Stuck

First off sir none of us was there so we don't know how it went down, but people are always jumping in your following distance and then hitting brakes. Please don't act like it doesn't happen all the time. I do believe what he meant by the 20 plus seconds is the fact that people are always jumping in front of you. We even had this discussion in a safety meeting when its normal weather. Yes there are things he could of done that could of prevented it, and he hopefully has learned from his mistake. 90 percent of the people who come on here are always crying about something that is everybody else's fault but their's I think he is just joining the club. It's just the world we live in. Sadly these companies give crappy training, and don't give these guys but a few mess up's and they are of of the industry because they can't find employment anywhere. Some times you don't know how icy it is until you hit your brakes and see your trailer start coming around. Lord only know's how I stopped and prevented the jacknife, but it wasn't my skills I'll tell you that much. Dude already can't find another job. Leave him be he can blame Obama, but that still not going to get him another gig. I know I'm the last person to say have some sympathy on the guy, but rookies not only make rookies mistakes they also make rookie statements. That's all I'm saying just consider the source. Anyway I'm done. Have fun kicking a dead horse.

 

You're absolutely right...he forgot to blame Obama. Or the governor of Georgia.

 

Where did you all come up with 24 seconds? I never heard of that. It's not in any driving manual.

At 25 mph that is 880 feet or almost 3 football fields. That sounds good from some safety director.

On dry pavement they say you need 1 second for every 10 feet of vehicle length. Over 40 mph you add a second. So with a 70 foot vehicle at 25 mph you need 7 seconds. That equates to 256 feet or 3.5 truck lengths. Of course in rain or snow you increase the distance to allow for increased braking distance. But theoretically it should make that truck in front of you increase his braking distance. He might be a different weight and have better tires.
800 feet is a little over kill. At 25 mph ~500 feet or 7 truck lengths should be sufficient. That equates to about 13 seconds.

Even with them rules you don't see anyone close to following them. You might see them 200-300 feet at most.

Like someone else said always have an out. Nobody says you have to keep a straight line and hit him. Oops it wouldn't stop. Hit the shoulder and you can run right on by him if you can't stop. If you are paying attention to what's going on behind you the left lane is an out. On 3 lanes you see many running the middle lane because they don't want to deal with ramp traffic. Okay that's an idea but you take away one of your clear gimme outs, the shoulder.


Bad things to do in bad weather.

Following too closely. Run by yourself and not in a pack even if it means slowing down. Once you are behind the pack a good distance than pace with them unless you feel uncomfortable.
Trying to prove something by passing.
Not knowing when to get off the road. Your dispatcher might yell but no one is going to punish you for shutting down in a storm.

Being a newbie and inexperienced you should of not tried to keep with the rest. That solo trucker never gets in trouble. You get in trouble when you run with others. Any weird feelings of thoughts of losing control your thoughts should be diverted to finding a rest area or a truck stop. That doesn't mean you have to shut down for 10 hours. You are allowed 2 hours extra drive time for adverse weather conditions within your 14. Pull over and take a break and wait until the plows and salt trucks run. There are so many scenarios you can't cover them all. Don't do what you see other drivers do. Do what's right. That single truck you all pass is doing the right thing. That truck you see in the rest area is doing the right thing.

Running into the back of someone is nothing but your fault and preventable. You could of done many things to prevent it. As a newbie it's a little harder to get back in the seat but not impossible. Many companies have a 2-3 accident/violation rule. Forget how to drive a car and learn how to drive a truck. There's a big difference.

390.5 Definitions

DOT Accident means—
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this definition, an occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle operating on a highway in interstate or intrastate commerce which results in:

(i) A fatality;
(ii) Bodily injury to a person who, as a result of the injury, immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene of the accident; or
(iii) One or more motor vehicles incurring disabling damage as a result of the accident, requiring the motor vehicle(s) to be transported away from the scene by a tow truck or other motor vehicle.

 

I think we have all learned something in this thread or at least been reminded of tthings


1. Maintain following distances appropriate to conditions

2.man up and take responsibility for your mistakes when necessary

3.lastly dont piss off someome with triple sixes in his name......lol

 

i'm thinking, with a minor incident like that, that it wasn't the actual incident that lost you your job. had you gone to the boss and said "i'm so sorry. i misjudged the road conditions and gave the truck ahead of me a slight nudge. i learnt a valuable lesson about safe following distances in bad conditions and will do my darnedest to make sure it doesn't happen again", you might still have a job. but from your posts, i can just imagine you going in, ranting and raving about the driver in front of you pulling up too sharply and everyone else was following at the same distance as you and it wasn't your fault, rah rah rah. i'd say it was more an attitude based thing than anything to do with the incident itself. you're young. hopefully you'll learn.

 

Hell he claims he worked there 2 more weeks. So they might have given him the op to take responsibility and he wouldn't do it. No one waits 2 weeks after an accident to fire you. Hell most fire you on the spot.

 

I hate to admit it, but I would and have done the same.

I arrived to deliver some boat trailers in Alabama. I arrived at night and intended to sleep right there. I wanted to turn around so in the morning when they opened their gate I wouldnt have to blind side in. So I used the lot across the street and backed into it to swing back out on the road. They had a small gate/fence that I didnt see and when I pulled out I saw that I had backed into the gate and bent it back some. I immediately got out and looked to see if the business had any cameras. I did see any so I left and went to a truck stop about 15 mi down the road and spent the night there. I then made my delivery later that morning and no one was the wiser.

Crappy thing to do and to this day I still think about it feel guilty for leaving. I would gladly have paid for the damages. At most it would have been $400 - $500. Probably much less. I tilted the post that held the gate up. But I didnt want to take the chance of them filing a police report and it going on my CSA record, so I made like a ghost.

In this business everyone is so quick to hang a truck driver for virtually anything. The consequences for even a minor nick or scratch far exceed anything realistic. So sometimes you have to do what you have to do in order to protect your livelihood.

To the OP,.. its not the end of the world. I dont think anyone here can say with all honesty that they are perfect drivers. Keep calling around. Dont volunteer more info than what is necessary to get the job. If no police record was filed and its not on your CSA,.. I would deny it and tell who ever you want to hire on with you dont know what they are talking about (Play dumb).

Dont make excuses for having an accident. Bottom line, it was your fault, no matter what the conditions or circumstances, they are all preventable. You were either too fast or too close. No other way to sugar coat it. Learn from it and move on.

Hurst

 

Pretty sure this dude is a troll. I'm starting to pick up on that. Also this is starting to be a pissing match about what one would or would not do. So I'm gonna add my last .02 and be done. You've got the wheel. You've got the responsibility. Nobody else. When the weather is bad, stay back. If you run in a pack, you're asking for trouble. It's not hard to get into a situation you can't get out of. If the op is real, grow up.