Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

Last year there were 4732 class 8 trucks reported in fatal accidents across this country. More than half of those were during either the winter months or during inclement weather. There were 1629 non fatal accidents involving class 8 trucks in Oklahoma alone last year. The major east west route of Interstate 40 and the north south route of I-35 contributing about equally. Ice, snow and freezing precipitation can turn an otherwise boring day, into the nightmare of your lifetime. Being prepared is only half the battle. Knowing what to do in an instant can save the lives of many.

You are driving along interstate 90 in upstate New York and it started snowing over an hour ago. For the last hour you have been riding along with the cruise control set at 6o MPH just enjoying the wonder of the snow covering everything, including the road. All of the sudden the bottom falls out of it and something called “lake effect snow” starts to fall. You try to see but the windshield wipers are clogging up with snow flakes the size of golf balls or bigger. Suddenly all you see are the tail lights of hundreds of cars stopped in front of you! Can you stop? Probably not! The facts are that more fatal wrecks happen from “driving too fast for conditions” than any other reported reason. This fact is reoccurring year after year. It’s just plain common sense and physics. If you are going too fast and are following too close, and they stop suddenly, YOU ARE GOING TO HIT THEM! I don’t know about you but I would not want to go the rest of my life knowing that I was the reason that someones child lost their life.

Lets first look at the conditions that cause the most accidents involving class 8 trucks During the winter months. Freezing precipitation comes in more than the form of snow. Of course snow is not to be taken lightly, it’s just not the deadliest.

Black Ice should send chills down any truckers spine when they hear it over the C.B. radio. Black ice forms as a thin, almost invisible sheet of ice on the roadway. Usually it occurs after the road is, of course, already wet. Warm precipitation falls down into a layer of air close to the ground that is below freezing, yet not at an altitude that would allow freezing rain to develop. This condition allows the chilled precipitation to fall all the way to the road surface where it freezes causing the condition known as “Black Ice”. You might think that the road is just wet but one false move on the brakes will tell you otherwise. Having the means to know what the outside temperature is can make the difference between slowing down and getting off the road, and a horrible career ending crash that will change your life forever. I have seen more wrecks from drivers just plain ignoring the warnings than any other during Black Ice conditions. You know the type right. Your in the right lane, creeping along trying to find out where the next truck stop is so you can get your butt off the highway. All of the sudden some jerk comes blowing by you in the hammer lane calling you a rookie and all kinds of other names. You get off the highway and wait until conditions improve. The next morning you see that guys rig, upside down, in the median and he is nowhere to be found. If there were other vehicles involved you might try the local county jail. He would be there if someone got hurt by his stupidity. There is no safe way to drive on black ice. I don’t care what you have heard, it’s bull! You have to slow down and find a place to get off the road. Do not park on the shoulder of the road. that is not safe at any time. Never-mind during black ice conditions. The only safe place is legally parked in a truck stop, rest area or anywhere off the traveled portion of the highway. The traveled portion includes shoulders and ramps also. If they slide on the road and onto the shoulder, they will slide down or up the ramps and hit you there too. Get off the road. Period!

FREEZING FOG.Freezing fog occurs when liquid fog droplets freeze to surfaces forming white rime ice. Commonly found high in the mountains but it can occur anywhere the conditions may allow. It is relevant to driving through the cloud tops found around mountain peaks, although it can happen very often in the western mountain passes. Anyone who has ever drove over Mount Sherman in Wyoming more that one winter has probably experienced freezing fog. In the thirteen western states the freezing of water vapor in fog gives the fog a “Tangible” quality. Almost like you could reach out and grab a hand full of it. Can you drive in this mess? More than likely not very far. It can contribute to black ice forming on the roadway. I have seen it so thick that you could not see you hood ornament much less the frozen road in front of you. You won’t drive far in these conditions and if you hear the same old morons on the C.B. again telling you to ” get off the road rookie”, do just that. treat this condition just as if it were the black ice condition only worse. Now visibility is down to close to zero. put on your four way flashers and slow down. Try to keep the tail lights of the vehicle in front of you in sight. If you cant see anything in front of you slow down even further. turn the C.B. radio up so you can hear what is going on in front of you. Most of all, find a way to get off the traveled portion of the road until conditions improve enough where it is safe to continue. No freight is worth your life. If you don’t feel safe, don’t do it no matter what dispatch Say’s.

LAKE EFFECT SNOW.If you drive up the east coast you will eventually have to go near the great lakes. It’s inevitable for the east coast trucker to end up on Interstate 90 at some time during their career. lake effect snow is described as a type of snow squall that is produced when cold arctic winds blow across long expanses of warmer lake water such as the great lakes of north America. This warmer water provides the energy needed to increase the strength and volume of snow in a storm. The storm can pick up enough moisture to more than double it’s snow making capability. When the weather system reaches the far shoreline Orographic features such as hills ridge-lines and mountains cause the cloud base to rise into the atmosphere to compensate for the change in elevation. This in turn causes the storm to release massive amounts of snow in a short period of time. So what does this mean for the truck driver cruising down interstate 90? Well one minute you are driving along enjoying the smattering of snow fall, thinking “This is a neat drive today.” The next thing you know, the small pinhead sized snowflakes you were enjoying are replaced by millions of golf ball to tennis ball sized monster flakes. If you have never seen lake effect snow before, this can be a frightening situation. Your windshield wipers have no way to keep up with this kind of snow. It is just too much volume to handle.

You can go from two inches of snow on the ground to two feet in less than an hour! This is a dangerous situation to be caught in without knowledge of what to do. Most of all do not panic. State and local highway officials know that these conditions are occurring and are prepared to get out as soon as possible to look for stranded motorists. If you get stuck, try to keep your tail lights clean so people can see you sitting there. don’t walk down the traveled side of your rig as motorists may be sliding and smash you between them and your rig. Call someone and let them know about your predicament and your approximate location. Don’t just assume that they will fond you. Case in point, Oswego New York, during a 16 hour event in 1958 on the southeastern shore of lake Ontario, 40 inches accumulated on the ground. Buffalo New York in recent years was buried for over a week. They need to know you are out there. Most of all the best defense is a good offense. Listen to the weather radio from time to time so you can be aware of what is going on around you. Remember conditions change rapidly in this area of the country so the forecast will be different as little as 15 miles away. If all else fails look at the trucks coming from the other direction. Are they covered in snow and ice? I have been aware of conditions ahead by just that more times that I can count.

Next time I’ll tell you the best things to carry with you to help you survive the winter weather out there on the road. We will also discuss maintenance procedures to ensure that your rig makes it through the winter months and you with it. Most of all though, how to drive during inclement winter weather so you can get home safely to your loved ones. Until then work together, slow down, and give the four wheelers a break. Remember, your the professional.

Peace and keep em rolling!

Without You, America Stops!