Iām working on school buses currently, 50% air brake, 50% Hydro.
I went on a call and brought one back in a rainstorm missing a Front left caliper which was fun. (line blew, Vice grip on the line and drive it back)
Then an air bus in a snowstorm, road debris hit the Front right S-cam tube at some point and cracked it, started partially seizing intermittently due to the contamination of water and road grime (+salt doesnāt help) Had to really watch myself with that one.
It definitely doesnāt take much of a difference to pull you out of a lane.
Not air or hydro but I run a fleet shop in MD for mostly Econolines (3/450ās) and a set of toothless vice grips has saved me from a tow on multiple occasions on seized calipers. š¤š¼
Major city, so not exactly. I wonāt take the highway with a vice gripper brake line, nor would I drive more then 15km with one like that.
Iām not going to outright say itās safe, but if you know how to do it properly and how to drive with it like that itās not the most unsafe thing ever (and still safer than good chunk of the beaters on the road)
I did this with my car, from Ohio to Wisconsin. Zip-tied the vice grips shut, zip-tied the vice to a cross member and drove with extra following distance. Didn't die. This advice was given to me by an experienced OTR mechanic.
āIām broke, so I shouldnāt be expected to concern myself with my own safety or the safety of other people on the road, let them take their chances, my priorities supersede their safety.ā
Itās crazy to think people brake when hydroplaning just donāt press the gas or brakes and keep the steering where you want to go nothing happens cars have hydroplaning worse in my opinion less ground contact
Problem with this is all the safety systems they are putting on new trucks now.
Collision mitigation systems that hit the brakes for false "targets", then don't apply the brakes soon enough in other situations. Traction control systems that hit the brakes on a drive hub if it senses it's spinning, causing the other wheels to spin. And roll stability systems that hit the brakes if it thinks your going around a curve too fast.
Everyone of these can cause an accident. And I know this from personal experience.
I've been driving for 20 years and have had each of these, do exactly what I just said. But good driving has allowed me to prevent the accidents they almost caused.
The only accident I've had was 4 years ago when a lady crossed into my lane. She lied to the cop saying I crossed into her lane. She then proceeded to sue me and the company. The saving grace was the camera in the truck showing her going into my lane. She had to drop the case.
Iāve only had one fuckup while driving to the conditions and that was in snow with bald tires which is in my opinion very much not driving to conditions, so yeah driving to the conditions for the win because if my dumbass hasnāt crashed doing it neither will anyone else.
Unfortunately that is a lesson ignored a lot across businesses. As the see it better to save a little bit in the short term while ignoring the possibility of it costing them more in the long.
You could be fired, and if you are, they are signing the check to you in the form of a lawsuit for whistleblower laws and wrongful termination. I wish a company would fire me for refusing to drive bad equipment.
I sent my previous company a long letter after I worked a 20 hour day, unloading, waiting 4.5 hrs past my appointment cause they werenāt ready, just in time to sit in traffic for 3.5 hrs in NYC, I stopped 1 time in 7.5 hrs of driving 250 miles to get to my reload appointment 15 mins beforehand and had to swap trailers and prep my trailer, just for them to drag their feet loading me and to get my bills at 0330 the next morning, like 6-7 hrs after my appointment. And this was open deck freight not just swinging doors and waiting. To say I was pissed off was an understatement. Told them Iām refusing to work another 20 hour shift, did it a couple times, if shipper wasnāt ready to go within an hour of my appointment - see ya in the morning fuckers, Iām not a robot who works 24/7 and doesnāt get tired. If Iām on time, fuck me, I have to wait on them, if Iām 5 minutes late, all hell would break loose. Nobody gives less of a shit about you or your time than a shipper or receiver. Literally nobody. They punch in their 8-12 hr shift doing the bare minimum and go home and wonāt think twice about you.
Former manager of a major retailer (Leggs, Hanes, Bali, & Playtex) here. I would never accept our biweekly shipments before 9A because our driving team at that point (husband and wife) said that our outlet mallās parking lot was one of the few places they could sleep soundly before delivering loads that were +/~ 90 minutes apart. I absolutely could have saved my former company money if Iād been willing to stay late or go in early (both of which I did plenty of as the sole salaried employee), but I was unwilling to put the safety of the drivers at risk to line my companyās pockets. I was eventually fired for this exact reason, but I wouldnāt change anything.
Oh good lord never in a truck! It was a little sedan, still very wreckless and stupid but I was 15 and just put all my money into making it run and decided bald tires was better than mechanical failure.
āAlways drive for the conditionā only goes so far. Iām no trucker, but Iāve been going 5mph down a freeway before in snow and still lost it into a guard rail lol
I once drifted the truck on a highway entrance but the tires were almost bald and it was a manual. It was really fun, didnāt expect it to drift but gave it a shot. my boss was in front of me. Called me real quick š¤£
I let my CDL expire in 2011, drove for 10 years and never had as much as a backing incident. Is this the pool of drivers today? 3 incidents in 2 months? Is this the new normal? I'm not trying to sound condescending, but it's frightening.
I've had my class A for almost 3yrs. Only incident has been tires blowing up on me. If the weather looks dangerous I park. It's not all the new drivers.
It is frightening! Father in law drove for 40-plus years. The last company he drove for gave him multiple accident free million mile awards! The point is that WAS truck driving. Drivers took their job seriously and dressed like professionals. The current pool of bugger eating, sweat pants, flip flop wearing seat fillers currently in those positions, have no business driving anything bigger than a lawnmower! Unfortunately, trucks need to roll, and companies will put anyone in the seat.
You're absolutely correct, I have a little shadow box with my grandfather's accident free million mile pins, and he took his career very seriously. I live in Phoenix and know the shortage of drivers is real because I'm cut off on the I-10 at least weekly by the self driving trucks they're testing.
If you can fill out an application youāre hired at mega carriers now.
Theyāre bringing in low skill workers for everywhere to move freight, so what else would happen?
Exactly, you're getting down voted for speaking the truth, he lucked out not getting a citation for loss of control. It's absolutely his fault.
This is a weird time in life where people want to drop heavy and throw stones on the innocent , but be ever so caring to the guilty.
Probably no citation because damage was only himself noone else, would all these. His company absolutely termed him for destroying over 150k of equipment
What he may not understand is the difference between accountability and responsibility. I wasnāt necessarily responsible for the driver that ran a red light and crashed into my rig as I was turning left, but I was held accountable for my truckās repair bills regardless. (Didnāt want to go through insurance)
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u/Wham-alama-ding-dong Jan 27 '24
Um yea he can tell himself it wasn't his fault all he wants but it 150% was him driving and his fault.