Re: OT - recent impatient OTR driver's post

Posted by Paul in Mich on September 22, 2004 at 07:35:49 from (66.188.26.29):

In Reply to: OT - recent impatient OTR driver's post posted by TheRealRon on September 22, 2004 at 04:28:09:

Ron, I read of this accident yesterday, and can describe it in no other way except a horrible, horrible tragedy. Obviously the driver was responsible, but none of the circumstances have been made clear as yet. I doubt, however, that the driver"s ability or the lack thereof to have a command of the English language has much bearing on the incident, as the ability to speak English doesn"t necessarily in and of itself, make one a better driver. There are other mitigating cultural circumstances which make accidents of this nature a real and present probability. First of all, the pressure on truckers to be on schedule is enormous. Some of these schedules are so stringint and have very little "wiggle room" so to speak. I think we all have experienced this new, well, not so new now, business culture of J.I.T. (just in time). Truckers are expected to be in a supplier"s dock space, within a 15 time window or less, get loaded, and be in the unloading dock space, within another 15 minute window or less, and do this within a predetermined time frame that doesnt take into account traffic jams, or other slow downs in transit. Being late for one of these dock appointments is unacceptable, as there are other trucks scheduled for the same dock space, and whatsmore, the manufacturing facility waiting on parts or components may have to shut a line down because parts are now going directly to point of use rather than inventory. This climate in itself is a recipe for ultimate disaster as truckers begin to cheat to keep on schedule. G.P.S systems are in one sense a great tool if used properly, but they can also be abused in that they have become a "we know where you are, and we know what you are doing" apparatus that while they monitor the number of hours and miles of a driver, they also can keep a tired driver on the road when he should be in a rest area. I"m sure everyone who has ever stepped into a rig has experienced what I have, and that is there are times, even with enough sleep, that without rhyme or reason, the eyelids become so heavy that you can"t keep them both open at the same time. This phenomenon may happen, in fact, after a full night"s sleep, in the middle of the day or night, or at anytime. The need to pull over and get a quick nap and snap out of it is superceded by the notion that according to those monitoring the G.P.S. that the truck isn"t scheduled for a rest stop for another 200 miles. Common sense takes a back seat. There are many other variables, and I"m sure a lot of you guys can add to the discussion or even disagree with me, but I guess my point is that Command of the English language may be a factor, but I"d say it is way down on the list. Regardless, this incident was an incredible tragedy, and probably one that was preventable. Time and investigation processes will ultimately determine what went wrong and what led to this most unfortunate event or chain of events. My prayers are with those who lost loved ones.

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• Re: OT - recent impatient OTR driver's post TheRealRon 04:06:05 09/23/04 (0)

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