TN trooper severely injured by truck

Times like that, I turn on the 4-ways and start slowing down.

 

I was broke down last night on Sandstone MT. driving west towards where 64 meets 77 there just east of Beckley, WV. As it was starting to get dark and the fact that I was half in the far right lane of 3, I asked the WV Safety patrol if his flashing lights might attract a sleepy driver, He said that as it gets dark, it happens more than one wants. it was at that time I was wishing there was a shoulder for the road there! Lucky for me. We got it out of there before dark.

 

Can't you use the split sleeper provision (10 consecutive split between 2 periods of at least 2 hours and the remainder) to 'extend' the 14?

 

my husband was broke down a couple of days ago, on a 2 lane, he got off on the shoulder as far as possible, put his triangles out, ON the shoulder not the line or in the road like some do....and less than an hour later a TRUCK DRIVER RAN OVER them, and just missed rear ending my husbands truck in BROAD DAYLIGHT, no cops etc.....and 4 wheeler almost hit him too.....PPL DONT PAY ATTENTION...

 

I do my best never to stop on the freeway. I try to stop on the ON ramp where no one is up to speed yet if I need to. yesterday was one of those (beyond My control emergency stops) Makes me know why I avoid it. Glad that it was the triangles and not your husband.

 

i agree....on all counts!!!! he had no choice the truck shut down...and he was on a 2 lane no exits....no choice....

 

My Fan belt broke. Half way up the mt. and the temp started to spike! I agree. sometimes, no choice. I would not want to be a trooper on these roads for nothing!

 

try being a highway maint worker.

All I can ask is that all of us give them the space they deserve to do their job and do it safely. They don't like being a target any more than you do.

I speak from experience on that.

 

The trooper was on the right shoulder of the road and when the truck hit him it knocked him across the road into the wall. I haul gas in knoxville and came through there when he had the car pulled over and came back about 45 minutes later after unloading and they had just gotten the fire put out. At the time didn't know it was a trooper involved as you couldn't even recognize the car anymore.

 

Go look at the pic of the whole scene, it infers something mighty unpleasant to think about, that I'll discuss in a moment.

If you blow the pic up, you can see the truck left the pavement at (most likely mere feet before) the point of impact. Considering the time (3AM) and the fact that he was on the shoulder for 200 ft., the driver was asleep. Whether it was asleep eyes closed and drifting to the right or asleep eyes open and target-fixated doesn't matter; the right front dropped off just before impact and took the truck to the ditch. Here's what bothers me: He drove the truck back onto the shoulder and continued for several hundred feet with the trailer skidding along the pavement edge, as if he'd have kept going if the trailer had jumped back up on the shoulder. It looks like he was just going to haul ###!

If you read the story, the driver did the right thing in the end, he was in there helping get the trooper out. As I've typed this, I think he most likely didn't realize he'd hit anything until the flames behind him registered in his recently asleep brain. Or I hope so, anyways. Surely, even in this age of "haul butt if you rip off a hood," the thought that you'd hurt someone instead of something would make you stop. But he sure drug that trailer a long ways...