I80 in Wyoming , this aggrivated me yet made appreciate So Cal

[Petetrucker07]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IxlvxvG8zOE

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h9_iv_AtFJg

This accident really aggravated me. If truckers nowadays use the CB radio most of that could have been avoided. That combined with unsafe driving, driving WAY too fast for the conditions. Truckin is definitely not like it used to be. But it also made me glad that I Drive in Southern California. I don't run in that kind of weather and I am really glad that I don't for that reason.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Petetrucker07

[1930fordpickup]

Started to watch had to turn it off.

We are in such a hurry anymore. Everything just has to be there now , now , now , now . BTW is it here yet. What have we done to ourselves ?

[Petetrucker07]

Exactly!

[Roadrunner]

Wow, that's crazy, and very sad.

[cobraman]

Oh my ! That was rough to watch .

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Testament to CB, right there.

[1930fordpickup]

Another thing to add , with all the amber alert signs around maybe add a few more to let people know of stopped traffic .

Had a few of these pileups in Michigan this past winter . Looked like a derby on the news. All because we are in a big hurry.

[DrGlueblob]

I have nothing but respect for truckers. So sad, that.

[Mackvision]

It saddens me to see what trucking has become,i am a 3rd generation driver with 3.5 million miles safe driving,so please don't tell me "it can't be done"! Todays drivers have lost respect for both equipment,weather AND common sense!!!!!! I agree the radio might have helped,but some of those trucks were doing 60 when they approached the STOPPED traffic!!!!................................................Mark

[Petetrucker07]

I agree Mark. The days helping another driver, talkin to another driver who mat be tired, in need of some wire to fix a light, bear reports, traffic reports, weather reports and anything else is just about gone. The large fleets are kicking out steering wheel holders left and right. People getting into truckin because it's job is the way it's goin, and I, like you, don't like it.

Andy brought up a good point of the sign boards, letting people know of road and weather conditions should have been used. But, that probably needed government approval on some level, local, state, whatever. But, I'd almost put money on this. I bet at least half of those trucks did not have a CB at all, then half of the other half did have 1 but not turned on! I'm sure I'd drivers had a CB, had it got dang thing on, the driver that died in this crash may still be alive. It really tweaks me the wrong way that this happened. First and foremost, driving WAY to dam fast, not communicating with the other drivers on the road, and just out and out being irresponsible. I take a lot of pride in being a truck driver, 3rd generation same as you Mark.

This really sickens me. The initial wreck could've been limited to a few trucks instead of the 20 something. I know the conditions were bad, things happen. But it never should've gotten this bad. Many failures and irresponsibility led to this. As Andy said, TOO BIG OF A HURRY. I heard an expression from an old time driver, "if that load being late is gonna sink the ship, the ship was sinking anyway". Really, there's no good reason to be in a hurry, especially in those conditions. If the loads gonna be late, reschedule. There is nothing, anybody can load on my truck that is worth the life of the public in their cars, the life of another driver, a pedestrian or myself.

Bottom line, people, in general, need to slow down. Truck drivers need to take pride in their work, respect it, and be the responsible professional driver. The public in their cars need be responsible, be safe, give trucks room and be courteous.

Just a side note, people need to realize this, the engine alone in most highway trucks weighs more than Honda Civic. Nevermind the fact that most trucks, like mine, are 80000 pounds loaded.

[Petetrucker07]

That right is what really bothers me about morons like this on the road. It gives those of us who are still true trucker drivers a bad name. The truck driver is a dying breed. The steering wheel holder is spreading almost like a wild fire. This accident was caused by and involved steering wheel holders. Real truck drivers would've communicated there was a serious issue or, like what I would've done, parked the truck till the conditions were safer. This is a prime example of poor judgment.

[cobraman]

Used to be that the truckers were the "White Knights" of the road. I'm not saying that they don't still exist but there does seem to be a growing pool of "cowboys" on the road. Just going by what I see when I drive around.

[Harry P.]

Whenever I drive downstate to visit my daughters (one lives in Champaign, the other in Urbana, Illinois–about 3 hours south of me on I-57), I obviously have interactions with a ton of truckers on the road. And from what I have seen in person, over many, many trips to Champaign-Urbana and back over the years, truckers are the best drivers on the road. They obey the speed limit, they always signal when changing lanes, etc. Are there bad apples in the bunch? Of course. There are bad people in every profession. But based on my personal experience, truckers are very professional and courteous on the road.

[Harry P.]

I see trucks literally less than a foot off people's bumpers.

I think you might be exaggerating just a tiny bit....

[Petetrucker07]

I have to agree with things are changing. I hope there is a resurgence of the truck driver. Not trying to turn this political, but the government wants control of this industry in the worst way. When things happen like what happened in Wyoming, it only fuels their fire. I wish people could just pay attention. That's a lot of the problem.

