Question:
Saw a Sunflower driver this week trying to back down a ramp onto I-90 in Chicago, just past where I-190, I-294, and I-90 join. 12 or more lanes trying to merge into 3, at rush hour.
Driver trying to back in, got the trailer in the mud. Instead of stopping and pulling out, tried to bull his way back. 40,000 lbs. of structural steel and truck laid over.
Driver unchained coils, then pulled over a hump and made a sharp right on the downhill side. 2 24,000 lb. coils down thru the parking lot of the factory. Fortunately, it wasn't during shift change.
Monty's post on shifting freight reminded me of an incident about 25 years ago. Driver had a load of grinding balls for a mine. Normal procedure was to stop on uphill side of ramp, remove tailgate, then back over hump and let balls run out. For some reason he backed up and over, then removed the tailgate. Wasn't even recognizable as human when picked up.
Far too many truckers let their minds go in neutral or just don't use them.
Don't fall into that trap. This is a dangerous job and a split second of inattention or just not thinking can give you a lifetime of pain or NO life period.

Answer:
I posted this story last year, here it is again.
One of our drivers was crushed between two trailers while hooking-up at a particularly rocky, sloping drop yard in Pennsylvania.
He backed under a loaded trailer and got out to hook up the hoses and raise the landing gear.
Turns out he inadvertantly positioned the kingpin on top of the fifthwheel instead of in the slot.
When he cranked up the landing gear, the kingpin slip sideways on the fifthwheel and pushed him up against the trailer next to him.
Crushed him to death.
Now....
He may have THOUGHT he heard the jaws 'click'.
He may have done a tug test and THOUGHT it felt like it was hooked.
Given how rocky and pot-holed this yard is, he may have been totally convinced he was positioned properly and locked in the slot, when he was in the cab operating the controls.
But she he got out, he forgot to do the simplest thing of all. He forgot to take just two seconds to bend over and LOOK to make sure.
And it cost him his life, and probably a slow, painful death.....trying to push that cold, blue metal away from him as he felt his bones start to crush.......just imagine...then imagine some more what that death was like and what must have gone through his mind.
Remember newbies: It's not as much about "skill" as it is about "judgment". Like WUZZY/CHARLIE said, it's all about using your BRAIN.
[This message was edited by Shuffler on April 13, 2003 at 15:23.]

Answer:
Point, Shuffler.
Lost count of the guy's I've seen killed or maimed because THEY LET THEIR MINDS LAPSE FOR JUST A FEW SECONDS!!!!!

Answer:
It seems I do stupid things right after I find my self in a jam. I get blocked in, take the wrong ramp, go left when I should've gone right etc.. Also when I'm tired my judgement gets twisted. It is those times when I have to conscientiously do the right thing. Stopping to think before I make things worse is what I do. You see it all the time. A driver just screwed up and begins to rectify his mistake right away. They do not stop they just proceed and end up in far worse shape.
Always take whatever time is needed to do things correctly. Hurrying, worrying about who's looking and not asking for help if you need it can be the worst mistakes you can make. Problems can be solved if you take time to think them out first.
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of all who threaten it"

Answer:
It seems I do stupid things right after I find my self in a jam
I bet we can all relate to that. Maybe it's because at that moment we're "grasping for straws" instead of thinking things through. We start reacting by reflex instead of reason.
How many times have you heard, if you get really lost, find a place to STOP so you can try to figure it out. But how many times have we just kept on driving, making it worse and getting even more lost, maybe taking a couple restricted city streets, blowing a stop sign while looking around.....doing exactly the opposite of what we KNOW is the most logical thing to do -- STOP.
For sure, it IS compounded by lack of good sleep. Seems almost every day I hear another study about how too little slep creates responses similiar to alcohol intoxication or mental retardation. I read the other day that some new testing shows two nights in a row with less than 4.5 hours sleep reduces your IQ 30%, and you perform motor-skills the same as if you had a .06 blood-alcohol level.
Driving's all about yer brain.