Truckers: How To Prepare for a Tornado?

I was responding directly to your quote that the cab of a truck is safer than a drainage ditch in the event of a tornado. Absolutaly false, and you will get people that don't know any better killed because of it. No "quality ditches" are not exactly everywhere. that is your quote not mine.But in the event of a tornado just about any where but the cab of a truck is the place to be. Yes even in the hail and 90 mph winds which tend to blow over "quality ditches". I was driving up 35 last week when the tornado that hit grandbury crossed I35 and I can guarantee You I pulled off the road and took shelter for the whole 15 minutes it took to cross .

 

Where did you take shelter. Are you telling me you actually layed in a ditch. A typical interstate "ditch" is useless in a real tornado. But do it your way. As a chaser, I was parked on the eastbound side along side a several other trucks parked on the westbound side as the tornado passed probably within a quarter mile to our south. The winds were extreme, hail and rain made visual acuity past 20 feet impossible. I can assure you, any trucker who "played it safe" and layed out in the ditch in that situation (which is very common to be near a tornado but not run over by a tornado) would probably still be in the hospital today. Unless you can actually see the tornado (and can't move out of it's path), I say play the odds. Extremely high winds and flying shrapnel, downed powerlines? good chance. Tornado contact? less chance

 

When we are weather spotting, we are in our trucks and safer than being out in the wind and the debris.

Personally, I remain in my vehicle unless I can get to a safer structure. But, as proven in OKC and Moore, what structure?

 

I was hit by straight line winds from a thunderstorm that produced a tornado recently. That ended with a trip to the emergency room.

 

So.....if one picks you up and moves you for at least 8 minutes....how do you go about logging that?

 

Technically On Duty not Driving, assuming you were in the drivers seat..

Try explaining that to Mr Dot,prolly won't believe you.....so I suggest just stay or go on Drive Line.
Hopefully this doesn't happen while on your 10,else you will be really screwed.

 

If you are back in your sleeper, you'd log it as sleeper berth.

 

And if it throws you out of your cab, do you have to switch to off duty?

Note: Sorry to those offended by morbid senses of humor.

 

One of th most terrifying experiences I had was when I first started driving in 04. I don't remember what state it was, but it was cow and corn country(like that helps,I know) and I was headed north with some other trucks. There were some scary clouds off to the NE of Us and we all were talking about them and then all of the sudden they turned green and we saw that sucker drop down and Stuff start flying before it covered itself up. We barely got past the north tip of it when it jumped the freeway behind us. I thought for sure it was going to hit me or at least blow me off the road. I got hit by some good bursts, but I had 46000 lbs sitting 3 feet of the floor and that had me grounded enough and with the good luck of it being in bursts and not continuous, I was able to drive on.

 

Doesn't anyone have weather apps that follow you by GPS and give you warnings or check the weather ahead of you? Almost every truckstop has The Weather Channel playing on the demo TVs.

Find out what's going on and either bust through before or wait it out, there was plenty of advance warning up to a week out for the last 2 outbreaks in Oklahoma.

An ungoverned truck can really help if you find yourself in a bad spot.