Why are 18 wheelers always causing accidents?

Make that 3 I never falsified my log. If if was getting close to running out of hours, I shut down. No load is worth me driving tired or illegal.

 

Good for you guys!

It sometimes isn't easy to NOT do as everyone else is doing, but some people really stick to what they believe in. Not everyone can do it, but to those who do, Kudo's.

I am not a trucker, so I don't have to worry about this one. But, there are other ways that I have taken a stand against all odds. I took the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission before the Supreme Court of N.S. on my own and I did all of my own legal work. It took lots of studying and seven and a half years, but they knew that they had been in a fight.

Unfortunately for me, even though I was in the right, the Commission has something like " Diplomatic Immunity," ( They call it "Discretionary Powers." ) They can not be forced to act on every complaint because of the huge backlog, no matter how legitimate the complaint is. Because of this unfair ruling, they actually can over-rule the Canadian Constitution.

John

John Alexander Baker

 

Heh or stop on the road to decide if this is the exit they are supposed to take while truckers get the opportunity to practice emergency lane changing and stab braking maneuvers.

There are quite a few ramps that turn downhill on a sharp curve from the highway that you cannot enter at highway speed. One in particular on I-75 south in Ft Myers FL doesn't even have a slow-down lane. I think its Alico road but I don't remember now. There would be no way to slow down enough to prevent a rollover or skid off the curve. Poor planning on the part of the people who built the highways. I believe they are fixing that whole area now.

 

Those comments should not bother any of us safe courteous drivers. I didn't take offense to these comments. Some folks see what we see everyday, you go to pass a truck at the proper speed,they speed up and have to race you,you all know what I'm talking about,especially in Ohio. I'm referring to 18 wheelers and 10 wheelers. Maybe he lives near a big truck area. I don't cause accidents,I prevent them,by watching everybody in 2,3,4,6,12,14,16,18,48,wheel everyday when I'm out there. We all should straighten up and fly right. Wave properly,all fingers,instead of one, be courteous,we've all been late for work,or pickup or delivery. My father,when he was alive and raising us 8 children,said,"let that working man go and do his job", he told us all that when we learned to drive,you know,I still do that today,when I'm just out riding my cycle or 4 wheeler, There is room for improvement for all of us. Accidents are caused by all of us at times,sometimes mechanical failure that you can't help. My favorite saying is,"STAYING ALIVE IS NO ACCIDENT",keep this in mind and we'll all be more careful. It only takes a second sometimes.

 

Well said buck, I also watch everyone on the road until they are no threat to me. I love the ones where they try to pass you when you are coming up on a big hill. I'll be in the granny lane and super trucker in the hammer trying to pass, then we get side by side, and he loses power and he goes back. Then he speeds up again with a line of 4 wheelers behind him. Sometimes I let off a little but usually not, they should know they cant make the grade with speed and just wait till the grade is over.

 

I must disagree with that opinion in the strongest possible terms.

Insurance company statistics, as well as police accident reports turn up these numbers:
70% of accidents between 4-wheelers and big trucks are caused by the driver of the 4-wheeler.
16% of such accidents are combined fault of both drivers.
14% of such accidents are the fault of the professional driver.

So, a couple of years ago, when the new directory of the Fedaral Motor Carrier Safety Administration proclaimed he intended to reduce deaths in such accidents by 50% by concentrating on the professional drivers, that was an admission of defeat before he even got started.

You can't reduce 50% of deaths by concentrating on 30% of the drivers, and ignoring the 70% that are causing the accidents.

 

Thanks, everybody. This thread sort of quiets two of my fears: impatient 4-wheelers driving like it's a race on a dirt track, and log books don't have to be falsified to get things done.

One question I still have with respect to the first problem is if you still have any legal problems (tickets and such) due to the cars. I've always felt that if the two always tried to give each other a wide berth and showed each other some respect (as has been commented), many of these problems would be avoided. Somebody mentioned about the time gained in passing a truck, and I noticed it too. Nothing is really gained. I had similar problems driving a cab. As a regular motorist I've had enough instances where I've noticed personally that if you weave in and out but have no desire to floor it, you gain nothing in the end. Only those hopheads that do 80-90 mph, weave in and out as a habit, and keep it up for miles at a stretch. Even then, they only gain 10-20 miles.

Log books are the second question. As a member of Joe Schmoe public, when I first heard of log books, I always heard they must be written up with lies. I'm seeing now that's the exception. Really, with the exception of maybe one or two hours a day if you were loading and unloading and cheating a few minutes here and there, you couldn't do that, not to mention the penalties would be severe if you did. There are always methods to cook books, to be sure. My question about this is an obvious one. It is normally the drivers responsibility for how and when they drive. The companies must give you enough time, if not a lot, to get it done. Is that the case? If you just drive and don't party or waste your time, you can get it done, right?

 

If you don't run legal then YOU are one of the truckers out there that are giving us a bad name.

 

That's why I'm giving up my CDL next week there "bone". I refuse to be a part of the problem anymore. There is more to this world than trucking to make big money. I've been wasting away in the driver's seat for 9 years.

By the way, I can GUARANTEE if you "legal eagles" go through ANY guard shacks, you are cheating on your log books. Unless you drive for Walmart or some LTL company getting paid by the hour, chances are you are running illegal. I seem to be the only one who can admit it.

 

You know, you guys don't comprehend what you read, do you? I don't see how some of you make deliveries.

I SAID IN THE ORIGINAL POST NOT TO REPLY WITH YOUR HEARTWARMING STORIES ABOUT HOW LEGAL YOU RUN.

There, maybe that will do the trick!