a lesson in safety for your beginning drivers

[Josh B]

A lot of you know that I'm a truckdriver by profession.  With 2.5 million miles(accident free, knock on wood) behind me, I have seen a lot of dangerous behavior on the road.  One of the most prominent and most dangerous mistakes I see is not giving enough space to big trucks.  I don't say this because I think trucks have more right to the road, but as a concern for everyone's safety that is not driving a truck.  Aside from needing more room to stop and maneuver, the biggest threat to passenger vehicles is the tires.  You really can't imagine the destructive force that is released when one of these tires lets go.  Make sure your kids understand that under no circumstance, should they tailgate a semi.  When passing a truck on the interstate, don't linger beside the truck.  Get past as quickly as safely possible.  I blew a tire last Friday that was almost brand new.  Luckily it didn't fly completely off and hurt anyone but it could have.  There was no visible damage or discernable reason for this tire to blow, it just let go.  This tire did well over $2k worth of damage to my truck when it went.  It would total a passenger vehicle.  My brother who also drives blew a tire a few years ago in SC.  It came completely apart and struck a Corsica that was tailgating him.  It ripped off the fender and shoved the hood through the windshield of the car.  Had it not brought the hood with it, it would have more than likely decapitated the driver of the car.  I beg of you, PLEASE explain to your beginning drivers to give trucks a wide birth.  Truckdrivers are just people, same as you.  The last thing in the world we want is to have to live with the accidental albeit avoidable death of your loved ones on our conscience.  Here is the carnage wrought by my blowout.  The flap of tread ripped the fender off my tractor, ripped the fender off my trailer, smashed and buckled my toolbox and dented up my fuel tank.  Had this came completely off, it could easily rip open a car like ripping apart a pop can.  Thank you for reading along.  Josh

[soy]

Well said 

[Aaron H]

I never have understood why people don't show big trucks more respect on the road.  Thanks for the reminder Josh

[JW_Halverson]

Thanks Josh.  I appreciate the wake up call and I will certainly take your advice to heart. 

There is no reasonable way to blame a driver for this kind of situation.  He or she does not personally control the manufacture of the tire or the conditions of the road he or she is driving.  POOP HAPPENS and it is your responsibility to keep yourself away from where it lands!!!

My guts are tight thinking about that rubber slapping the bloody crap out of me if it came thru the windshield. 

[DC]

I was needing a chunk of rubber for a project so I stopped to pick up a re-tread on the side of the road. I was surprised how heavy it was. A windshield ain't going to slow it down

[dylanholderman]

when i learning to drive my teacher always told me not to drive beside a truck for to long, the reason he gave was that you never know how long the driver of that truck has been on the road. wish he had mentioned this too

[caveman2533]

I once was following a school bus loaded with camping gear, May be a church retreat? Had the wife and kids in the van and We had just ramped onto the highway behind this  bus and I immediately said to the wife "He has a flat tire on the left dually and the other does not look good, its gonna blow, I am gonna pass him" Just as a swung into the left lane and had not even begun to pass him yet, it blew and pelted our van with tire pieces, no damage other than an out of control heart rate for a minute.   I used to drive truck also and recognized the danger, Had a tire blow on the dump truck once. It is quite an explosion and they should spend more time teaching the danger to drivers. Its real and dangerous. Glad no one was hurt in your  experience too.

[chamookman]

Well said Josh - be safe out there ! Bob

[TRACY]

Great thread Josh! No need to limit it to just beginning drivers


Tracy

[Eric Krewson]

I would offer the same advice for driving alongside big campers. I had 3 tires blow in two trips one year, the tires looked like new and were 4 years old. They pretty much disintegrated and sent a lot of shrapnel flying. Not as dangerous as a truck tire but still a hazard.

[YosemiteBen]

Indeed! Many years back my family and I were traveling on a canyon road and the driver of a big rig was falling asleep or something. He kept bouncing off of the canyon wall and knocking rocks loose. I waited for a wide spot and got around him quick.

Always do a walk around - work vehicle or personal car. Here in California we just had a bit on the local news from Fresno about checking the manufacture date on your tires as some less honorable trie dealers were selling tires that were years old and there were blowouts that caused serious accidents.

Soemtimes it just does not take much.....

[JoJoDapyro]

Ooooh. Super Single. How do you like them? I concur on your post. I drive a plow in the winter, it is truly shocking at how bold people are. Passing us while we are running 7 trucks deep to clear multiple lane roads in one pass. Sit back and wait a few minutes and we will be out of your way. Something I have noticed in my years of plowing is that if you pass me, chances are you are going to crash. I am driving a 12 ton truck, with 300 gallons of brine, 100 gallons of fuel, a 3 ton salt spreader with 8 tons of salt in it. I have 10 tires on the ground for traction. I have done this a long time, and I know how fast I can plow snow safely.

[Parnell]

Good post, Josh.  I almost caught a piece of that through my windshield years ago.  A huge chunk launched about 40 feet into the air and I swerved out of the way to avoid it.  Final destination style...

[bubby]

I was driving my pickup up the mountain a few years back, was coming around a turn with a guy coming down and his entire left front came off and was bouncing down i was pucky it hit my truck as it was on the way down instead of bouncing up when it hit, sucker hit my truck and bounced two hundred yards up hill, ruined a day hunting but at least me and the dog survived

[Josh B]

JW-you'd be amazed at how many people would disagree with you on the responsibility issue.  That incident my brother had...he had to fly to SC to testify because the guy was suing.  The tailgater lost the case, but it still cost a small fortune to my brother's employer.
Jojo- I hate super singles with a passion!  When I see you guys all doing your thing, you are my heroes.  I give you guys all the room in the world.  We call that a Congo line when you plow like that.
Ben-was that incident on a steep down grade?  The reason I ask is because it could have been a case where the driver lost his brakes and was dragging his trailer along the rocks to slow down.  It's a desperate last ditch maneuver, but has saved more than a few drivers lives.  Nowadays most grades have run away ramps so you don't hear of it happening much.  In the old days, it happened a lot in the mountains.  If you see that happening, DON'T pass him!  Get way back and call 911.  Otherwise you might end up part of the burning pile of wreckage at the base of a cliff with the truckdriver.
Bubby- that could've been real bad!  Glad you and your hound weren't hurt.
Tracy- I was sort of meaning this as a warning for everyone.  I just wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to experienced drivers even though no particular age group has the market cornered on poor driving habits.  Thanks for all the comments and please be safe out there.  Josh