High wind blows 2 trucks over on I-77

[Templedawg]

in Va. It happened going up Fancy Gap. http://www.galaxgazette.com/articles...ews/news02.txt
also www.wdbj7.com for the pictures and video.

[Krzysztof]

Wow thats some crazy ****. Wonder if the company will call it "preventable" or not? lol

[movinit]

A lot of companies will call that a preventable because good common sense should have told the driver to pull it over. Winds like that are extrememly dangerouse and they had no business being out there. Our company policy is if you roll it over, you are gone no matter what the cause.

[GirlnamedShannon]

Driving in hurricane strength winds is most assuredly preventable.

[Mr. Ford95]

BUT, was it that bad all the way up or just at the top where the Gap is??

[kjax]

CRST laying on it's side, westbound I80, about 5 miles (roughly) before Sherman Hill, yesterday. Don't know if it was printed in any papers... happens semi frequently/ frequently.

[PackRatTDI]

What if a driver got hit by a microburst? Airports have a difficult enough time predicting microbursts even with their sophisticated doppler radarm much less a truck driver. I remember parking at the Bosslemans in Des Moines when I heard that a microburst had hit I-80 west of Des Moines and had blown several trucks and a few RV's and pickups/trailers off the interstate. The storm that passed through didn't seem to be anything other than a typical midwestern thunderboomer. There weren't any emergency broadcast warnings that I picked up or anything on weather band radar. Should drivers be expected to shut down when the sky turns a little cloudy? :?

[BIG JEEP on 44's]

I rember last year in december of 05 driving back from montana after recovering a truck in billings ,and on my way down into denver on I-25 there were trucks everywhere playing turtle in the medians and shoulders ...I was being blowb around real good especially pulling an mt trailer ,But I just kept heading to the terminal...Seems how there were a couple Werners on their side I asked what would happen if you got blown over in regards to your driving record I was told that if they could verify that winds were present strong enough to blow a truck over it would not be preventable ...

[Mattangcobra]

Well I travel 77 twice a week threw Fancy Gap and there are a couple of spots that hit you without warning. Main one is at the weather station in the median. I don't think it should be a preventable. I seen one a few months ago. He about got blew off the mountain. He got blown over on his side he landed on the guard rail just feet away from the drop off. Long way down.

[BigBird01]

i know I'm up here in Seattle and the wind is crazy up here today.

[yoopr]

CRST laying on it's side, westbound I80, about 5 miles (roughly) before Sherman Hill, yesterday. Don't know if it was printed in any papers... happens semi frequently/ frequently.

Sherman is always a Good Wind Tunnel on the way down to Laramie :P
If they didn't have that Stupid Curve to the Right at the Bottom you could coast half-way to Evanston :P

[kjax]

Sherman is always a Good Wind Tunnel on the way down to Laramie :P
If they didn't have that Stupid Curve to the Right at the Bottom you could coast half-way to Evanston :P

Highest spot on the interstate for WY- always fun. Was half expecting to see another laying on it's side today- it's been blowing pretty good the last couple of days.

Would be a fun hill to run the mexican overdrive if it was straighter. The results for those who try usually can be seen at one of two places- the shop behind Sinclair at the 3rd exit, and the closed station across the street from Pilot on the 4th exit. Always lots of interesting stuff to look at.

[ben45750]

At their highest speeds, the winds probably reached 100 mph, but there were also sustained winds of around 70 mph the whole time emergency officials remained on the scene, until about 11 p.m.

“It was taking the ambulance and picking one side of it off the ground,” Musser said.

Why would a driver even try to pass with winds like that?

[classicxl]

when i use to pull for Werner out of LA if the Santa Anna winds were high they would not let you leave the terminal

[dieselgrl]

What if a driver got hit by a microburst? Airports have a difficult enough time predicting microbursts even with their sophisticated doppler radarm much less a truck driver.

I think there would be more of a case for a driver blown over in a microburst, rather than one that failed to use common sense (and the weather channel) before heading out for the day. I've known drivers that have gotten out of service failures by getting a law enforcement officer's statement that there was no way the driver could have predicted a sudden unsafe weather condition. Granted, that was fog, and didn't cause an accident, but I would hope that any company's safety department would take all the facts into account before laying judgement.

Granted, that very rarely seems to happen, but we can wish, right?

[GoldiesPlating]

One more reason to drive flatbeds. lol Try blowing over with 47,000 pounds of steelplates on your deck that sit just under a foot high. :wink:

[GMAN]

There are some places in New Mexico where you can be hit suddenly and without warning with a strong burst of wind. If you are not paying attention you could easily lose control. There are no trees in the desert to warn you of heavy winds. I have driven that stretch along I-77. I recall once when I was actually blown into another lane as I topped a hill. I was heavy, so it was really unexpected. On that same trip there were several wrecks on the southbound side. They closed the Southbound from I-70. Talk about a backup. :shock:

[Krzysztof]

When i was driving from MD to AZ in Jan of '02 in my old dodge truck (loaded to the hilt and sittin on 44's to boot) I was goin thru NM and was watchin semi's about 1 mile infront of me gettin blown off the road. Even my 1/2 ton truck got a nice gust and put me in the shoulder for a few seconds.

That wind out there can be bad.

[GMAN]

It helps that they have windsocks in some areas, but they don't always alert you to what is going on. You sometimes have no warning until it broadsides you. :x

[yoopr]

I lived in NM for 4 yrs and the Wind is always blowing-Just expect it.