Improving road safety: No more snow and ice

[Safe Trucking]

Hey fellow drivers, my first post here, great site.

Not that I want to bring back memories of long winters and horrible driving conditions, but its a major issue needs dealing with. And we all know the laws are getting tougher, and ambulance chasing lawyers start salivating when they hear a truck is involved in an accident.

The issue I'm referring to is snow and ice accumulation on top of trucks and trailers, and really how we don't have a tool to deal with it. As you know labor laws in many jurisdictions prohibit anyone climbing that high without proper restraint systems. If you get hurt using a ladder to clear your truck, worker's comp will not cover you. I'll humbly admit that I'm lucky and belong to a unionized trucking company, and they'll fight for me if I refuse to drive an unsafe truck full of snow and ice on the highways. But not everyone has that extra protection, and I certainly didn't for years. A few companies I drove for just mumbled under their breath to shut up and drive, or at best they'd say drive slow in the right lane, and hope for the best.

The company I work has finally decided to try a system out to help with the issue. The system is one of those poles and trucks drive through them. I'll keep it brief and tell you they are about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle. I could write a couple of pages about the issues with those systems, and why companies don't like them. Theres good reason why they're not more popular. My company is has sent the test unit back, and are very pissed at the damage done.

Anyways, one day driving on the highway a really good idea came to me. I spent a lot of time researching. I finally teamed up with an engineer, a technical college, and started asking industry insiders. After getting patent protection on it, I decided to spend more money (a lot more) to build a prototype and get some testing and certification done. I'm glad to tell you that the system works, and it works great. I've truely enjoyed putting in all the effort to help with this big issue.

Now heres your chance to have your input on such a needed tool for us drivers and companies alike. We need to deal with this issue once and for all, no more "hoping for the best".

I'll briefly tell you about the system. The driver literally pushes a button and roof is clear and ready for the road in no time. There are no computers, electronics, moving parts, or anything else doomed to fail in trucking. The system is on board, light weight, very effective, and economical. A conservative estimate of shelf life will be 5-7 years, but with good care 7-10 years. No maintenance required, just taking care of it. And say in 7 years you need a replacement, then the replacement is going to cost about 1/3 of the original price because many parts of the system are not wear material and will last a very long time. Very likely outlive the truck and trailer, and can be carried over to another unit down the road.

So, I'd like to have a discussion on what will make such a system attractive to you/your company? What price range? What would you like to see on a system that deals with this safety issue? Any and all comments are appreciated and welcomed.

Have a good one. Sorry again for bringing back memories of winter, but at least the good weather is here finally

Safe Trucking

[Rev.Vassago]

How much does it cost, and how does it work?

[Safe Trucking]

Rev.Vassago, the cost is going to depend on truck size. But its very affordable, and a fantastic value. The fuel savings alone will pay for the system, let alone the elimination of liability and labor costs. None the less, I'm working around the clock and have a local college work on further bringing the price lower and lower.

As for how it works, the website and videos are being setup now. But I didn't want to post anything because I don't want it to seem like I'm marketing a product here. I am genuinely interested in what you guys and gals have to say. What would you like to see? Whats attractive to you? Whats not attractive? From a driver's point of view, its almost more work to crank the landing gear than it is to use this system.

I'd like to use this as a focus group, your input is very valuable, and if its an important issue you bring up, then I'll make sure it'll be dealt with.

[Twilight Flyer]

As for how it works, the website and videos are being setup now. But I didn't want to post anything because I don't want it to seem like I'm marketing a product here.

We appreciate the forethought. Check with Lee (top dog here) about posting links and contact info. If he gives the OK, you'll be off and running. He can either be PM'd or contacted through the standard ClassA contact info at the bottom of any of the pages. Thanks.

[Safe Trucking]

Thanks for the heads up TF. Its always good to be respectful and considerate. If I ever choose to mention my product by name or company name, then I'd love to pay to support the site in any way. I'll check with Lee and see if thats OK at that point.

I searched around, read a few posts on here and lurked a little. I knew it was a good place to get some feedback from other drivers, specially owner operators. One of the sparks to this idea was a radio show I was listening to. It was so frustrating to listen to 4 wheelers call and just call all of us fat and lazy, and getting rid of this fatal road hazard was just a snow brush away. The funny part is that most of them don't even bother getting the snow off their little Civics.

Hopefully someone will chime in with what they'd like to see in a system like this. Would safe, reliable, effective, and cost efficient pretty much cover all the bases?

[Drew10]

Information about your product is still a bit vaque, but...How will this product work for drop and hook operations?

[Rev.Vassago]

I guess it's kind of hard to comment about a product that I have no idea how it works. If you could explain it more via email, you can reach me at tony (at) worthless1000 (dot) com

[Windwalker]

Well, let's see...

The ones I've seen so far look sort of like a "V" snow plow, suspended in the air. As you drive through under it, it scrapes the snow off to the sides. But, the blades are rubber, and not strong enough to take sheets of ice off. Of course, if they were strong enough to scrape the ice off as well, they'd also tear up the roofs and cause leaks. Yet, while the snow may reek havoc with visibility, the sheet of ice will do far more damage to a 4-wheeler (or another truck) after it gets done flying like a kite and comes back down to earth. How does yours address that problem without making holes in the roof?

[Safe Trucking]

I appreciate the confusion regarding a product you don't know enough about. I'm trying really hard to keep this a worthwhile discussion without preaching to you about my product. Its patent pending, and will be hopefully be in some trucking magazines shortly. Final details are being ironed out as we speak.

Drew, your question is exactly what I'm seeking here. Concerns, questions, issues, observations. And to answer your question, cases were switches, lay overs, waiting for a dock, sleeping on the side of a highway, or if you're a small company with a handful of units is exactly what I was thinking too. The system is built into the trucks and trailers. What good is a $50,000+ system where sits in the yard and your drivers are 2 states away?

Let me draw out a scenario for you. You're an owner operator, or a small company of 5-10 units, you know of this product on the market that exists, safety certified, and you've heard nothing but good. You're told the product will last 5 years easy, then should you need another one, its much cheaper to replace. What would you pay for this system? What is reasonable, and what is too high to make you think of "hoping for the best"? Please don't view this as me trying to figure how much profit I'll make. Its only market research, and me hoping to meet everyone's budget and have no excuses for this hazard. The big push is selling it to the bean counters ultimately. But I do not want a big corporation milking a product like this and squeezing out the little guys who need it most.

[Safe Trucking]

Well, let's see...

The ones I've seen so far look sort of like a "V" snow plow, suspended in the air. As you drive through under it, it scrapes the snow off to the sides. But, the blades are rubber, and not strong enough to take sheets of ice off. Of course, if they were strong enough to scrape the ice off as well, they'd also tear up the roofs and cause leaks. Yet, while the snow may reek havoc with visibility, the sheet of ice will do far more damage to a 4-wheeler (or another truck) after it gets done flying like a kite and comes back down to earth. How does yours address that problem without making holes in the roof?

Two excellent points. I've experienced one first hand, and the second by a more senior driver who popped a corner on a trailer.

My product will clear ice easily, and no damage to the roof guaranteed. And correct again, ice is a lot worse than snow. Unfortunately I know of one driver that lost his life this February (2008) to a flying chunk of ice from another truck. You can google it, it was out in Utah. RIP

[Windwalker]

Still haven't said a thing about those sheets of ice that go flying like a kite.

[Safe Trucking]

Still haven't said a thing about those sheets of ice that go flying like a kite.

Total clearance, no issues, as said above