[stangfreak]

my buddy in chicago just called and told me about an accident he witnessed today. he's a truck driver and he was right behind the red semi truck involved in the crash. i won't go into detail but it wasn't something to see if you have a weak stomach

Daily Herald | Crash closes Route 47 at I-90 in Huntley

incase you can't tell it's a Ford F-150

[sgrcltpunk]

damn that sucks that guy i hope died quick and that truck is jacked i feel sorry for him

[Fox2102]

damn..

[stangfreak]

yeah, it was a woman that died

[N29468]

You should see how some of the people drive up here on the highway. Chicago has to rank one of the highest in reckless drivers. Im not saying he was but just some info if you ever decide to drive up here.

[06RedfireGT]

Wow...

I guess when you're in that situation it doesn't matter what you're driving.

[Mystic Cobra]

Man,I have only seen 2 things worse than that....

[~C~]

wow isnt even the word and i dont think covers it. damn. i guess the red truck just kept on barreling down on the f150 and musta slammed it right into the parked yellow truck?

[Mystic Cobra]

Man it doesnt even look like a 1989 F-150 anymore. =( God bless her and her family.

[nk42197]

Please Pray For Our Family This Was My Brother-in-law, My Sister-in-law May She R.i.p. The Baby Is Fine Anyone Has Any Information Please Let Me Know

[Got Ford]

holy shit!!!!!!, i live 15 mins from there!!!!!!! and i own a f150! thats some scary stuff. think ur safe in a truck, think again. dam crazy IL drivers!

[TheUNZippee!]

And this is why I got out of the towing industry.


And Red, it really doesn't matter what you're driving. Especially when the truck that hits you weighs 40 tons. Just that Mack power unit weighs almost 10 tons. The big diesel in the front of that Mack weighs almost 2 tons. So it's all well and good to think you feel safe in your 4 ton Expedition, but it really doesn't matter. I've seen them squished up and torn apart even worse than that. I was at one similar accident to this, but somehow the tractor wound up completely on top of the vehicle it hit. It was as if a big crane picked the truck up and put it down perfectly on top of the vehicle. Never did find out what kind of car or truck it was that got flattened.

[06RedfireGT]

Originally Posted by TheUNZippee! And this is why I got out of the towing industry. And Red, it really doesn't matter what you're driving. Especially when the truck that hits you weighs 40 tons. Just that Mack power unit weighs almost 10 tons. The big diesel in the front of that Mack weighs almost 2 tons. So it's all well and good to think you feel safe in your 4 ton Expedition, but it really doesn't matter. I've seen them squished up and torn apart even worse than that. I was at one similar accident to this, but somehow the tractor wound up completely on top of the vehicle it hit. It was as if a big crane picked the truck up and put it down perfectly on top of the vehicle. Never did find out what kind of car or truck it was that got flattened.

I guess a big vehicle is just a false sense of security. You never know when some freak accident like this will happen. Stuff like that is really humbling.

[vfast]

I thought that was photo shopped until I saw the red spray paint marking the wheel location......just to show more about the big truck look at the grill not even broken...people just don't realize how heavy and big they are there isn't to many so called fender benders when a big truck is involved

[TheUNZippee!]

Originally Posted by 06RedfireGT I guess a big vehicle is just a false sense of security. You never know when some freak accident like this will happen. Stuff like that is really humbling.

Yeah. A year and a half in the tow trucks was enough to get me to slow down and take fewer chances. You just never know what can happen. Sometimes you see the opposite of this accident here. I've seen vehicles torn in half, and the driver walks away. I've also seen accidents where there isn't that much damage on the vehicle, but the person died from internal injuries because they got hit the wrong way, or broke their neck.

Originally Posted by vfast I thought that was photo shopped until I saw the red spray paint marking the wheel location......just to show more about the big truck look at the grill not even broken...people just don't realize how heavy and big they are there isn't to many so called fender benders when a big truck is involved

Yeah exactly. The front of today's trucks, even the bumper, is mostly all fiberglass and plastic...but the gigantic frame rails underneath everything and the big diesel are not.

This is why I cringe every time I see a truck driver tailgating or driving like an asshole, or see a truck going down the road in shitty mechanical condition. That truck in that picture looks like a local grain hauler, and local trucks are more notorious for going down the road in shitty condition, because they don't have to pass as many inspection stations as highway trucks. If any at all. And the stop and go driving they do is a lot harder on them than the highway driving that over the road trucks do.

They are also more prone to be overloaded. That tandem/tandem truck in the picture has a gross weight limit of 80,000 lbs. It's not uncommon for them to go down the road at 100,000 lbs or more because they don't pass by inspection stations.

[vfast]

I see that tail gating all the time....not good

[TheUNZippee!]

Yeah it drives me crazy. It's too easy to get your CDL.

[vfast]

that's because of the 50% turn over rate after 1 years of driving..

[06RedfireGT]

Whenever I drive I try to stay as far away from tractor trailers as I can. It makes me uncomfortable being around them.

[TheUNZippee!]

True. And your 50% number is conservative. Extremely conservative.

Obviously there is more than one part to a problem, the first part being that it's too easy to get your CDL. The second part is how the vast majority of companies pay and treat their drivers. Most drivers like that grain hauler are paid by the load. So when you are paid 'x' to move something, most humans are going to move as much of that product as fast as they can to make as much money as they can. Ditto for long haulers. Most are paid by the mile, and get paid nothing for all the other work they do. You can sit for 6 hours at a Walmart distribution center waiting to get loaded, getting loaded, and then your dispatcher tells you at 6 pm, all right, you have to be 600 miles down the road by 7 am.

Yet all companies will then hold their quarterly safety meetings, and tell their drivers to be as safe as possible, never take chances, yadda yadda yadda. But they refuse to do the one thing that would make their drivers drive properly.

Pay them by the hour.