unbelievable!

skegpro

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Seen a picture on Facebook taken a few days later at the same time. Sun could have been an issue, especially if he had dirty windows. Have heard that intersection is not easy to see at the best of times.
Oh well no big deal then.
Keep on trucking.
 

Stompin Tom

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Obviously the investigators are going to look at every possible factor and do everything in their power. I would be very interested in knowing the operators hours of service that day and the previous 7 leading up to the incident. To many hours of service are one of the big problems in the trucking industry as a whole.

The lack of experience of the driver is concerning but its a pandora's box, if you only hire drivers with lots of experience how do younger drivers get experience? I know in BC there has been discussions about a graduated licensing program where the basic premise is you have to start with x amount of hours on a 5 axle rig, then graduate to 6 axles and so on and so on but there is inherent problems with that system.

The sun can be a real issue but I ask the question if the sun was in his eyes, and I am assuming the road he was on was strait, the sun would have been in his eye for awhile, in such cases as a professional driver is it not your responsibility to adjust your speed to driving conditions which include the sun in your eyes?
 

doorfx

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Did he not own sunglasses? Would a good pair not have helped?
 

Stompin Tom

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As a driver you have a few options for dealing with the sun, slow down, raise or lower your seat, adjust your sunvisor, adjust your seating angle, wear quality sunglasses. If you come around a corner and the sun hits you have have little time to react, if you get a bad glare off the snow, but on a strait stretch ........................
 

teeroy

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Obviously the investigators are going to look at every possible factor and do everything in their power. I would be very interested in knowing the operators hours of service that day and the previous 7 leading up to the incident. To many hours of service are one of the big problems in the trucking industry as a whole.

The lack of experience of the driver is concerning but its a pandora's box, if you only hire drivers with lots of experience how do younger drivers get experience? I know in BC there has been discussions about a graduated licensing program where the basic premise is you have to start with x amount of hours on a 5 axle rig, then graduate to 6 axles and so on and so on but there is inherent problems with that system.

The sun can be a real issue but I ask the question if the sun was in his eyes, and I am assuming the road he was on was strait, the sun would have been in his eye for awhile, in such cases as a professional driver is it not your responsibility to adjust your speed to driving conditions which include the sun in your eyes?
I don't think the sun was in his eyes. it was 5:30, this time of year after the time change the sun is quite high at that time.

I'm a little conflicted on the graduated class one, the theory is sound but I'm not sure it would totally solve the problem. my first season driving on my own license I was pulling 24 and 32 wheel combo lowbeds...it taught you straight away what effect weight had on braking and handling. I know plenty of other fellas in my line that had to do the same. but I still get a little shudder meeting those young mennonite kids with a full load of winter weight logs on 688 hugging the yellow
 

Mike270412

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At least most of those kids have probably been driving since they were 12. A lot of these new Canadians started driving yesterday.
I don't think the sun was in his eyes. it was 5:30, this time of year after the time change the sun is quite high at that time.

I'm a little conflicted on the graduated class one, the theory is sound but I'm not sure it would totally solve the problem. my first season driving on my own license I was pulling 24 and 32 wheel combo lowbeds...it taught you straight away what effect weight had on braking and handling. I know plenty of other fellas in my line that had to do the same. but I still get a little shudder meeting those young mennonite kids with a full load of winter weight logs on 688 hugging the yellow
 

Stompin Tom

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I don't think the sun was in his eyes. it was 5:30, this time of year after the time change the sun is quite high at that time.

I'm a little conflicted on the graduated class one, the theory is sound but I'm not sure it would totally solve the problem. my first season driving on my own license I was pulling 24 and 32 wheel combo lowbeds...it taught you straight away what effect weight had on braking and handling. I know plenty of other fellas in my line that had to do the same. but I still get a little shudder meeting those young mennonite kids with a full load of winter weight logs on 688 hugging the yellow

one of the biggest problems with the graduated license program is there are only so many 5 axle jobs to go around, what it would create is a scenario where guys literally have to work for zero wages in order to get their hours to go up a class. There is no way a trucking company would take advantage of that .....................