[Guest]

I wish people could just pay attention. That's a lot of the problem.

Clayton,

Do you think a "truckers bomb" might have played a part in this pile up? Or maybe I should say someone making a "truckers bomb"

Edited April 21, 2015 by Modeltruckbuilder

[Joe Handley]

No, I am not.

Usually, the only time I see that is at traffic lights. Now if it were the other way around........

[Harry P.]

No, I am not.

There's no way a truck in traffic will be less than a foot off someone's bumper. That doesn't happen.

[niteowl7710]

We had the same type of weather conditions in Northern Indiana, especially in February. Blizzard conditions, whiteouts, et al. I drove back and forth between Pittsburgh & Chicago 3x a week, and got caught in several storms. Got stuck in the results of a number of multi-vehicle accidents on the Indiana Toll Road. But none of them involved me in any way. Do I have a CB? Yeah. Do I ever turn it on? Rarely. Didn't have it on most of the time this winter, but you know why I didn't plow into the back of people? CAUSE I TRAVEL A SAFE SPEED FOR THE ROAD CONDITIONS!! It's not rocket science, it's following distance and road speed, and no CB cowboy Super Trucker is going to help me drive my truck by telling me that traffic is stopping. If it's stopping, then I'll be stopping with plenty of room to spare because I'm not doing 70MPH in a whiteout. Or here's another salient idea, pull off the road entirely and wait it out. I haven't gotten tangibly close to 2 million safe miles by tailgating, speeding, or running while the chain laws are up and there's a blizzard on the mountain.

In the above accident the variable speed limit signs (Think NJ Turnpike to anyone out East) were posted at 45MPH, which was probably still too fast given the actual weather/road conditions. But watching the videos it's clearly visible that a number of drivers, especially that FedEx set of doubles that was hauling the mail (so to speak) were going well in excess of that and wouldn't have had a hope of stopping in time on dry pavement.

[cobraman]

In my Maxwell Smart voice....... would you believe a yard ?

[Petetrucker07]

We had the same type of weather conditions in Northern Indiana, especially in February. Blizzard conditions, whiteouts, et al. I drove back and forth between Pittsburgh & Chicago 3x a week, and got caught in several storms. Got stuck in the results of a number of multi-vehicle accidents on the Indiana Toll Road. But none of them involved me in any way. Do I have a CB? Yeah. Do I ever turn it on? Rarely. Didn't have it on most of the time this winter, but you know why I didn't plow into the back of people? CAUSE I TRAVEL A SAFE SPEED FOR THE ROAD CONDITIONS!! It's not rocket science, it's following distance and road speed, and no CB cowboy Super Trucker is going to help me drive my truck by telling me that traffic is stopping. If it's stopping, then I'll be stopping with plenty of room to spare because I'm not doing 70MPH in a whiteout. Or here's another salient idea, pull off the road entirely and wait it out. I haven't gotten tangibly close to 2 million safe miles by tailgating, speeding, or running while the chain laws are up and there's a blizzard on the mountain.

In the above accident the variable speed limit signs (Think NJ Turnpike to anyone out East) were posted at 45MPH, which was probably still too fast given the actual weather/road conditions. But watching the videos it's clearly visible that a number of drivers, especially that FedEx set of doubles that was hauling the mail (so to speak) were going well in excess of that and wouldn't have had a hope of stopping in time on dry pavement.

I agree with you. Driving safe for the conditions or waiting it out are the best. The CB is useful so you can make the decision to wait or ease it on down the road, like the Walmart driver at the end of crash video. He eased up to scene and stopped without incident. From what I gather from the video and others I've watched of this deal, the visibility was about 100 feet. This deal here, I'm gonna go out on a limb, it was caused by excessive speed. Blatantly obvious by the video.

The CB could've helped this situation, or it may not have. But if people had an idea what was going on, they could've made a wiser choice than hammer down. I also understand why guys don't turn them on. All the stupidity that gets jabber jawed about by the Radio Rambos, or the village idiots.

[slusher]

That is so hard to watch.....

[chunkypeanutbutter]

In my Maxwell Smart voice....... would you believe a yard ?

Off his bumper by this much

[niteowl7710]

Whatever Harry. I HAVE SEEN IT!!

No you haven't, or you're simply bad at estimating distances because at a foot away the car would completely disappear from the truck driver's view behind the visual "over hang" of the hood and you'd have no way to determine where the car was until it changed lanes or you ran it over.

Edited April 22, 2015 by niteowl7710

[oldnslow]

I've had trucks so close you couldn't see the emblem on the radiator in the rear view mirror,all grill, and that's doing the speed limit in the slow lane.