Trucking Accidents Happen
It’s simple, trucking accidents happen. Most people I talk to have the idea that trucking is easy, but anyone that’s made it past CDL training knows that easy is the wrong word. I know a guy who
was just starting out and really excited for some hot shot trucking. He had been doing short local runs for a while and just got assigned a long distance trip from Maryland up to Maine. He was chomping at the bit for a chance like this but I don’t think he knew what he was in for. Unfortunately for this kid, his run was
in January and snow storms were headed that way.
The first leg of the trip was uneventful and he made it to New York ahead of schedule but bad weather
was looming ahead. He got up early hoping to beat the worst of the snow but when you’re driving a loaded trailer even half an inch is bad enough. His rig had just finished climbing a mountain in Vermont and started to roll down the other side when he saw trouble at the bottom of the slope. A car had spun out and was facing the wrong way in the middle of the highway. He immediately started braking but gravity had already started pulling him down. With that much weight behind and hardly any traction there was no stopping until he reached the bottom. Second after second the truck and trailer kept sliding and gaining speed as he prayed that the car would start driving and get out of the way. It never
did. Despite his best efforts he couldn’t slow down or steer enough to miss hitting the stranded car head on, killing the driver.
This poor guy did everything right and still ended up in the middle of every truckers worst
nightmare. That’s just the risk you take on the road, and sometimes no amount of training or experience can keep prevent accidents. I don’t mean to scare anyone, I guess I’m just telling you that if something bad does happen out there, try not to blame yourself when things are out of your hands. Truck accidents happen and sometimes, their out of our control.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a new truck driver, veteran truck driver or thinking about being a truck driver, safety always needs to be part of your daily ritual. You always have to keep your eye on traffic. Always pay close attention to the weather and plan for such events. Make sure you always do your pre-trip inspection before hitting the road. You can always make sure that your tires are good to go. If you have a flatbed truck, be sure that your haul is tight. There’s several things that you can do to make sure your safe, but you never know when an accident can be on the horizon. All you can do is drive the speed limit, follow safety protocol and keep your eye out for trouble. After years on the road, many of us can sense danger. You’ll develop this over time.
Truck driver accidents will happen, there’s nothing you can do about this if you follow your safety protocol. All you can do is be careful and hope for the best if an accident occurs. Another tips that I’ll give you is having accident tools in case something should happen. This could include a fire extinguisher, medical kit, water, food, tools or anything else you can think of. Not only could some of these items save a life if an accident happens, it could also save your life. The better you’re prepared, the better you’ll be equipped when an accident occurs. I hope you never have to go through this, but it doesn’t hurt to be safe and prepared. Until then, be safe and careful on the road.