Question:
For those of you entering into the trucking industry, always keep in the forefront of your mind, that this is a very serious job. I am sure most of you have heard about the accident in Florida that claimed the lives of 8 people ( 7 kids 1 grandad ). If you want to come out here and drive the way you drive your car, please don't bother.
This has to be a wakeup call for all of us. Always remember that things can and do change out on the road with little or no warning.
Yea, you can enjoy driving and seeing the country, but the minute you let your guard down, its all over. The driver of the Crete truck will never forget that lesson.
Please heed these words. I can tell you that this has hit home for me and has caused me to make a conscious effort to be a better and safe driver.
Take care and safe driving

Answer:
Why is that? Have you been sleeping?
Personally I have been awake for a long time and this accident is no different than alot of others.
Here's a little more to help keep you awake.
Three fatal truck accidents draw national attention

Answer:

Me too. I was thinking about that today - putting myself in the position of that driver and how (presumably) losing his attention for a bit ruined so many lives, including his own. One difference with this crash is the massive media exposure, the inherent innocence of children trapped in vehicles as a truck comes barrelling at them, and the senselessness of the flat straight road and plenty of time to respond.
No one reading this could imagine themself plowing into a stopped school bus under these conditions. I'm sure the driver believed he was above-average and safe, just like every other driver believes.
But the dirty truth is, we've all made a horrendous misjudgment or two. With the grace of God and a little luck, we got away with it and nothing happened.
The "wake up" is that this driver could have been one of us more easily than we'd like to admit. And if that isn't a humbling "wake-up" call, I don't know what else could possibly remind someone how dangerous our work really is.

Answer:
Shuffler you mean your just waking up also?
If it took this one wreck to get any drivers attention or if you think it could have been you then you have been a very dangerous driver for a very long time.

Answer:
No Stuffs, that's obviously not what I meant. (or said, or implied)
BTW --
"your" is possessive, like "your paycheck" or "your family".
"you're" is a contraction for "you are". You combine the words and use the aposterphe to replace the letter "a".
Like "you're tempting fate" or "is that what you're saying".
Your and you're sound the same, but are different. Say the sentence to yourself and see if you can replace "your" with "you are". If you can, you use either "you are" or "you're". "You are" is preferred in business or precise situations. The contraction "you're" is common in spoken language, but is considered a casual shortcut in most written applications..
Your writing is improving, but you're still committing some basic errors.

Answer:
Actually i couldn't care less if you think my writing is improving.
But I do beliefe that your feeling it could of been anyone of us that your not a very attentive driver. Hopefully this has woken you up as i believe it has.
How was that for sentence structure.

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Petty typical.

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Actually Shuffler it is not petty at all. Not sure why you would go that direction in your reply once again.
We are suppose to be professionals out there and alert at all times and in all situations. The person that had this accident and the many hundreds of other accidents that were the fault of the truck drivers were caused by people not doing their job the best they possibly could every minute of every day.
How many hundreds die each year in accidents many that are the fault of the truck driver. Do you think they ever woke up until the last minute. Do you think the driver above was awake and doing his job the best he could. I don't think so. I think he hadn't had a wake up call, ever. It is sad when some one states it could of be anyone of us. Why is that.? Why could it have been you or the driver who started this thread? Are you doing things while driving that could cause such a thing to happen? Are most drivers doing things that can cause this type of accident? I can tell you staright I am praying they are not because my family is on the road every day and so am I.
There are far to many idiots behind the wheel of big trucks who do not do their job the best they can and who are not paying 100 percent attention to their driving all the time. They are dangerous and they need to quit before it is them. But, there are plenty of drivers who will go their entire driving careers and never experience this sort of thing. Not because they simply got lucky but because they did their jobs 100 percent 100 percent of the time.
Why, are you not driving at 100 percent all of the time. If not you need to quit right now before it is you and some innocent people who have to suffer from your carelessness.
Accidents happen but as the slogan say's "Safety is no accident". Keep it safe and keep safety first in all things everyday and it will never be you.

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Typical wont happen to me attitude Im to safe a driver.If you think youre the perfect driver then its time you step away from the truck cause your guard is down.Fooling yourself is alot easier then fooling someone else.

