Why are 18 wheelers always causing accidents?

I was loaded with 7100 gallons of Acetone in a tanker one time on my way to NC. Before I reached Wythville,VA it began to snow between the tunnels.
I had heard on the CB that Blue ridge MT. was only rain and in NC was only rain, so I went on.

When I got on I-77 south at the split and started across there it was snowing pretty hard.
As I approached "New River" construction area before the bridge you could see the bridge as it was really comming down now.

As I started down the hill towards the bridge I heard over the CB....."WE ARE STOPPED ON THE BRIDGE!!!!! as I started stopping my 79550 lbs I relized it was very slick as my trailor would want to come around on me.

I started pumping the brakes to get stopped and I did!

I did not hit anything not even the outside retaining wall as I was onto the bridge before I could get stopped!

I got stopped about 20 feet from the end of the accident. Well all of the sudden I hear on the radio LOOK OUT TANKER I AM GONNA HIT YOU!

I looked up and sure enough was this tractor trailor sideway's sliding at me!
I then relized I was on the bridge no where for me to go. So I did all I knew to do.
I got the truck back in gear and just before the impact I released the brakes and gassed on it as hard as I could!

I knew if I did not move we were all gonna die! As he would have hit me 1/2 of my tank and ripped it into pieces!

It worked he hit me in the left corner of my trailor (probably the strongest place on my tank)

I watched it all as it happened. He hit me in the tandams and it removed his front axel completly from his truck along with just about everything else on the passanger side of his truck clear to his trailor. He continued on past me and hit the center concrete wall moving it also and then continued on into a pickup truck pulling a trailor jack kniffing the pick up upon impact then it came to a rest.

I remember the fuel tank being ripped off and flying thru the air with the fuel spewing everywhere. The damge my tank sustained was he tore my tandams out and somehow twisted the tank.

I also remember a 4wheeler being trapped between us bouncing all over the place.
I jumped from my truck and ran to the car that had ended up between us. There were 6 17 year old girls in there. They were shaken up but ok.

I ran back to the truck that had hit me and all the windows were gone and so was the driver. I just knew he had been thrown from the truck. I came to find out he had run on up in the wreck to see if anyone was hurt. He was ok.

28 vehicles involved in this accident, because one 4 wheeler got squirrley on the bridge.

1 injury was all that happened in the entire accident and it was a cut finger.

The VA state patrol that invetigated it came up to me and said man I am glad that truck hit you instead of all these 4 wheelers

I asked him if he knew what that RED DIAMOND PLACARD on the side of my tank was?
His answer was.........no not really

He then asked me what it was I said it is ACETONE he again said what is that?
I said well it is about 5 times as explosive as gasoliene is.

I told him the truck that hit me.........if it would have ripped my tank...he would have had to go into "New River" in a boat to do his accident report.

 

Thank goodness y'all were ok [and the 4-wheelers, too]!! My heart was racing reading these posts... *shiver*

 

Oh boy does this one hit close to home! Every single day, I encounter no less than 10-15 of these guys on the interstate. Now I could be an arsehole and tie up the inside lanes, but that would not be fair to anyone else on the road since I am governed at 65 mph which I cannot exceed even on downgrades.

I remember one instance in particular where the driver came to a complete halt on the acceleration ramp and THEN decided to whip out in front of me. I was still in training, so my trainer was in the passenger seat #### near ready to poop a gold brick. I managed to stop the truck, fully loaded btw, to within 1 foot of the car's bumper.

Needless to say, my trainer was grateful that I was paying attention and he thanked me for my quick reaction. We exited at the next rest area to remove the seat covers from our rectums.

 

Well today hubby was on his way down south, it was misty and coming up to a bridge, on a 2 lane road was passed by a pickup, then the smarty pants behind him in a car decided to pass hubby and the pick up...just as she pulled in front of pickup and back into her lane BLAM...she lost it, hit the bridge bounced back infront of pickup sideways...after doing 2 complete circles. Pickup got stopped before he hit her broad side....hubby went to right side of road...half on road half off to miss pickup they all got stopped...hubby was 6 inches from hitting bridge and 24 inches from back end of pickup....now who is causing all the problems?

Hubby called me after he got stopped as he was putting out his triangles and I could hear the guy in the pickup talking to him....way to go there man, you did some fancy drivin to keep that rig on the road and out of my hindend....etc etc.

Am I proud of my hubby YOU BET, am I P.O at the woman YOU BET

 

Glad your husband's Ok!

 

luv, would ya say he got skills....

 

This kind of thing goes on all the time! I hear many scary stories just like this one.

 

I know this post is an old one but I just got to reading it. I think one big reason for always blaming the trucker is all those idiotic lawyers commericals. They always paint it like it was the trucks fault. I am a four wheeler, my hubby is the trucker (going for my cdl however " I've seen stupid moves while in my car and as a passenger in hubby's truck. I know of one trucker that was involved in an accident in NJ years ago that scaraficed his own life to save the life of a woman and her child who were driving in a mini van and was cut off by another four wheeler causing her to lose control crossing over the median and into oncoming traffic. This trucker instead of hitting her head on swerve over causing his flatbed to flip onto it's side. He was killed. This accident happened on route 22 in Whitehouse, NJ.

 

How awful!! *shudder*

Good luck with your CDL!