Laredo, Texas
Greetings from sunny and warm Laredo, TX. I delivered here this morning and am now waiting for a load to come across the border this afternoon. Still do not know what the load will be, most likely vegetables of some sort going to Michigan. That seems to be the usual load we haul from out of here.
There was a tragic truck accident yesterday in Florida. It appears that an Eighteen wheeler rear ended a car and a school bus killing seven children. The drivers was apparently distracted and did not see the school bus stopping to let off children. The seven children killed were all in the car that was sandwiched between the truck and the bus. They were all adopted children from a single family. The Grandfather of the children died from a heart attack upon hearing of the tragedy. This is the kind of accident that we all dread. There can be nothing worse than causing the death of someone else by your inattention. As professional truck drivers we must not let ourselves become complacent about safety. Watch your following distance, aim high and watch the traffic at least a quarter mile ahead. These two simple rules would probably have prevented this accident. Please take a few extra seconds to take safety seriously. Don’t end up like this driver with innocent blood on your hands.
Please stay safe and watch out for the other guy because he may not be looking out for you.
DR
Be sure to check out these fine blogs:
MacStansbury.org
Basils Blog
Oblogatory Anecdotes finds an honest liberal
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One Response to “Laredo, Texas”
web_loafer on 28 Jan 2006 at 4:33 pm #
Don,
I too hated to hear about the terrible accident in Florida. I only hope it was not the truck drivers fault. I had a close one with a car packed with children long ago, 1975 in PA. Snow storm, idiot four wheelers, (you know the routine) gentle sloped hill, one lane open, 35 to 40 mph. Station wagon with children looking out the back window, spins out and stops sideways right there on the interstate. I dove for the ditch. I went for a wild ride down a slope and managed to dodge all of the pine trees, and come to a stop with the shiny side up. It was the children that caused me to dive for the ditch. I have conditioned my senses to stay on the road, but that time I didn’t. There wasn’t much damage to my truck, just the bill for the two tow trucks it took to get my tractor trailer back on the road.
What I wanted to tell you about is a completely new hazard. I almost ran over a four wheeler last night. It was one of those new cars that has those daylights…(My Toyota Tundra has them)..that are on at all times. This idiot had taken off without turning the lights on, and was driving 65 mph at night with no tail lights at all. I was driving at full throttle, 70 mph. It was just foggy enough that I didn’t see the cars headlights on the road ahead. All of the sudden something in my vision flashes, probably some of the chrome on the car, and I was fifty feet from the car without tail lights. I was able to avoid the idiot. It was close. Be aware of this scenario. Since my daily dedicated route is mostly Missouri miles, I see a lot of Prime Inc. Trucks. I don’t worry about Prime Drivers, they are good. You know what I mean, some companies have better drivers than others. I keep this in mind when I am passing or being passed by other trucks.
What do you call a stretch of the highway with 365 Swift trucks on it?
a years experience.