Truck driver charged with manslaughter while parked on entrance ramp?

[Malaki86]

A turkey definitely wouldn't be considered as a small bird.

[Jackrabbit379]

You don't want to hit an owl. I nailed one, one night. It hit my mirror, and shattered the front cover on the mirror. Cracked the mirror.
I nail cowbirds and dove all the time. They flush right when I get to them, and sometimes, they cross over. *thump* It's funny how high they soar when they hit the fairing (spelling).

[Windwalker]

You don't want to hit an owl. I nailed one, one night. It hit my mirror, and shattered the front cover on the mirror. Cracked the mirror.
I nail cowbirds and dove all the time. They flush right when I get to them, and sometimes, they cross over. *thump* It's funny how high they soar when they hit the fairing (spelling).

The owl I hit, hit the air deflector on top. Didn't crack the fiberglass up there, but it sure did a lot of going up before it started coming back down. It wasn't flying anymore, just the inertia after being hit. Not something I wanted to hit. I like owls and birds like that. Almost hit an eagle too, one day. Sure glad I missed that one. Came out of the ditch with rabbit in his talons, and I got a really close look. Another time, one flew across the road with a live snake hanging down. But, no matter what bird I hit, I always made sure that when I stopped, I was out of the way of traffic. The turkey was the only time I stopped on the side of a ramp. The rest of the time, it waited till I got to a truck stop.

[Jackrabbit379]

I do my share of wiping out the turkey population in the spring. Some evenings, there might be 6 or 8 of them in a flock that strut across the highway. They don't take off like a dove, so I usually knock out a couple of them. You don't realize how many feathers they have till you nail one.

[Windwalker]

I do my share of wiping out the turkey population in the spring. Some evenings, there might be 6 or 8 of them in a flock that strut across the highway. They don't take off like a dove, so I usually knock out a couple of them. You don't realize how many feathers they have till you nail one.

Wait till one day, you see one drop down into your view, right in front of the truck. Pray the impact is on the passenger's side. It would also be a good thing to be wearing glasses. The glass from the windshield goes all over the place. The corner post took up a good deal of the impact from the one I hit. If not for that, it would have come through and landed in my lap. They DO fly every now and then.

[Jackrabbit379]

I figured if you hit one, at a pretty good speed...I would imagine it would be like hitting a hawk, or owl.

[Kevin0915]

Here is the simple question. Is an on-ramp a parking lot? Sure, trucks park there all the time but they do so at their own peril. Don't matter if the driver was distracted, it was foggy, drunk, whatever. There are better places to park. If you run out of drive/work hrs and you're in the middle of BFE....then you didn't plan your trip very well. You ran out of time willingly or stupidly in BFE....and chose to park on a ramp. You accept the risks of doing so. If you park a truck, non emergency, you dont belong in the emergency lane. and that part of the road is still the emergency lane.

For all of you who had hoped i died, or moved on doing another career...sorry....still driving, same company....same ol a--hole. =) sorry to burst your bubbles. HAHAHAHAH

[Fredog]

Here is the simple question. Is an on-ramp a parking lot? Sure, trucks park there all the time but they do so at their own peril. Don't matter if the driver was distracted, it was foggy, drunk, whatever. There are better places to park. If you run out of drive/work hrs and you're in the middle of BFE....then you didn't plan your trip very well. You ran out of time willingly or stupidly in BFE....and chose to park on a ramp. You accept the risks of doing so. If you park a truck, non emergency, you dont belong in the emergency lane. and that part of the road is still the emergency lane.

For all of you who had hoped i died, or moved on doing another career...sorry....still driving, same company....same ol a--hole. =) sorry to burst your bubbles. HAHAHAHAH

Oh come on now, you know we love you

[topset]

hes from vermont so he is automatically guilty

[cdswans]

Stopping on a shoulder or ramp is one thing, stopping in your lane demands a good GD reason. I hope Hunt has one . .

Eastern Wake News | Truck driver identified in fatal wreck on U.S. 64

[Doctor Who]

That was an UGLY wreck.. The Preferred tractors cab and engine were torn from the frame... It's a shame the driver died because of another drivers inattention... That section of 64 is notorious for inattentive driving especially in the morning!!!!!!!!

