Jacknife on Black Ice.

I lost traction right at Monee rd. and to late to hit that exit went down to the ex.327 And sat by the McDonalds.
You were probably one of the trucks I seen.

 

I was on the road about 4-430am and the Cb was very helpful that morning, I knew what was coming

 

There is NO criticism anywhere. You yourself said the tires would be useful to be replaced. I also conceded that new rubber would not have prevented a jackknife in a bad icing event. The fact the company failed to replace your tires based on tread depth is a issue.

You are too touchy today.

My main thought for you is simple. No one needs to sit one month ultimately maybe to be fired. You don't waste time like that. You move on to another job while you still have this one before the company decides what to do with you. Most drivers starve and not able to keep up bills making no money for a month.

 

Hey listen know your record is clean they haven't finish the investigation that mean they didn't put anything on your record yet, if I were you I hurry up and get a job right now I'll leave the f****** company alone.

 

Hey new guy here.. I just wanted to touch on the fact also that if you DO plan to apply to new companies within this month.. Let them interview you, but also really ask them questions.. Ask them what their policy is on driving in unsafe conditions vs. sitting it out and being late to drop/pickup your load. I will never work for any company that puts freight over the safety of their drivers and others on the road. Also, remember that you have a job you might be able to potentially go back to after a month.. when you apply make sure you act like you have the upper hand, and only accept a job on under your own conditions! Good luck!

 

That sounds good but they'll all SAY what you want to hear. Whether that holds true when you're out on the road is a whole different ball game.

 

It sounds to be CSA reportable. You got towed which makes it so and if you punctured those tanks that's a hazmat spill which makes it reportable as well. I would suggest you start looking. It's far easier to get a job while you have one. Personally, if they were going to fire you they likely would have already, but just because they don't fire you for this don't mean they won't. Anything more and you may well be out of a job in a day or however long it takes them to route you to a terminal.

I lived in Chicago and that stretch of road is brutal. Usually it's south of Kankakee. They use chemicals from there north that will melt the ice in brutal cold, but salt south which doesn't work below 10 degrees. If you're going to try going on that stuff it has to be below 45 with the axles locked. Lots and lots of following distance because if you have to stop you have a problem. You don't say what happened but guess it someone was stopped ahead of you. A tractor jackknife happens real fast, those tires lock up and then they start passing you. You have to let off which is why you needs lots of room ahead of you.

You were a new driver in adverse conditions where lots of other accidents happened. It ought to scare the crap out of you. That truck is just as deadly to you as it is to everyone else on the road. It could have been worse, could have jackknifed into a deep ditch or bridge and with a heavy load that might well have killed you. So be glad you walked away. In the future call dispatch. Some companies will automatically shut you down in those conditions. The late fee is typically $150 which is a whole lot cheaper than what happened. Unsafe conditions generally isn't held against a company by a customer and if it is that's a customer you're better off without. I would certainly suggest you learn from the experience, you don't want to die out there, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Start looking though.

 

There is no such thing as a CSA reportable. CSA is not even part of the equation because no police was involved. BTW the CORRECT term is DOT Recordable. This means the accident must be recorded in the carriers accident register. The FMCSA only defines one kind of accident. Then if certain conditions are met said accident must be recorded.

 

Sounds like they are trying to force you to quit.

Everyone has accidents, especially in winter, and especially if they are inexperienced. My first day out in bad winter weather in a truck and I put it in the rhubarb. Fortunately for me, nothing was damaged, except my ego of course, but I learned from the mistake and haven't ever done it again.

If this is your first offense with this company, it's probably best you run sooner rather than later. If they are upset over some cosmetic damage to the tractor, then who knows what will happen if you do some serious mechanical damage.

Most companies will write you up, tell you "learn from your mistakes" then keep you in the ugly, smashed up truck for the next *insert long period of time* to make you learn your lesson for wrecking their equipment.

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Now, for driving on black ice. Firstly, don't.

Secondly, don't even breathe on your brakes in winter weather where ice could be on the road surface. As soon as you hit the binders, that trailer is going to start pushing on the tractor, and if the drives are losing traction, guess what? Jackknife.

Learn to use your jake brakes on lower settings, learn about coasting to a stop (downshifting) and learn to keep a cool head and jello wrists while driving. Nobody likes to deal with ice on the road, but sometimes its unavoidable (being Canadian, it's a fact of life for most of the winter) and you need to learn how to deal with it without ending up sideways in the ditch... or sandwiched in a pileup.