Driver killed in NH

If conditions were just starting to deteriorate, it's not like you can stop in the middle of the road on a two lane with no shoulder. Though 5 of us spent the night on a hill in the middle of nowhere once from a snow/ice storm.

To me it sounds like he got trapped in the wrong place at the wrong time. Once he crested the hill, there was no stopping. 6am it was still dark. He didn't know what was ahead of him. Had he known, I might of jumped.

These kind of accidents are proof anything can happen to anyone. It doesn't matter how good you are. At least he held her straight. There was houses on both sides coming down the hill. He was just entering a little town and got surprised on changing road conditions on a steep hill.

 

I thought about this. He might have broken some bones, but maybe survived.

 

Could he have slowed the truck by locking the axles? Im sure he was on high jakes. Was the down hill completely covered in slate? did moisture in the brake lines freeze his air from the system? all it takes is one bad air drier to cause that. could happen to anyone. RIP

 

I posted a link to this thread in the flatbed forum. I'm just as interested as you guys about whether chains would have helped.

May the Grandmothers bring comfort to a family in pain.

 

You are a horrible human being.

 

Looking at the area of the accident, I gotta wonder if the driver didn't "ride it out" to keep the vehicle straight all the way down. If he had jumped, he probably would've survived. But would the truck have stayed straight all the way down the hill?

I would prefer to think that the driver chose to stay with the truck and hold it straight, and probably saved countless others by holding the truck straight all the way down. Not sure I would have been as brave. Rest in peace, driver. May your bravery serve as an example to the rest of us.

 

I've done quite a lot of flatbeddin. I think chains might have held that load. But the problem is chaining finished steel like that is very difficult. The customer will usually b!tch like crazy if the paint is even scratched. It's a lot easier and faster to use straps and and edge protectors. The problem is the sharp edges will cut through nylon like butter when ya Hafta really get on the brakes or when the truck comes to am abrupt stop as I'm sure it did I'm not being critical of the driver at all. I hqve done the same on the same load. It looks like an unfortunate set of circumstances. RIP driver

 

This may be a stupid question but, would a headache rack have been a benefit to the driver in a situation like this? I can't tell from the photos if there was one in place.

 

There probably was a headache rack. And no, it wouldn't have been any benefit.

Headache racks are made out of aluminum, and held on with a few bolts. That load there was at least 46,000lbs. of steel, if not more. Kinda like stacking some Coke cans on the freeway to stop a steam roller.

The best purpose for a headache rack is to provide storage for the equipment a flatbedder requires to do their job. You know, all the chains, binders, tarps, lumber, ladders, and whatnot. Any driver relying on a headache rack to protect them in the case of an emergency ain't doing his/her job when it comes to load securement.

Probably why alot of flatbedders look down on door swingers. Most van freight I hauled didn't any securement beyond me making sure the doors closed, and I know for a fact that I'm not the only one. Hell, the last van outfit I ran for that supplied loadlocks was back in the halcyon days of '99!

 

Some great answers to the question about chains vs. straps here:

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...orum/164421-question-of-chains-vs-straps.html