Real Truckers Was:[geeks] Work getting slow

[Eric Dittman]

> Geez what a pile of stuff that statement is. If anything in the last 15
> years the road has become safer from a truck operator standpoint.  More
> stringent driver qualifications, stronger rules putting drivers with too
> many points or DWI off the road. The current CDL (commercial drivers
> license) rules will FOREVER remove your privileges to drive a truck if you
> get any drunk/drug related tickets or too many speeding tickets. CDL drivers
> must pass a physical EVERY year.
> 
> As for overloaded, you cannot haul a load from Baltimore to New York without
> passing through at least 3 weight/safety inspection stations I don'know
> about out in the west but you are playing with fire if you operate an
> overloaded truck here.
> 
> It is also a proven fact that truck/auto accidents are 90% the fault of the
> auto operator. People complain about trucks and think they are some great
> evil beast in thier way making them late for work ot whatever. And lastly.
> Trucks pay for the roads we drive on. The average tractor trailer pays over
> $15.000 in highway use taxes over and beyond the what they pay in fuel tax
> or Apportioned License tag fees which are typically $1800.00 per year.
> 
> EVERYTHING in this country that the typical consumer buys had to travel by
> truck somwhere in it's journey from raw prooduct to the fucking Wal-Mart
> shelf
> 
> The last thing you need to remember, while you may spend your 30 or so
> minutes in traffic commuting that driver has to put up with all the bullshit
> you see on the road ALL DAY with construction and other fun stuff tossed in.
> 
> I have owned trucks, (real trucks I mean) and my family has been in trucking
> for 35 years. I also used to commute 1.5 hours each way in my car. Trucks
> were never the problem. Assholes in cars who cannot wait like everyone else
> in traffic are the biggest problem

Amen.  I've been around them all my life, and almost all the
accidents I've read about start out with phrases like "the driver
of the car made an improper..." or "the driver of the car failed..."
or something like that.

My brother was driving a truck with a fully-loaded gravel trailer
one day, down a long, steep grade.  A driver in a car passed him
then moved over too closely to allow traffic to pass and hit the
brakes.

My brother had two choices:  1) He could run over the car.  2) He
could go over the side of the hill.

My brother chose option 2.  It was a miracle he survived.  The
truck was completely crushed except for a small space in the
cab.  He was a little bruised, and he had to be cut out of
the mangled cab, but he lived.

Fortunately one of the drivers behind him was a State Trooper,
so emergency services were called immediately and the other
driver was caught.

I know of another driver that wasn't so fortunate.  Due to
a driver in a car making a mistake this guy died.  He could
have lived, but contrary to what some people think most
drivers will select the option that puts themselves, not
others at risk.
-- 
Eric Dittman
dittman at dittman.net
Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/