Answer:
Stuffs, your comments are typical of today's driver. Just like the guy who said to me the other day and I quote " Hey Crete, why did yall let that driver kill all those people in Florida". I bet his company would be real proud of him for saying that. Needless to say I did not respond to his moronic question.
My point was that we need to be aware of our surroundings at all times.
Take care and be safe

Answer:
Actually the point went right over both of your heads.
100 percent all the time, got it?
Probably not.
You should have been making that conscious effort every time you got in a truck from the very first day you start driving.
I've heard and seen alot of drivers say the above accident woke them up or it could've been them or anyone of us. Then I started wondering why. There are 100's of people killed every year by big trucks including many truck drivers. This accident is no different than any one of those other accidents,. I know the comment is simply a generalization or seems to be but it also strikes a serious note.
This accident didn't happen because of a stroke of bad luck for that driver. It happened because he wasn't doing his job. He didn't come around some blind corner or get taken off guard because he was paying attention. Like most accidents it happened because he wasn't doing his job 100 percent for what ever reason. It's not like it was something accidental that could happen to anyone of us. A school bus didn't just jump out in front of him or a car full of kids run a red light or some other thing that can happen to anyone of us. On a clear day running down an open road with no obstructions he ran into the back of a car parked waiting for a school bus. No good reasons for it except he wasn't paying attention and doing his job 100 percent. He let his guard down. Some thing that had most likely become standard for him.
If you think that could be you then it is not me or some one else who is a typical dangerous driver. It would be you.
Yes they can change and very quickly also. But that is not what happened in this case and alot of others. The only fault in this case and in many others is the driver stopped doing what he was trained to do and what he knew to do. He quit paying attention to his driving. That is the only thing that changed. That does not have to be you or some thing that could happen to you.
The next time you drive by some truck laying on it's side or a pile up with a truck involved you should let that remind you again of what can happen if you let safety slip for a few minutes or quit paying attention.
Your point is a good one. It is a point that should be in every drivers mind everyday.
My point is, don't let an accident be your wake up call.

Answer:
Could it have happened to you. Probably so and probably so for alot of drivers on the road. Probably for me also until I decided to wake up and change what I was doing.
Here's a letter I received from a friend. It's written by a O/O who let it happen to him and it explains why. It was writen in support of OOIDA's June run legal program in 2003.
Maybe this will sink in a little bit.


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But everyone makes good points. I don't think anyone starts out realizing how serous it can get. I drove for over 12 years before I heard a company say that this was serious business that could impact you personally up to and including jail.
That company was US Xpress.
I've practiced the max safety from day 1. All day everyday. I've done thousands of things might be unsafe to me but not others. Plenty of others out here do too I'm sure. I think it has to be that you practice good habits so that when you are not paying attention that the routine that takes over is the safe ones that you have been practicing. And as always,
Paitence is the hardest thing to learn.***Patience is the hardest thing to learn..

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If someone uses this traegy as a "wake-up call" to remind them how dangerous the work is -- so be it. That's one of the ways I've maintained an attitude that's helped me drive over one-million consecutive accient-free miles since getting my CDL. (no moving violations either)
The fools who say it can't happen to them, or think they're Billy-Big-Rig-Super-Trucker, and mock those who realize that misjudgements and conceit is a human condition that you constantly have to fight before it causes you to become over-confident.....well, I guess I already said it -- they're fools.
By all means, use every "wake-up" opportunity you possibly can to the remind you of the reality you're working in, no matter how long you've been driving. It's constant and it lasts forever, not just when you're new.
The most important miles are the ones you haven't driven yet. Never lose your newbie respect for the responsibility, as you develop your skills. You need both.

Answer:


Nothing happened to the driver that killed those 7 children. He is what happened to them. You do not have to be what happened to another person. That is something you can control by practicing safety from day one. Then you will never have to look back and count your lucky stars or face your punishment for a very preventable "horendous misjudgement". There is nothing "Billy-Big-Rig-Super-Trucker" about being an above average driver who does their best every second of everyday. The slackers, the lazy and the typical are those who do it wrong.
I read an article not long ago where they had interviewed drivers who have 4-5 million accident free miles. They had all just received awards of some sort from their companies. They asked how they did it. The number one reply was they never let their guard down not even for one second. They all took their jobs very serious and they all drove as if some one's life depended on them. Not a one of them is a ""Billy-Big-Rig-Super-Trucker". They are all professionals who acted like professionals every minute of everyday. Their wake up call came the second they started their trucks. It didn't take some big accident to remind them of the dangers of complacency. it doesn't have to take one for anyone to drive safely. it's all up to you the driver. Either drive being lucky everyday or drive responsibly and make your own luck.