Death of a co-worker. Does it still bother you?

At my company (about 400 trucks), we had two drivers killed in accidents last year (2014). One of them I knew fairly well. This is a very dangerous job. But there are certain things that we can do proactively to protect ourselves. We can always do proper pre-trips to ensure that our equipment is safe. We can make sure that we are well rested, know our limits, and shut it down when we are too tired to safely continue. We can take our time and never get in a rush. Always keep a safe following distance.

But the most important thing that I do is always ask The Lord for protection. Every morning I pray that He will protect me and those on the road around me. And every evening I thank Him for another safe day.

 

i kinda stay away from real touchy feely things here and some may think that i take things lightly but in all seriousness a serious accident or the the death or one of my bretheren bothers me alot .

 

Try being a medic.

Every time I drive thru Louisville and the surrounding counties I can point there there there there there.....

You'll get over it. Like everything.

Though I often do think of the guy that trained me when starting at emtb level and then got and wreck and died while in the back working on somebody. (His 4th time) & only 3 days after I completed my hours.....

Used it as motivation to get directly into the medic promotion so I get my own vehicle.

Use this as a reminder that other ppl are freaking stupid.

 

I too have seen many an accident scene with not white sheets covering the bodies, bed bloody red ones. I have seen a crushed metal hard hat of a construction worker who's dump driver backed up over him, and well, the crushed hard hat explains what happened. I have been on my way back from NJ, when one of my company trucks went over the bridge in CT and the driver went to his death down below. I was at another time on my way back from NJ on a different highway, and yet another one of my company drivers, roll, crashed and burned, and for that one, I had hoped he died before being burnt alive. I passed those ares frequently during the course of my job each night.

What did I do? I drove on by, and in short time, I actually forget the locations of each man's death. Crass comment by me or not, but what else to do, live my life like in fear of the area, or just do my job and live my life? I choose to live my life.

Sure, seeing the area once, twice makes you think about things, but life goes on, it does not stop, and in time, the memory may fade. Death of a co-worker whether or not you know them, will happen, just like when a family member dies, you move on with your life.

 

I work oil field in Canada, same things you see we see. It's a dangerous job and that's why it pays so good. As much as it sucks, we all takes our chances and takes our money at the end of the month. Drive to keep yourself safe and that's all you can do, the rest is up to God and fate.

 

Exactly the best thing about death is you don 't have to work anymore! I recently came to the conclusion that if there is reincarnation I do not want to be back on this unfair materialistic world.

 

I agree, I wish I could say something useful.
Me and Joe we'll still going to go over to W's house and drink all his good liquor.

And why all the gruesome stories?

 

Before I started driving, I was in law enforcement. When you start off in law enforcement, your fresh and innocent. But soon you give up on humanity and you write off the average Joe as being stupid. It's really hard to have empathy for stupid people because stupidity is a choice. No one is born stupid, they choose to be stupid. So this guy gets up one day and decides to be stupid in a vehicle with his family in tow. And my job is to 'serve and protect'? Impossible. You cannot serve and protect Stupid.

Intelligence is required for one to be stupid. You're running down the road. Roads are getting slick. Some jack wad sees you rolling in 80000 lbs, and thinks, "My exit is coming up, I may have just enough time to get in front of that truck and exit." So the dingleberry comes flying up and right when he gets even with your left steer, he yanks the steering wheel hard right. Kids in the back seat. You cut your wheel, go out on a field trip...and they have to cut you out of the truck. Hazmat spill, your family suffers, and jack wad kept going. "But I saved those kids lives!" Who is going to save your kids, deadman?

So you see a truck that says something about 'Million Mile Safe Driver'. That has to be a lie, right? How can someone do this dangerous job, roam all of North America, and avoid accidents and driving awards? See, the goal isn't to do the job, the goal is to be good at what you do. The vast majority of drivers go to school, and learn how to drive well enough to pass the test...AND THATS AS FAR AS THEY GO! That's okay most days, but in emergency situations (icy roads, fog, standing water, tornados, high winds, they take a field trip.

Discipline. Keeps your speed in check. Helps you overcome those stupid drive like a 4 wheeler urges that flair up. Allows you to compensate for size, weight, weather, whatever. Had a driver call me, upset because his dispatcher is on him about moving a load while he's tired. Why is he tired? Well, he sat 9 hours at a shopper waiting for them to load him. Why didn't he go to sleep while he was waiting? That's what we would have done, right? Then, get loaded, secure the load, and hammer 11 hours of driving out. Well, he couldn't just turn off and go to sleep. Why not? We can.

There are two types of dispatchers, the aggressive one and the slacker that hides in the coffee lounge until an hour before his shift is over. Which one do you want? The aggressive one is going to beat the bushes looking for loads, and run the dog poo out of you. He's the first to show up and the last to leave. The other guy is the one that responds to the QC once ever 4 hours. You're the first to unload and always the las to get another load. We all play by the same rules, 11/14/70 so the most aggressive dispatcher can only push so much. If you have 10 hours off a day, every day, according to the regs, why are you tired? You drive exactly 1 more hour than you rest....why are you so exhausted? Lack of discipline. Sleep when it's time to sleep, and drive when it's time to drive. If you're not driving, you should be sleep. Lack of disciple will get you killed in this business.

Ever see someone cross the line on a two lane? Ever see a drunk driver? Ever see someone running the wrong way down the interstate? The vast majority of the time, if you were scanning ahead, and watching your mirrors like the CDL handbook tells you, you will see them a long ways before they get to you. If you didn't see them, you weren't looking. Lack of discipline will get you killed in this business.

In my line of work, we pull big loads. It's much more intense than normal trucking. Why? In a normal truck, if there's someone on the shoulder and you can't get over, odds are you will miss them if you hug the zipper. We will hit them if we hug the zipper. We have no choice, we HAVE TO switch lanes. What about traffic, and those goofy people that pull right beside you in 4 wheelers, blocking the lane you need to switch to? If you were paying attention to the road, following a safe distance behind, you should be able to see well before you need to switch lanes to avoid the obstacle on the shoulder. Lack of discipline will get you killed in this business.

 

I am sure he would tell you to be the safest driver you can be. Everywhere all the time. Be safe driver and god bless.