Fired for load shift, deemed preventable by safety.

That happened a few years ago near the Port of Long Beach. The container came off the chassis and landed on a bicyclist.

 

So, like the collision avoidance stuff, it's as likely to bite you on the ### as it is to save your ###?

I'm far from a technophobe, but I want no part of tech that adds to my workload instead of reducing it. Just sayin'

 

Years ago, when such things were permitted, but not advisable, I was coming out of Preston docks with a 30 foot Irish Flat on the trailer. That was a reinforced deck only container with normal twistlocks at the corners. It was loaded with potatoes and roped and sheeted (tarped). I had a 40 foot flat trailer with twistlocks for 2 x 20s or one 40, but nothing for a 30 foot. The choice is to put it at the back with the back locks connected, at the front with the front 2, or put it in the middle to be sure of legal axle weights and lashed at each corner with ropes through the lock housings.

I always chose to have them at the front and locked there, don't like the tail wagging the dog at the back or trusting to ropes in the middle, never mind about the weight distribution, highway weighbridges were almost unknown in Britain and I have never been pulled in for a weight check. However, I was running with a mate who had an identical outfit but he chose to rope his in the middle. Bad move. A mile outside the docks we had to turn left into another road, his container carried straight on, landed flat without damaging the trailer, skidded across to the other side of the road neatly scraping a couple of bollards out to road level and came to rest against the far kerb. The spuds remained exactly where they were, let's hear it for the roping and sheeting skills of the Irish.

He wasn't dismissed, but had a severe lecture and of course would never make such a mistake again. Now of course, little Elfinsafety, would forbid such practices, his and mine, and we would have to refuse the load if the boss couldn't provide suitable equipment. And rightly so.

BTW, a crane was brought in from the docks and the whole thing was loaded straight back on, but on the front locks, and the only danger was all the sparks from the middle of the road from the bare wires left after their connection to the bollard lights was severed.

 

Well the collision avoidance can only expose you or as you say, bite you in the ### if you aren't paying attention. I am in a Volvo and the truck will only brake on its own if the cruise is engaged. The OP most likely had his cruise engaged, and it's very possible that he had it engaged at a moment when it didn't need to be engaged. It's also possible that he may have been traveling too fast for the road he was on. It's possible that there are some left out details. The trailer had some damage to it, and that's part of what's hurting his chances of finding work I think. A load shift alone wouldn't create this many issues finding work. His DAC and/or MVR might have got dinged up some.

 

Not in the least. If you plot all of our dot reportables on a graph for the last 30 years you'll see two big drop offs. The first was cutting the trucks back to 65. The second was putting in the CMS systems. We're back up to 65 with no correlating increase in dot reportable accidents. When looking at rear end scenarios, the impact of the cms systems is even more stricking.

I started using the "14 seconds no cruise" before I had a cms. It was a way to quantify what I was looking for in regards to safe behavior behind the wheel. The only way the cms can bite a driver is if the driver let's it. I'm not a fan of having a second idiot drive the truck with me, but I just make sure this doesn't let that idiot have control. The big problem with cms systems is they allow and reinforce passive driving. I cannot begun to count the number of trucks that will pass me, who is very obviously a mega governed truck, then 5 miles later I catch them and they're sitting 4 seconds behind another big truck doing 63. Almost always, as soon as I hop out and start passing they wake up and cut out in front of me.

In the OPs scenario, had he been running the foot pedal he would have done the same thing as the cms. He was following too close and didn't leave himself an out. It sucks he got fired, but learn and move on.

 

Vicksburg, MS?

At this point -- you really have nothing to lose by applying to Jordan Carriers....they are down in Natchez, MS....so parking the rig would be relatively easy for you.

Nice equipment, also. Previously, they would hire new CDL holders; not sure about now (tight job market ):

Jordan Carriers | Flatbed Trucking and Brokerage Services

-- L

 

Mais oui, monsieur!!!

 

Ah, yes, "The 'Leet Fleet..."