Is trucking dangerous???

[YoungZ.W.]

Do you guys feel that trucking is as dangerous as people make it out to be? Also, what is your biggest fear while driving? Although not a driver yet mine would be being out of some state route out in the boonies at night and there is a low tree branch or low bridge that will go right through the window.

[wot i life]

what is your biggest fear while driving?

Red airline snapping. Scary.....

[glasman2]

2 things scare me....
Wot's kitten knocking me out and lot lizards.
Never seen one ( 49 yrs old with virgin eyes still )

[YoungZ.W.]

what is your biggest fear while driving?

Red airline snapping. Scary.....

What would happen if the redairline snapped? I know its a rookie question but sorry :?:

[Malaki86]

Hmmm - I guess my biggest fear would be someone losing control, crossing the median and meeting me coming the other way.

Or, on snow/ice covered roads on a mountain and losing control. I barely pulled out of a jackknife a few weeks ago while starting down a mountain on US30 in PA. Traffic was at a dead stop about 1 mile from the top. It took everything I've learned/experienced to get the truck stopped in a straight line without taking out the cars in front of me. The small guardrail and the steep drop over the mountain didn't help my nerves either.

Edit: just thought of more

Eating something while going down the road and choking. Especially if I'm in the middle of nowhere with no one else in sight.

Having an accident in the middle of nowhere and not being able to get hold of 911.

There are a lot of things that can happen out here, it's plain and simple. However, there are also a lot of things that can happen if you work in a factory and drive to work every day as well.

[Mr. Ford95]

Is trucking dangerous, depends on who you ask. It's as dangerous as those around you want to make it or you want to make it for yourself. My fear is wiping out and taking innocent people with me.

[golfhobo]

Do you guys feel that trucking is as dangerous as people make it out to be? Also, what is your biggest fear while driving? Although not a driver yet mine would be being out of some state route out in the boonies at night and there is a low tree branch or low bridge that will go right through the window.

Not if you don't consider dangerous to be leaving a loaded gun on a table in front of a room full of 5 year olds, with snakes covering the floor!!

As for YOUR fear.... if you stay on a designated Truck Route, the trees are "supposed" to be cut back to allow for everything but your CB antennae to clear. If the bridge is that low, you are probably on the wrong road! They are posted, and you are responsible for reading the signs.

Probably the most dangerous aspect of driving a big rig is the tendency to become comfortable at doing it! Have you ever seen a train derailment? The weight of these things dictates that in an accident, the momentum will continue the carnage well beyond what you might have expected. Couple that with the fact you are sitting astride 2-300 gallons of fuel, and you can see that your chances for survival are slim.

I don't mean to scare you, but the truth is that yes.... it IS dangerous! But, if you drive defensively, maintain a constant awareness of your surroundings, and REMEMBER what you are doing, you may never have to find yourself in that "derailment" type of situation.

My biggest fears? Blowing a steer tire doing 75 in the passing lane with only one hand on the wheel. Having a sleepy truckdriver cross the median and hit me head on when I don't have enough time to put my seatbelt on. Finding myself on my side, with the cab on fire, and I can't push my overweight partner out the door above my head in time to keep from burning to death. And the fact that, if I die, my parents will find my stash of Playboy magazines!

Be careful out there, rookie.

BTW, snapped red (emergency) airlines means your tandems lock up almost immediately, usually causing either a swing out form of "jacknife" or other loss of control leading to the derailment scenario mentioned above.

[Snowman7]

Do you guys feel that trucking is as dangerous as people make it out to be? .

I dont know, how dangerous do they make it out to be? Its a percentage thing. If you drove 120,000 miles a year in your own car wouldnt you be more likely to get in an accident?

Also, what is your biggest fear while driving?

Losing my rear pup, which is why I do a visual with a flashlight everytime I hook, black ice, alot of things. But I dont live in fear of anything, If I did I wouldnt drive. Things may happen that scare me, but I'm not scared to drive.

mine would be being out of some state route out in the boonies at night and there is a low tree branch or low bridge that will go right through the window.

