Trucker killed after driving into trailer that became detached from another semi

Yes. MAY HIS SOLE REST IN PEACE AND BLESS HIS FAMILY

 

The article said the trailer was black and the time of day was night. Perhaps the driver was running a dashcam and the sd card was saved and downloaded. I don't think it is fair to say it is distracted driving yet. Even a gator in the road at night is hard to see until you are almost on top of it.

 

Tears in my eyes over this one.

 

They can if there’s a possible manufacturing defect. A few years back there was a safety recalls on Fontaine 5th wheels because of an accident where the trailer detached.

Nearly 7,000 fifth wheels recalled by Fontaine after 2014 incident led to deadly crash

But we have to wait and see what the investigation turns up. Remember this accident occurred in the middle of the night on a rural road where there was no lighting so the driver that hit it probably had little to no warning before impact.

 

As far as I know they’re only prohibited in vehicles hauling hazmat.

 

The tug test can give u a false result. If the jaws are too high and not around the middle of the pin you can still tug the trailer. Looking at it with your eyeballs and a flashlight is worth it.

Sad story he had a family.

 

This is my biggest fear. I'm so paranoid about it that I look at the handle, under the fifth wheel to make sure its past the latch, and then the jaws

 

Two winters ago, I was hooking a box. Cold but no snow. I always hook with a window at least partially down. I backed under, and everything sounded right. Tugged. Good there.

I hooked up the air lines and pigtail, then went under to eyeball the fifth wheel. It was only halfway across. First and only time that ever happened, but if I had just gone by sound and the tug test, it would have been a bad day.

RIP driver...

 

So far as I can tell, the solution is to treat that sort of darkness like fog, slow down, and only drive toward the empty space that's clearly visible. (If the road is as flat as it looks, the lack of visible lane markings ahead should have also been a strong indicator, even if the trailer had no reflectors).

 

Very true. A few weeks back I went through the safety lanes at our Tucker,Georgia terminal. After both my truck and trailer were inspected I backed under the trailer,I heard the jaws engage, I did a tug test TWICE and did a visual inspection of the 5th wheel verifying the jaws were engaged around the kingpin and hooked up the electrical and air lines. No sooner than I turn the tractor the trailer broke loose from the 5th wheel. I stopped the truck IMMEDIATELY and lowered the landing gear quickly to prevent the trailer from dropping (the weight on the head of the trailer was still on the 5th wheel so that saved my ***)! The shop foreman came out and looked at my 5th wheel- the jaws were STILL ENGAGED even though the kingpin wasn’t in there. My truck was immediately pulled into the shop so they could look at the 5th wheel. Afterwards foreman told me they adjusted the 5th wheel and cleaned some sludge buildup out of it. It’s been working fine since.