Gainesville, FL wreck kills 7

Anyone who thinks they can "relax" when driving a 40 ton rig is far from "professional". I "relax" only when I'm parked.

 

I’m relaxed when I’m on home time-away from the truck!

 

Even when I'm parked I worry that a steering wheel holder will back into me.
Unfortunately many of us get complacent behind the wheel, we spend so much time driving 99.9% its an uneventful ride but one day something will happen & we must be ready for it!
Many yrs ago I was loading at one of our best shippers, I'd traveled that road so often I might have been able to drive it in my sleep....not! It was a load that always got me home so I wanted to get there, load & head toward home. A woman in a mini van was firetrucking with me, Id start to pass she'd she'd speed up, I'd get back behind her, well you know the game.
In retrospect I should have just stayed a safe distance behind her & chilled. Nope I did the wrong thing & it scared the shot out me. The traffic light ahead turned yellow & she braked, I thought she'd keep going on yellow but she stopped I was standing on my brakes & stopped a few feet behind her in a cloud of tire smoke.
I requested a vacation week after when I got home. I did some serious thinking if I wanted to continue driving or change careers.
I went back to driving with a much better attitude, safety 1st! That was the last time I ever put myself in a position to kill someone. My blood pressure was lower, fewer headaches & I enjoyed driving again like I did my 1st years & I still do.

 

On CBS this morning they reported one truck was beside a 4 wheeler when he suddenly veered left and forced them both to the other side. They then both hit the southbound semi. They said the driver had multiple traffic violations but did not say what they were.

 

Mail hauler. They are a menace in Florida particularly between Dade City and Lake City.

 

They are also governed at 65 or less. I think he was southbound.

 

He either blew a steer tire, didnt see the SUV beside him or fell asleep. They are doing toxicology on him of course.

 

This brings up a fantastic point. I Wish everyone could read this......

If It WAS a steer tire, When are these manufacturers going to start being accountable for this??

Yeah,I know, Big tire= Big Lawyer= Find anything to not take Blame,Right?

If This is found to be a steer tire(Which it wont) There should be Accountability and Huge Fines/

 

It’s going to be difficult to impossible to prove a steer tire was properly maintained over it’s lifetime. Plus road hazards come into play. Did driver not do a proper pretrip? Did driver ignore telltale signs or sounds of an impending problem?

 

Who said every rig is 40 ton... my rig hardly ever gets over 23 ton...