To Die For!

[Pappy]

Apparently, driving is in far too many instances, a job to die for! I have seen 2 truck drivers die recently because of stupid mistakes made by 4 wheelers that caused the accidents and then just drove off. One of them was recently caught, but the other one, I do'nt know about. I've been on the road for about 35 years and have logged I guess maybe 4 million miles plus. I learned a long time ago that I have to make careful allowances for the poor judgement of other drivers. At one time, I was involved in an accident with a drunk driver ( BAC showed over 4 times the legal limit) and doing over 90 mph. I was severely injured in the accident simply because I just tried to grt out of his way. All I was able to do was'nt enough. He died in the crash.
Over a long period of time, my attitude toward taking evasive actions has drastically changed. I used to think I'd take her to the woods or over the side of a mountain just to keep from hurting someone else, especially if I saw kids in a vehicle.
It may just be because of my age that I realize more every day the value of my own life. I have a good wife, children, grand-children and friends that look forward to my coming home. Why should I take me away from them because of some one elses stupidity. On the other hand, why should I clean out an innocent truck or car driver beside me while trying to avoid an idiot that thought he just had to cut over in front of me? In the court system, guilty parties are punished. When it comes to driving, I've decided that if someone wants to dance, then they will be the one " TO PAY THE FIDDLER".
WHAT'S YOUR OPINION?

Pappy
35 years OTR T/T

 

[DannyD]

My thoughts are two fold. I'd need to know when the accident w/ the drunk happened. If it was in the 70's/early 80s, this was before people were aware of how dangerous drunk driving was. Attitudes were different. Back then, being drunk was almost an excuse. If person A hit person B, "A" could tell "B".. "sorry bout that, I had a few to many to drink" & "B" would be like "hey, no problem pal, lemme just get your insurance company's name & we'll be on our way." If it happened then, my thoughts would be "I'm sorry it happened."

Now, if this accident happened in the 90's or later, & I'm guessing it is because ya mentioned the "4 times legal limit" then my opinion has totally changed.

In no uncertain terms, I'm glad that drunk driver is dead. I wouldn't be suprised if I talked to people that knew him, they'd say what a great guy he was. That doesn't change that he could have easily killed someone. I'm glad he got it b4 he dished it out.

Even if he was my personal friend, I'd feel this way. A friend of mine killed a lady in another vehicle & himself driving the wrong way down the highway while drunk. He was a nice enough guy. Still, when talking to our other friends about it, many who were grieving over his death, my comments were along the lines of "too bad she had to die too".

I agree w/ you on not taking evasive action in these cases. There's no reason for you to be injured only to have the person who actually caused it drive on down the road free as a bird.

Regards,
Danny

 

[redwolf]

Far to many 4-wheelers out there are just plain a--holes! I drive a tankwagon and evasive manevers are not even a thought anymore. Get in my way and YOU are going to pay! Not that you can actually do any evasive manevers in a tanker, but these 4 wheelers are just plain stupid! I am not going to kill myself to save some dumb-a$$ 4-wheeler who is running late for work. Sucks to be you! Day after day these mental midgets endanger everyone who is on the road out of there own selfishness. It's a shame the LEO'S are to busy stealing coffee and donuts at the local stop and rob or busting are nuts for nothing, rather than actually doing there job! Just today on my way home from work some stupid bit-- tried to pass another car and me on a 2 lane while I tried to make a left! Luckily she skidded to a stop before hitting me! I had seen her coming up the road way better than the speed limit but didn't even think she would try to pass! Goes to show what ya' get for thinking! I've seen way to many killed or seriously hurt to have any compassion for the a$$hole who drives like an idiot! If it was up to me 75% of the idiots on the road, both car and big truck, wouldn't have a license today. And If you where caught driving without one or suspended you'd be bubba's bit-- for a Long Long time! I could care less if they killed themselves, but more often than not they kill the innocent person.

 

[randy123]

i will put in my 02. i have logged 21000 miles in my cargo van, i seen a t/t driver fall asleep on 75 going north in ohio and total his truck.
i have been on jellico mountian in a thunder storm raining so hard that i could not seeall that good,(70 mph) and the tractor trailers were on my but and going around me at 80 mph. trust me when i say you cannot see when one of these guys fly by and its raining. last week a fedex truck got behind this kid on 75 in ky and got so close that i thought he was going to hit him, the kid was doing about 75 mph he and the truck went by me. i try to stay at the speed limit as best i can but coming off a mountain and you got t/t in both lanes and thay croud you its hard to stay at the speed limit.
and its hard to fly off a moutain with trucks behind you and beside you when you have never drivin on a moutain before. i am new to this trucking stuff on the open road but i have a dump truck that i put 9 tons of asphalt on and it will not stop on a dime.... randy

 

[Mister TyZo]

This very Topic and I was Thinking about Glenn Rice , wondering how he's doing. If he's any closer to getting back into the Game of Expediting or has Decided to Hang up the Wheel. I see part of a Picture of his Unit in the Header for EO Truck Topics . He definitely had a One of Kind Unit and I've yet to see a Copy Cat out there.
I Remember some of the Pictures ( Before & After ) or what was left. And that Ford Explorer that wanted to cross over the median and Bump Glenn out of his Lane.

TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR RIDE

 

[dhalltoyo]

Randy 123 has a good point. I've been up on that mountain in heavy fog with semi drivers right on my bumper. You are forced to drive at 60-65 just to keep from getting plowed into from behind.

