No trailer lights

Wait a minute. The driver could have had his lights turned on, but the trailer lights didn't work.

Often a fuse is out for the marker lights. Happened to me once. Another driver drove up beside me, waved his CB mic, and told me my trailer lights went off.

It was a simple fuse. Really, the driver might not notice it for awhile-the turn signals and brake lights still work.

 

Well again this will vary from trl to trl.... Yes they do have a middle marker (turn sig) but not all you can see from the mirror , depending how far it is under the trl ....

the rear marker from trl to trl (red) can be bent inward and often hard to see at times... I always try to bend them out ward when doing a pre trip...

I am not trying to justify driving down the road with the trl lights off but simply trying to show the variables in this situation...

It is possible not to really notice the trl are not working if certain variables occur...
But as a driver you should mentally check time to time for this issue...

 

IMO, realistically that driver should have known almost right away that his trailer lights weren't working. You shold be checking them when you do your pre-trip, as well as a basic walk-around during your shift. I look at my lights all the time once the sun starts to drop. You can look in your mirrors and see at least 1 of the marker/ABS/turn signals....also, look for the glare when you change lanes or step on the brakes.
I drove a Century that had a short in the interruptor switch....when you flashed your lights at the truck you just passed, sometimes the trailer lights didn't come back on. After dealing with this a short time before the switch got replaced, I learned to look and see if my lights were on back there or not.

 

Mike always turns on the marker/parking lights to do his pre-trip and ensures all the lights are on and working properly. Always. This driver obviously didn't do that unless it happened during the trip.

If it did, he still should have been able to see that his trailer lights were out, IMO.

 

A lot can depend on the specific trailer. Right now, sitting out in my driveway my truck is attached to a trailer on which all the trailer lights are invisible in my mirrors. We have a flock of pnumatic tank trailers that were modified for intermodal rail use. They have large frames attached to the sides of the trailer that allow a carry crane to pick up the round tank and place it on a railcar. Since they cannot pick up a tank by the pins system used on vans, it has to be lifted with this type of system. And the lift assemblies cause the trailer lights to be hidden from the driver when in the truck seat.

We no longer transfer product that way, instead just moving the product by rail and having a trailer offload the railcar at the destination end, but we still retain the trailers and the capability. Not all trailers have lighting that is visible from the truck. A lot of lowboy trailers have lighting down within the sides, and are also imnvisible from the drivers seat.

Cmoore did his best to notify the driver, and that's all you can do in that situation. other than becoming his volunteer escort, the best option is to pass him and get beyond the potential trouble. If an accident is going to happen, no matter what kind, I prefer that it happen behind me rather than in front of me.

 

I learn something new every day.

 

I agree with this. Alot can depend on the trailer. I pull a reefer that you can't see the marker lights on unless you are turning.

 

Of course, the good news is that I woill drop that trailer off in the morning, and pick up my first load of the day, and the trailer it is on is a regular trailer and I will be able to see the lights. And then, after delivery, I will drop that trailer at a tank wash, pick up a clean trailer and run it over to where i am picking up my next load. I'll leave that empty washed trailer there, and pick up the loaded trailer bound for Green Bay on Wed morning.

The biggest headache (literally!!) with the intermodal trailers is that if you forget you are working with one, you get underneath the trailer to operate one of the unloading valves, and come out and smack your head on the lift frames. We have had customers find an unconscious driver laid out in there parking lot before, and these trailers are always the culprit. Which is why we carry hard hats in the trucks with us, amongst our safety gear....LOL!