mistakes or decisions. I am faced with these, everytime I get into my truck. How i make a split second decision may effect the rest of my life, and possibly for those who surround my rig. I know that the public in general expects us to be something that is not always practicle or achieveable. And at times I may have to bend a rule, regulation, or just plain common sense, in order to fulfill my obligation to the company, shipper, and reciever. Now don't get me wrong, because SAFETY is always my 1st priority. Driving a 70ft long tractor/trailer is not for the weak or narrow minded.

I am not sure what the driver of the this truck was thinking when he decided to make a U turn on a highway. ( I have never done it, nor do I think I would, because I think U turns are a bad idea) But I would need at least a 1/2 mile, if not more, of clear visual in both directions and more than enough pavement from shoulder to shoulder so that once I started, I would not have to stop and re position and then continue.

So we ended up with a couple of LEO's dead. This is not going to go well for the driver no matter how legal the U'ey might have been.

 

Well making a U turn on a highway might not have been the best idea. Cresting hills at a high rate of speed with sun glare isnt the best idea either. All water under the bridge now R.I.P. gentleman!

 

Both at fault.

Truck driver for turning his rig across the road at a hill where the view would be obstructed.

Sheriff for cresting the hill at to high a rate of speed to stop within the distance he could see.

 

Man, did nobody read the other link? It's said the truck driver was turning. Nothing about a u-turn. So everyone lambasting the driver of this truck for something that he may not have done. He could have been turning on or off a road or driveway.

When one report says one thing and the other says another I tend to go with the less extreme scenario. Local news is about ratings. If they make it remotely sound like a truck drivers fault it gets more attention than if it was the LEO's fault.

 

Would the deputies have taken outhentire family?
Driving too fast for sight distance.

In our ambulance on a routine patientransport to a hospital, I crested a hill and was blinded by the setting sun.
Already I had put on our four-way flashers and slowed to almost a stop because I knew I would not be able to see.
Was the worst blindness I havever encountered.

 

I figured the Sheriff interview was a little one sided.

I have one other comment about the glare from the sun.

Everyone knows that when a windshield is a little dirty, it makes the sun glare very unsafe at any speed of travel, forwards and backwards. And morning and evenings of course is the worst time for a dirty windshield

A clean windshield has very little glare. That is why I clean mine daily and more often during bug season if needed. It doesn't do anyone any good if I can't see out of the cab of my 80,000 lb rig.

 

Im in Law enforcement right now and soon to be trucker so my heart goes out to both families even in the drivers ignorance. The results of his actions will affect his family as well. SAD SITUATION