Question for all Experienced Drivers

Because your situation was the EXACT SAME as the OP's.

 

It was a lot closer to the OP's experience than anything you've seen cruising the interstate....but you are missing the points that I was making.

The OP was doing his job picking up trash. Every trash truck I've seen in the past several years is loaded up with strobes and other warning lights to let people know that it's slow moving and might be acting in a seemingly erratic manner (i.e. backing into a driveway off the road to reach a dumpster, stopping in the travel lane to pick up a bag at the end of a driveway, turning off the road shortly after turning in, etc...) as it goes about doing it's job. The car driver bears some responsibility to reduce their speed and give the workers space. That was my point. When the car driver has their head up their rear end and attempts to blow past the truck without giving any extra space, it increases the likelihood of bad things happening. With the hill the OP stated was there, the rear of the truck would have been visible to the car before the car was visible to the truck....ESPECIALLY with a right-hand-drive truck the OP said he was driving. Why didn't the car reduce its speed? OP said they never even hit the brakes. Why not? What was wrong with that driver to cause them to not even touch their brake? You don't think that plays a role in the severity of the crash? Several people in the vehicle....everybody walked away relatively unscathed except for the 1 person who disobeyed the law by not wearing a seat belt. You don't think that decision played a role in the severity of the injuries received? I'm not saying that the OP isn't partially to blame for the crash...only that it may not be 100% his fault, and that the fatality probably would have been avoided if the people in the van that hit him had been obeying the law.

My other point is that even if you are doing everything right, bad things can happen in the blink of an eye. When you work locally driving a large vehicle which makes frequent, irregular stops in traffic, the likelihood of having an incident is significantly higher than the guy who gets out on the interstate, sets the cruise, and hangs onto a steering wheel for 8-10 hours before finding a place to park for the night. There are times when that local truck is going to do things that the OTR driver would absolutely get written up for...but it's all part of the job. For example, I see trucks whipping off onto the shoulder all of the time...usually the mega-fleets....and I assume they are just checking their quallcomm, because after a short time they pull back out into traffic. Get rear ended pulling a stunt like that and see who's ticket it'll be. It'll be your ticket for obstructing traffic, failing to maintain the minimum speed, unlawful stopping, etc...where when I did it in the wrecker, the cops never even took down my information following the wreck...never even asked to see my driver's license. All they did was ask me if I could take both vehicles...which I did. I put the abandoned car up on the flatbed and grabbed the drunk girl's car with the wheel lift...which made their life easier because they wouldn't have to sit there waiting for another wrecker to show up.

 

Nice assumption, considering you don't know a dang thing about me and what I've driven and where in my career. And I'm not missing your point. Your point is that in your 'real world', a trucker can never do anything wrong. It's always the 4-wheelers fault, even if the truck driver was cited for being at fault of the accident. Let me know if you ever plan on starting up your own company, because I'll know I can drive for you after I play demolition derby on I-80.

Does what side the driver sits on make a difference? How about making a left turn on a one way street in a truck where you sit on the left? Same blind spots.

Also, the 4-wheelers speed was NOT the cause of the accident, although it was a FACTOR. The CAUSE was the OP pulling out in front of said car.

 

When you figure out what you are trying to say, get back to me. And for what its worth, I do own my own company. You wouldn't last a day in one of my trucks.

 

Whats so hard to understand what I stated?

Try me

How about you stop assuming I'm some student who just left school last month and only drove a Crapcadia for insert bottom feeder here?

 

I fully explained the points I was making, and you still don't get it. Your interpretation of my points deserves only one response:

No need to. You wouldn't last a single day.

 

Because you're trying to compare apples to oranges. You are also trying to brush off a fatality like it's "no big deal", and I can't even begin to list the reasons why this is wrong.

And how so? Like I said, you know knothing about me and what I have driven and where; so how on God's green Earth do you think I can't 'handle' a particular job? Saying stuff like that really makes you look foolish.

 

I'm just pointing out that there is far more to this wreck than just blaming the truck driver.

Speed played a role in the crash. At 70 mph, the car covers roughly 103 feet per second....the length of a football field in less than 3 seconds. The OP said the car was traveling over 70 mph, but still hasn't said what the speed limit was on that road. Even if it was only 55 mph, that is a difference of 22 feet per second which could have been the difference between crashing and avoiding the crash. Along with the increase speed comes increased stopping distance...double the speed, quadruple the stopping distance. So if the other vehicle was speeding, they were covering ground quicker than they would be expected to, covered far more ground during whatever moments they had to react to the developing situation ahead of them, and if they had touched the brakes, it would have taken them longer to stop. I don't see how you or anybody else can discount the role the other vehicle's speed played in the incident.

The OP said he looked, didn't see anybody coming, and then proceeded. That is what even the most harsh critics of his have admitted they would do in a similar situation. Look for approaching traffic, and proceed when they perceive it to be clear. What more could he have done?

As he pulls out, a car appears over the hill, closing at more than 100 feet per second. At this point, what do you do? The OP hasn't said how far away that hill was, so we here armchair quarterbacking the situation don't know how much time there was to react....but that car is closing at more than 100 feet per second. You are already blocking their path, so at this point avoiding the wreck is entirely up to them....your truck won't accelerate fast enough to get out of the way in time. The OP said they never even hit the brakes. Why not? Was the driver of the other vehicle distracted? Impaired? Again, relevant information to consider.

So now the wreck has occurred. There are a few injuries....and one fatality. The person who died was unrestrained. Every OTHER occupant of the van had their seat belts on and survived. That right there tells me that the wreck was in fact 100% survivable and the person who died made the CHOICE to place their own life in danger. What SHOULD have been a relatively minor incident with a few injuries turned into a major incident with a fatality solely because that person failed to obey the law and wear their seat belt. Why should a driver's career end over somebody else's decision not to wear their seat belt?

I know what the job entails...and very few can handle it. That and hypocrites need not apply.

 

Guess again..We are not wrong. Let's hypothetically say your person that rear ended you did pass away, (and btw, I am glad for you and them they did NOT), sorry, it's still your fault. Freeway speeds are "freeway speeds"..If you were cruising at 15 mph looking for a car (again hypothetically) and I'm coming home from work at 65mph (let's assume legal speeds for that roadway) and I rear end you and die in the accident-because of your "15mph speed", does that make the accident MY fault-or YOURS ? Should I have been looking out for your violation of the laws and making "adjustments" for your actions ? Bottom line, OP killed someone through their negligence, and wants us all to tell him/her they are right...BS...I'm not in to the whole, "you may be better off flipping burgers thing"...But, in this case with the extreme lack of caring on the OP's part as to responsibility, perhaps they should consider a job change. A psychopath is defined as someone with an "extreme disconnect to their victim"..OP meets all those definitions..As do a few others..Part of being a professional driver is allowing for the mistakes of others on the roadway. Something, they evidently don't teach in a truck driving school..And I have noticed, that no one has answered the question..How would YOU feel if that was your kid lying in the wreckage, bleeding to death ? Would you still be a cheerleader ????? Notice how the OP has not come back after they have figured out they won't get absolution here ?

 

Are you freakin serious?

So it would be his fault because he was driving a wrecker going 15 under?...LMAO!!!
Cops and the wreckers strobes flashing and a drunk drives into the wrecker!
Give me a break......
Ever heard of "Failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident"....?.....GEEZE......