I for one am not a fan of the sink or swim scenario we have right now. Problem with trucking is those who sink tend to take somebody with them.
 

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Well I'm not a trucker, have never driven one , nor am I involved in owning a trucking company. But I do drive a lot , on all different kind of roads , here and other places. And I believe that industry has very high number of unqualified, inconsiderate, risk taking dumba$$es , who have far more regard for themselves or their incomes than they do for the safety of others on the road, most likely based on the last line in most news reports involving deaths in truck related accidents " the driver of the truck was not injured". The I'm bigger and probably won't get hurt attitude is so obviously prevalent in the minds of so many truck pilots, and it causes such a high number of them to take risks on the road that should never happen. And you bet , the professionals are gonna say that there's so many stupid non truck non professional drivers on the road that it's frustrating and it's annoying and cuts into profits, tough $hit. The roads are for all, the professionals will deal with it , every job has its frustrations with dummy's.
Ive spent quite a bit of time driving on hi ways and roads in many other places and country's , and we here in western Canada in that industry have a greater problem than anywhere else I've driven. The amount of truck drivers who should never be allowed to drive a truck and put other vehicles at risk is sky high , and it's that industry that should be tasked with immediately correcting that. And when truckers are faced with the question of "am I one of those", most are gonna respond based on their ego, human nature, it's always the other guy. The industry needs to govern that , and not solely based on can the trucking company make money. Kinda sad that we need more governmental interference in industries like this , just because the industry themselves are the ones who fudge license qualifications, fudge log books, ignore vehicle safety issues, ignore speed limits and dodge weigh scales and generally put everyone at risk on hi ways, and justify it cause they can't make money otherwise. That's not right.
I don't have the answers, that's for the ones with a true vested interest in that world, but the lack of professionalism in that industry is glaringly apparent.
 

Summitric

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I heard on the radio this morning, that here in Alberta, if you have a semi etc, you can actually challenge the driving test, and that there is no mandatory "ride-along" or official training required???? Is this true??
 

towerrigger

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I heard on the radio this morning, that here in Alberta, if you have a semi etc, you can actually challenge the driving test, and that there is no mandatory "ride-along" or official training required???? Is this true??

This is true in Saskatchewan, I'm sure it is the same in Alberta. Truck and trailer have to be fit for the road and away you go on your road test.
 

Caper11

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I heard on the radio this morning, that here in Alberta, if you have a semi etc, you can actually challenge the driving test, and that there is no mandatory "ride-along" or official training required???? Is this true??

Thats the same as ever province, it the same process as getting your class 5. The examiner is in the passenger seat.
If you want to learn how to drive Ric And get your class 1, as along as there is a class 1 license holder in the truck with you, you can drive the tractor.
In order to get a job, taking a commercial drivers training course looks alot better on the resume, and gives you the seat time required.
 

Mike270412

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Yep.All you need is a truck and enough cash to pay the tester,and some of them will even give you a license if you can't drive.(If you have enough cash)
I heard on the radio this morning, that here in Alberta, if you have a semi etc, you can actually challenge the driving test, and that there is no mandatory "ride-along" or official training required???? Is this true??
 

teeroy

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I heard on the radio this morning, that here in Alberta, if you have a semi etc, you can actually challenge the driving test, and that there is no mandatory "ride-along" or official training required???? Is this true??
that's the way it is, or at least it was when I was licensed. I swamped on rig moving trucks, pickers and beds, getting experience driving with the license holder in the swamper seat. booked into an air brake course, studied the manual, then when I figured I was ready I got one of my pa's trucks with a hiboy and went out onto the back roads and practiced backing into an approach to turn around (that's probably the toughest part of the driving test). once I had that down I made an appointment for a road test at registries.
 

Summitric

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Wow... I'm outta touch on the big rigs... I always thought there was some big training program and then multiple tests for the drivers...... That does need to get revisited!
 
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