Not very likely on a state route, too many trucks have passed before you all day long and a low bridge would be well marked. I believe its probably in the top ten of most dangerous occupations. Learn everything you can. I'm not going to tell you to not worry about it, you should worry about it. But if your scared all the time I wouldnt do it. It would be way too stressful. A set of empty pups on a snow covered highway "gets my attention" if ya know what I mean. I'm mentally fatigued when I arrive at my destination. I sure wouldnt want to be that way all the time.

[Snowman7]

My biggest fears? Blowing a steer tire doing 75 in the passing lane with only one hand on the wheel.

I may have thought about this one too, akin to the boogie man in the closet kind of thing.LOL.

...when I don't have enough time to put my seatbelt on...

:shock: come on driver tell me you're just joking!

[golfhobo]

Snowman7 said:

If you drove 120,000 miles a year in your own car wouldnt you be more likely to get in an accident?

Yeah! Probably would get run over by a Semi!

...when I don't have enough time to put my seatbelt on...

:shock: come on driver tell me you're just joking!



:wink:

[wot i life]

What would happen if the redairline snapped? I know its a rookie question but sorry :?:

The trailer brakes lock up and your tractor is still trying to pull the bloody thing at 56mph....Only ever heard of it happening once; young driver who did not do daily checks and failed to see tiny split in line. Dead now :sad:

[Snowman7]

Snowman7 said:

If you drove 120,000 miles a year in your own car wouldnt you be more likely to get in an accident?

Yeah! Probably would get run over by a Semi!

Well you woulda seen him comin in time if ya weren't fiddlin around tryin to find yer seatbelt!

[YoungZ.W.]

Is not really that I'm scared to do it. Its just that I know there are alot of hazards driving a big rig. We all know how some of those crazy four wheelers drive :evil: I feel that as truck drivers out on the road we have to really watch what is going on around us. Even though we may not be bad drivers there are alot of bad drivers out there on the highways that put others in danger as well. Keep the comments coming guys. And be safe out there!!!

[Jackrabbit379]

I dunno. I've always had the fear of falling asleep, waking up in the hospital, or something.

[ben45750]

I don't think that is necessarily dangerous but as a driver you have some pretty big fears about things that can happened to you, like blowing a steer or the trailers un-coupling.

[LadyNorthStar]

Sure its dangerous, so is walking down the street.

Working in a convenience store could get you shot over $200.
I used to be a dental assistant, not too hard to contact HIV.
Used to shoe horses, not hard to get kicked in your melon.
Fall from way up high on a contruction site...
I could go on and on.

[Blacksheep]

I dunno. I've always had the fear of falling asleep, waking up in the hospital, or something.

Or waking up in a morgue.

[Jackrabbit379]

Or waking up in a morgue.

Took me a minute, but I got it. That would be kinda, spooky. :shock:

[Malaki86]

I don't think that is necessarily dangerous but as a driver you have some pretty big fears about things that can happened to you, like blowing a steer or the trailers un-coupling.

YOU'RE THE ONE THAT JINXED ME!!!!!!

I lost my trailer this morning... Let's just say that I never want to go through that again...

[yoopr]

As occupational hazards go, truck driving has its share of hazards. It's clearly going to be more dangerous than your typical office job. But like some others were saying, an office worker could just as easily die from driving to and from work everyday.

There are ways you can reduce the risks involved somewhat. First among them is to never become complacent. Hubris and complacency are conducive to hard learned lessons, that is to say your odds of becoming a statistic go way up when you think you've learned everything there is to be learned.

But more optimistically if you remain a vigilant person and you're willing to maintain a healthy respect for the dangerous job you do that should go a long way to keeping you safe and reducing the odds of an accident. There are of course things which are entirely out of your control, like other drivers and force majeures.

Is that a Fact Volund(Or should I say Oppland) where you haven't driven a Foot yet.