Can't avoid jack-knifing? Don't be a truck driver

I agree with most of what you said, but...the faster you go, the more likely you are to get out of shape, even if you would have at a very slow speed anyway, and at a faster speed the trailer is going to come around you faster, therefore you'll have less time to react...

Also, I had a very "fun" ride this morning on I-80. Started out at Werner HQ, headed down 80 (took 80 to 35 to 94 to get to Menomonie, WI), and as soon as i crossed into iowa, road got a little slick. Was rolling around 45 mph to 50 mph (going the same speed as the majority of the trucks...) and slowing down slower in some spots. Then I got to mile marker 31 in Iowa, and it got verry slippery. I felt my drive tires break lose, and saw "WHEEL SPIN DETECTED - REDUCE THROTTLE" flashing on my dash (lol)....got out of it before the wheel spin buzzer went off. Started slowing down.

Next thing you know, i hear on the CB, "eastbound, you're coming to a parking lot at the 29!" ...of course, i was keeping my eyes very far ahead, so a couple seconds later i saw the parking lot and slowed down by simply coasting and then using about 2psi of brake application....

at THREE mph, with TWO psi of brake application, and i started getting out of shape again (locked up wheels/non abs trailer). Obviously pretty easy to correct at three mph.....


Guess what the accident was? An SUV pullign a uhaul trailer jack knifed and hit a tractor pulling a tanker. I didn't see the accident happen, but what i did see was that the SUV was sitting directly next to its trailer, at a 180 degree angle to the trailer, and the trailer hitch was ripped off and hanging off the trailer tongue. And the tanker was 100% completely straight and on the shoulder.

As soon as the police started letting us roll through, i heard on the cb that they shut i-80 down at exit 29 (re-entry at next exit).

This is the first time i have ever seen a *CAR* jack knife and shut down a highway. ROFL.

And note that I stayed safe. If i would've come up to that parking lot without keeping my eyes open and looking very far ahead, i wouldve wrecked.

after that it was so slick going up the hills that with my 19,000lb of 42" HDTVs, i could only do about 15 MPH without spinnign my tires. That sure pissed a lot of people off.

 

And this is when you need to already have been off the road and parked. No load is worth driving on ice.

 

Actually, you're wrong. I've witnessed many veterinary surgical procedures. It's a little bit different because there's less tools, but I do know what a retractor looks like and i have actually touched them before.

I really really really really really dont get how a retractor gets left in someone. At all. You're right, they're huge. But that show did show someone who had a retractor left in here. I can only imagine the pain....


But I can understand gauze. And you don't really want to leave gauze in there either.

I watched a TV show about this, yes. I also didn't claim this happens all the time. But it HAPPENS, period.

It isn't hard to account for all the instruments and items? Has that nurse been on duty for 48+ hours yet? You're telling me you've never in your life miscounted anything important?

I'm really not trying to argue here. I know you're a smart guy. But to imply that it never happens is just wrong.

And you didnt mention it but most pilots dont overshoot runways by hundreds of miles either.

 

Agreed, and I for one know I have not been graced with that level of perfection - jack-knifes can happen to anyone ...

 

I live in N VA and the people who drive the fastest are either from MD, NJ, or Ontario CN. The worlds worst drivers are in Detroit and Puerto Rico where traffic lights are optional after 9 PM so everyone drives 90 to get thru the red light before they get hit.

 

Nailed it right there.....

I had a broker who had a load from Wilmington, CA to El Paso, TX....

Loaded at 4 pm and HAD to be dropped in El Paso by 7 am the next morning....
I told him you can't legally do that....He said he had several carriers that do....

 

I've pulled a few SUV's out that jackknifed uhaul trailers, boat trailers, one guy rolled a 3/4 ton suburban pulling a 30+ foot long auction trailer, an office on wheels. That was a mess, he was lucky enough to get away with a few scratches. Nice clear day on that one too, wasn't speeding, no wind. It just started wobbling and yanked him off the road.

Speaking of aircraft, Dad used to work for Pony Express and they had some small cargo planes. They got a brand new one and for some reason the fuel gauge measured in liters instead of gallons. Nobody noticed it until the pilot ran out of fuel in flight. He aimed for an open field that turned out to be a frozen pond. He skidded across the pond, hit the embankment, and shattered every joint in the aircraft. You could grab the tail and wobble the whole fuselage like a giant fish.

 

Actually nope...you see I thought I was wrong once, but my wife told me I was only mistaken!

Veterinary or human surgical procedures generally are handled in much the same manner...different levels of anesthesia are used, and some of the instruments will tend to be larger in scope, if we are talking about large animal surgeries, but for the most part the instruments are the same.

I am happy for you to have fondled a retractor!

I didn't say it NEVER happens, if you will read my post, it says it is a RARE occasion when an instrument gets sutured into the cavity.


The rest of this statement portion, I will refrain from response!

48+ hours...the last time any surgical nurse put in hours like that would be WWII, on the battlefield MASH unit, but even then, they were restricted in duty hours...including the surgeons...where did you come up with that anyway?

Yep, you're right...I miscounted the jelly beans in the giant bottle...I could have won a Schwinn bicycle...missed by 14...not bad for 11 years old!

I am so glad you aren't trying to argue, since your amunition is falling far short of the target. Never implied anything of the kind...please reread and watch closely...

Originally Posted by otherhalftw

You obviously have never worked in, been witness to, or dealt with surgical procedures. It is a very rare instance that any surgical instrument is sutured into the body in a surgical procedure. Retractors are actually somewhat a large instrument, the handle is generally hanging out of the cavity, gauze is inventoried before, during, and after the procedure. And it isn't hard to account for all the instruments and dressings used in the procedure...in fact for every 100 items, there is one nurse who accounts for the "in and out" of his/her specific group. Then when the procedure is in "close", the charge nurse re-inventories the entire package.

As you can see...in the highlighted red color words in my post...take notes before injecting speech that does not exist!

Overshoot is the wrong term here...

Main Entry: over·shoot
Pronunciation: \ˌō-vər-ˈshüt\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): over·shot \-ˈshät\; over·shoot·ing
Date: 14th century
1 : to pass swiftly beyond
2 : to shoot or pass over or beyond so as to miss


by definition it could be applied...however to be used in the proper context for the issue you are referring to, the correct term for the debacle of the pilots who were more interested in what was on their laptops...would be overfly...since they weren't attempting an approach for landing when they missed the airport and continued on the sightseeing tour by 100+ NAUTICAL miles...and i didn't miss it...I didn't think it worthy of any statement.

 

Then I say...Give it to the other carriers!

If he really had other carriers that would do it, Why was the load posted on the board?
Brokers lie, It's in their DNA...Just like when you tell them that the rate is too low and they tell you "I'm in it for less than I'm paying you to haul it for now!"
Really? C-Ya!

Then a couple of hours later I get a call and the liar tells me..."I talked the customer out of a couple hundred more dollars on that load."

Yeah right! C-Ya!

 

Personally, I hope more take those cheap loads as in Bottom-feeders....They'll all eventually go out of business and so will the brokers who have the cheap freight....

Then we can all get back to the business of moving freight....Efficiently and.....Safely.