True but I am sure the general public will be pushing for more regulation on all drivers after this accident. New regulations occur when people are using their emotions and I am sure some new law or standard will be spawned from this incident. Maybe if drivers slow down a little these horrible accidents could be avoided. I live in the socialist state of California and their highways are all beat up compared to the other highways I drive out of state. That is why I take it slow to avoid pot holes and other damage causing road flaws. Being an O/O I get stuck with the repair bills so I do very detailed pre/mid/post trips on my truck. If this FedEx truck was on fire before it crossed the median why didn't he/she stop once they saw smoke or were they to busy hammering down?
Speed does kill....byt at the same time ive seen people turn over doing 45 and 55...so its not the speed its the driver
In 18 years of driving I've had one tractor fire and it was due to an electrical short. All of your examples (while possible) are very unlikely... The example of the DPF catching on fire has been an issue as of recent years. In most cases the DPF is located under the passenger side step towards the rear of the tractor (under). That is why I bring it up. Obviously it's pure speculation, but the "greenies" and the "I trust in the EPA" people will never bring this up because of their agenda. How many EPA mandated EGR's have failed stranding drivers on the side of the road and putting the motoring public in danger? How many accidents have their mandates caused? If it's one it's toooooo many.
Has anyone stopped to consider the possibility that what ever was afire was the cause for the driver losing control of his truck, that he had no idea what was happening and could do nothing about it except say, "OH S!!!"?
Well if you are constantly checking your mirrors like we are suppose to do you will see smoke before the fire starts which would cause a driver like me to immediately pull over. There have been countless times when I see a driver with ear phones on enjoying music or some other distraction that will cause them to lose focus on their truck.
FedEx has deep pockets and they will just move on. But I can't deny the fact that when I get something shipped FedEx two day it better be at my home in two days.
If there was a guardrail instead of bushes, most of us probably wouldn't even of heard about this accident. Speed may have been a factor in the accident, but there wouldn't have been the massive loss of life if the truck had been kept on his side of the road. The median through there is only about a truck length wide, and the oleanders are pretty thin in spots. My guess is even traveling at the posted limit you could still enter oncoming lanes if you ended up pointed in the wrong direction.
