safer to drive... vans, tankers, or flat beds?

a van full of tampons and cotton balls...least percentage of death...well, unless all your tires pop going around a sharp mountain pass or something

 

Makes no difference. You can only control what you can control. If you start paying attention to the odds of getting yourself killed you might as well barricade yourself in your house now. The odds of dying in a plane crash is 1 in 11 MILLION, car crash, 1 in 112! Just being a guy these days we have a 1 in 4 chance of prostate cancer! I wouldn't be worrying about that stuff man.

As far as the whole Tanker thing, I had 4 totes (350gals in those I think) of spontaneously combustible crap in my truck today, I'm sure a Tanker would have put up a LOT more of a fight if something went stupid than my plywood and fiberglass or whatever the hell vans are made out of! Drive safe and don't be paranoid.

 

I have been in 2 fatality wrecks. Here's the answer. Follow the rules and do the best you can. After that it ain't up to you. Stay safe out there drivers.

 

Man you are into some kinky stuff... In another thread you spoke of strapping something else on!

You know what they say...if you can't find where you're supposed to be, find the smelliest part and go back a couple folds! 8)

 

To get back to the original question:

I've dragged both box and flat, and I would say personally that I find flat to be safer. Yes, I have to secure the freight. But I'm also that much more confident that my freight won't shift on me heading down the road.

Additionally, many of my loads either take up much less space on the trailer, or sit nice and low on the deck, so when I'm light and running through high speed crosswinds I worry a bit less about getting blown over (yes, that is a thing). And I find the spread axle set up to be a bit more stable. But on the other hand, you've really got to take your time turning or backing a spread axle, because they are more prone to catching on an axle on tight turns and flipping, especially with a high, heavy coil.

That said, safety ALWAYS starts with the loose nut behind the wheel. ANY trailer or load will KILL you if you don't treat it with the respect it deserves. We do a dangerous job, regardless of the trailer we drag. This is a job that requires patience, a thick skin, and the ability to adapt your driving to your freight.

 

You have a lifetime to be a jerk, why not take the day off?

that's awful, sorry to hear that, are you still driving?

glad you could get back to the thread topic
Good advice too!

 

Yes just off road now. Thing is it's still driving and I'm used up. Prolly the best paying job in the industry yet it doesn't matter anymore. Enough is enough. I do like to pass on my experience to others so they might avoid some of the pit falls I encountered.

 

The driver wasn't properly scanning the entire road ahead; had he done so he/she would've saw the incident that led to the vehicle losing control and entering oncoming traffic while being able to anticipate & react (if not driving too fast for conditions) differently.

 

thanks for replying: that sounds like an official company explanation . The car went out of control at the last second & was too late for truck to slow down although the only way I think that may have been preventable was if he was going a lot slower because yes the roads were snow filled. I wouldn't charge him with a preventable but I'm not in his company.