Just some questions came up after the I70 crash in CO.

Bipolar much?

 

First of all, he didn't "panic and freeze up." The video shows him STEERING AWAY from the runaway truck ramp, so he was doing SOMETHING, he was STEERING.

Of course, by his own admission (through an interpreter because he can't speak sufficient English to discuss what he did with the truck) this driver closed his eyes in fear of death right before crashing into the cars and killing 4 people.

I will agree with you, CORSAIRFANBOY, that this guy is a symptom. He's a symptom of a broken system that allows people who can't speak sufficient English to obtain a CDL.

There should be a much higher, much more difficult English proficiency test--geared toward signage and trucking tasks, not "what's your favorite food?" --and it should be implemented ASAP, and anybody who can't pass should have their CDL suspended on the spot.

Then I'd give them 3 months to learn enough English to take the test again. Each failure would mean another 30 days of waiting.

I consider that a moderate, sensible, and merciful stance which takes into account everybody's best interests.

 

Since we're so regulated by the government (but without the wages unfortunately) They should make it that only American Citizens and Naturalized Citizens can qualify to have CDL.

 

I take it you're being sarcastic? Because citizenship doesn't mean you can speak English. People are born as American citizens all the time because their father or mother is American. That doesn't mean they can speak a lick of English.

 

No. Willing to go out on a limb here and assume that most Citizens speak english.

 

Fixed it for you

 

Thanks, Rank, for the correction about who I was replying to, there.

In response to the previous poster...

I meet people down in Mexico all the time who have an American father, and they can't speak much English. I think the limb you are going out upon goes out too far. While it might be true 99 percent of the time, if just one "close my eyes before I crash" Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos manages to slip through the cracks, that's too many.

However, if you're suggesting implementing that "citizen or naturalized" regulation as an ECONOMIC policy, or a PUBLIC SAFETY policy, that's an entirely different line of argument.

 

I doubt he thought he was in serious trouble when he passed the ramp, so no need to panic at the time, but I am betting towards the end, the look on his face probably changed considerably.

 

Have you seen the video of him near the ramp? He veers away from the ramp and nearly runs a truck off the road.

Videos Show Speeding Semi Before Deadly I-70 Crash And Fire

How did he not KNOW HE WAS IN TROUBLE when he's acting like that? I say he knew he was in trouble, what he did NOT know was the meaning of the words RUNAWAY TRUCK RAMP.

 

Perhaps. But IMO all you’re doing with that argument is shifting blame from the driver to the Texas DMV. After all, his English was deemed to be good enough by the state of Texas.

Linguistics aside however, as a truck owner, NO EFFING WAY, do I hire a driver that’s never been out of Texas and a week later send him across Colorado alone. That is the very definition of negligence in my book.

The real perp here, aka the owner of Castellano 03 Trucking LLC has probably already transferred his/her assets offshore and left the country. I am appalled the media hasn’t located him/her. For crying out loud the addresses are public knowledge