I know that I am not the most intelligent person in the world, but it seems to me that the industry is giving itself a black eye when trucking companies have driver qualifications that say "FELONIES CONSIDERED." Considering what I've seen and heard in the driver's lounge at truck stops it made me think I might have just as well been standing in prison yard recreational area.

Unfortunately, when you commit a felony you forfeit certain privileges. Please note that they are privileges; not “rights.†You can not vote or own firearms, but you can get behind the wheel of a chunk of steel 10 feet wide, 80 feet long and 14 feet high that weighs up to 80,000lbs. Personally, I would much rather dodge 38 caliber bullets that a rig being driven by an irate individual.

One gun has the potential to kill 6-15 people depending on the cartridge capacity and the accuracy of the shooter. Statistically, most folks couldn’t kill more than one person with 15 rounds. On the other hand, an out an out-of-control rig can literally crush, mutilate or kill many times over.

We are supposed to be professionals. Would you want to be lying on the operating table awaiting brain surgery only to look up and see a surgeon with filthy surgical clothing who had not bathed in five days?

Drive Professional, Look Professional and Act Professional

 

[bryan]

HI
First the industry lost its camaraderie then it lost its courtesy so now there is no professionalism.It wasn't that long ago that we tried our best to help each other.You didn't drive past another expediter broke down along the highway,because it might be a friend.We use to talk to each other, now when you pull in to a truckstop most drivers have their curtains closed and don't open them untill just before they leave.

You had to maintain a certain level of professionalism because you knew you'd run into these people again.To be accepted by your fellow expeditors was important and to be shunned was a bad thing.Excessive foul language a bad body odor or a poorly maintained truck usually got you shunned.Now everybody is shunning everybody else. This "your on your own kid" or "its a dog eat dog world" attitude needs to stop and the companies need to stop thier we'll hire anybody with a pulse attitude.

So if you don't want the industry going to heck in a hand basket get out of your truck and talk to the guy parked beside you. Its really the only course of action that you have.Other than always setting a good example yourself.Camaraderie breeds courtesy which breeds professionalism.At least in my humble opinion.

 

[Lawrence]

bryan,

Very well said. As an Owner Operator industry - we are the purveyors of our own image.

Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com


T.V. - Why do you think they call it programming?

No, YOU suck. - the mean people

"Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States." - J. Bartlett Brebner

Te audire no possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure. - I can't hear you. I have a banana in my ear.

Become who you are. - Nietzsche


Whoever coined the phrase "Quiet as a mouse" has never stepped on one.




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[nightshift]

This is an interesting thread. I drive t/t OTR for a medium sized general comodities carrier and I've made the same observations that you stated on here. Unfortunately drivers are their own worst enemy. We complain about the way we are treated by the general public but we do nothing to change the image. Too many drivers think tailgateing is an approved method of driving and looking like the homeless guy under the bridge is appropriate dress. Not to mention the way the CB rambos talk on the radio, even though they know there are civilians in their RV's and cars with their families listening to the CB also, and we wonder why we are shunned???? OK, enough before I really get going.

Don't know where I'm going, but there's no sense being late.

 

[greg334]

Bryan
I somewhat agree with your premise but I never saw any of this with my return to the trucking culture – which expediting is part of.

See I was wrapped up in trucking in the late 1970’s and left it as a dream only to return last year. As an outsider I didn’t experience the gradual changes many of you have and when I returned I didn’t see anything close to the brotherhood that was there in the late 70’s. I don’t see the group of truckers in the restaurant talking about things or someone saying hi, most of the time I see people who are rude and rather obtrusive in their manners.

If there was camaraderie in expediting, well I never saw a lot of it. I mean that when I sit, I welcome anyone (except criminal types and lot lizards) to come and visit, but other wise I stay in my truck unless someone pulls in next to me. I have already been faced with the ‘leave me the f**k alone’ comments from others who I just tried to say hi and decided the h*ll with it, I will stay in my truck for now and wait until I see someone else pull in. I try to at least wave to others if I can see them (without my glasses I can’t see everything) and if someone wants to talk, I talk.

Part of the problem is directly related to the need to move stuff and a lack of movers – so you have to deal with what is there. There will be no end to this, especially if the economy keeps changing as it is and more people are displaced from their professions – some have to make a living. I also think that the other part of the problem is no one person is really saying what is acceptable and what is not or even teaching professionalism. Very few have the attitude to make a difference, maybe I don’t but I try.

Nightshift – I fully agree – we are our own worst enemy. But come on… families listening to the CB and you are worried about the language? Kids are exposed to a lot more foul language in films that their parents let them watch and the video games they let them play. I saw one parent let their 8 and 10 year old watch Pulp Fiction at the truck stop to shut them up, talk about child abuse.

 

[simon says]

I posted the other day about these issues, but perhaps should have put it here. Anyway, kudos to Bryan & Lawrence. But we don't even talk to each other on the CB or anywhere else very much. Let alone intervene publicly against the (outlaws from the prison yard) dangerous drivers. As one driver told me once, drivers in this industry, have lost their self-respect.
As Bryan said, this is a dog-eat-dog world, and it started back with de-regulation, then the "go out and enrich oneself", climb over dead bodies to get ahead, and screw the other guy mentality. It all starts at the top of the political and business world...right down to the person who tells her boyfriend to go back and play the slot machine some more.