What to do when you only have one choice...and its illegal

Knowing there was a cop coming up hitting the left lane would have to have come after I did everything to slow mine down(no foot brake,all hand brake) if you could still see the license plate on the trailer you had plenty of room for more braking,once the plate is no longer in view it would be time to bail to the left.(while still braking hard on the trailer valve)

Personally the clown would have never made it around me,I would have throttled hard and hung his tail out there.Most Company trucks run out at under 72mph so its usually very easy to hang one.
Failing to watch your mirror is what most likely set you up in the first place.
If you would have seen the truck over taking you at a high rate you could have been much more ready to adjust your speed knowing the other would soon be stepping right before getting to the cop.Especially if you dont drive a fast truck!

Personally its second nature to me,assessments and decisions/reactions are as natural as breathing.

You'll be ready next time !

 

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the company owned big brother cams, but a personal one the company has no access to can save you alot of pain in situations like this.

 

Too dang bad one of the other drivers witnessing what happened to you couldn't have done the right thing and called 911 and explain what happened. Or at least pulled over and offered their services as a witness.

 

Agree, they told us it would only be use for the purpose of helping decide who was at fault in a accident.. But we new better from day one, that it was a big brother cam.. The proof is in the puddin, as we have lost at least 7 drivers since the first of the yr because of it..

 

I haven't been on that grade or it's been so long I've forgotten on how long or steep it is. My company uses the Smith System and in your case it would have helped you. Besides, on any grade when I've been loaded I never go the speed limit. You just can not stop as quick when going down hill. There's not many companies that will look at another driver when the ticket only involves you. If you have a company that does then you're at a good company. We as drivers all know that many accidents and incidents are caused by another vehicle and we are left out to dry. It's the insurance companies that dictate this and it's by people that have never been in a truck.

Also my company has installed a dash cam on all the trucks in the S. Calif. area and I thought right away the drivers would be pi**ed about them. But so far after a couple of years there's been no big complaints about them. In fact the cams have saved a couple of drivers. I believe the system is a good system if management uses it right. The cams should be there to protect the company and the driver unless it was clearly the drivers fault. Then they could sit down with the driver and use it as part of the safety program. We would have meetings once a month and all the drivers would disclosed if they had any close calls and how we could learn from it. At first I thought no one in their right mind would tell the company they had a close call but the terminal sup. made it our program to make better drivers out of all of us. It was a good thing to do and we all learned what to look for. In your case a cam would clearly show what caused the ticket and they would be forced to look beyond the speed.

One of the major differences we had over alot of other companies is that we are self-insured. The safety department that is headed up by ex-drivers conduct all tickets and accidents. And I know they would all say that 57 mph in a 55 mph zone going down hill is too fast. But we're hauling gasoline and that makes it different. But you know all they can see is the speed limit and all else doesn't matter no matter how we all feel who is at fault. So good luck in court and I do wish that you win. You never know you might get a judge that paid for his schooling by driving a truck, It's happened.

 

I would have done the same thing, it is your job to take the safest actions when you driving.

But in the court it will be your word vs the police in my experience I would just get ready to pay the fine. Sucks, yes but what can you do.