A Somber Reminder

Very sad that there isnt anything that can be done other than slowing down in heavy traffic when hauling new steel.

 

Ive already made a critical decision not to put my life under my own steel beams we are going to have a proper smash and whatever happens will happen. that simplifies the situation quite a bit.

Ive already had a carload ('72 yellow convertable 4+ ton buick lesabre) coming at me on a jct curve south of stoney ridge when I was loaded with steel beams. My number one on the radio saved my life and the 6 drunken teens in that car inside my own lane head on. I have absolutely no doubt those beams would have gone through me then crushed them all.

Certain loads in Flatbedding we call suicide loads. They require a certain way of pre-thought and actions so that if something stupid did come up you will already know how it will play out. Even if the idiot brake checker must die under the steer tires and engine block.

Thats the other reason to have your own camera so if that ever happens you are going to be ok.

 

I had a taxi driver tell me that his cutting directly in front of a tractor trailer was completely ok because the trucker was "a professional driver".

This was in Fontana, California. Said taxi driver received an earful from me, and zero tip.

 

Rest in piece brother, hope they got loud pipes and shiny hoods in heaven

 

You bet they do.

Just aint got a dispatcher yet to run all that.

HE HE HE....

 

RIP driver!

I've thought about this for a bit. I think there is a huge disconnect in the training that ALL drivers get today. I'm teaching my son how to drive right now (Class C), and nowhere in the curriculum I have is there anything about securing loads (this counts even in a passenger car) or the differences in weights versus stopping distances. There's nothing in the training about a roadside emergency beyond "get to a safe place and stop if you can". This is of course compounded with everyone just having to be first and being on their phone.

In my days of learning how to drive, us young 'uns had our dad's teaching us and kicking our tails when we made mistakes. And our dad's knew what the heck they were doing because our granddad's had kicked their tails when they learned. All of that is pretty much gone now, and the result is the cesspool of driving we see on the roads today.

For all of the skate boards out there, y'all be extra safe!!!

 

Lol, for some reason when I read this, I heard my dad saying, "Running out of gas is the most easily avoided highway emergency."

 

One of the biggest things, is we started learning at 6 to 8 years old, not the day after we were old enough to get a license.

When I was a kid, everybody I knew got there license as soon as they turned old enough, it is surprising how many people I have met in the last few years that are up to 30 years old, and just never bothered to get one.

 

69 year old woman moved here never had a license she rode the bus everywhere.