As of today the reason is still unknown why the Hunt driver stopped in the travel lane... Speculation is traffic had come to an immediate slow down..

That day was not a good day for trucking. Earlier that day a truck, a lowboy, was stuck on a railroad crossing and was hit by an Amtrak train.. Fortunately no one was killed!!!!

[Mr. Ford95]

Not reading many details but is it possible he simply broke down and was rear ended before he could get out and place triangles? Or it could be like the Doc said, a sudden slow down in traffic and the Preferred truck was simply too close. That happened here 3 or 4 years ago with a Haz-Mat load. Some Interstate paving was going on overnight and traffic came to a sudden stop, last truck in line had just got stopped when he got plowed from behind and shoved into the 2 trucks in front of him.

[Musicman]

I've never understood why anyone would park on the side of the road. I understand you run out of hours, but surely they will give ya some slack for trying to find a good place to park.

I was placed OOS by Oregon a couple years ago. I was traveling north on I-5 at about 1 am and had stopped 4 times already looking for a parking spot. The scale that put me OOS was where I had planned on looking for parking next. The kid at the scale (and I DO mean kid… he looked like a classmate of my 17 year-old son) didn't seem to care one bit that I was only driving past the 11th hour because I was having difficulty locating a safe place to park.

[Musicman]

I figured if you hit one, at a pretty good speed...I would imagine it would be like hitting a hawk, or owl.

My old co-driver hit a big turkey while doing 70mph on US-441 in FL. Stupid thing came right through the windshield and landed on the passenger’s seat. Blood, feathers and glass were everywhere. We had that Freightliner for about sixteen more months and til the day we gave it up, every time we’d vacuum the truck we’d find glass and even an occasional feather.

On the other hand, I hit a meadowlark in Missouri a few weeks ago and it wedged between the right corner of the visor and roof. We drove around for an entire day and half the night and only noticed it when we stopped to fuel and I was cleaning the windshield.

[cdswans]

I have a few questions . .

Sometimes it seems a U turn is the only way out of bad situation and I've made my share of them. In 6 years I think I've seen three 18w's pull one on the interstate and two of those were to escape shutdowns due to accidents. The third was a Hunt on a perfectly clear, beautiful day on the lightly travelled portion of I-81 in VA.

How does a driver make it through any kind of training program without hearing at least once that the easiest fix on the interstate is the next exit?

What circumstances would you consider appropriate to attempt an interstate U turn?

Are I-80 near Davenport, 0330 and fog appropriate circumstances?

I-80 fatality still under investigation

Last question: How many years should this guy get?

[Mr. Ford95]

A U-turn on an interstate, I would never pull it whether I'm in a CMV or my PMV, not when I can do the same thing at a ramp. I see 4 wheelers do it all the time in WV, must be allowed there? I would give this guy at least 5 years and pull his CDL for good. NO explanation is good enough for what he pulled.

[Kevin0915]

I have a few questions . .

Sometimes it seems a U turn is the only way out of bad situation and I've made my share of them. In 6 years I think I've seen three 18w's pull one on the interstate and two of those were to escape shutdowns due to accidents. The third was a Hunt on a perfectly clear, beautiful day on the lightly travelled portion of I-81 in VA.

How does a driver make it through any kind of training program without hearing at least once that the easiest fix on the interstate is the next exit?

What circumstances would you consider appropriate to attempt an interstate U turn?

Are I-80 near Davenport, 0330 and fog appropriate circumstances?

I-80 fatality still under investigation

Last question: How many years should this guy get?

i would agree....there are situations where its a last resort. Your shutdown due to an accident is a good one. i've done them but only when i know i've got plenty of room, and i know the area i'm about to pull one has very little traffic at the time. other than that, there is no reason to pull a u-turn. why not just wait for another mile or two, and catch the next off ramp and make 2 left turns?

the fact that the driver was SHUTDOWN, parked on an on-ramp when he got rear-ended.....the side of the road is not a parking lot. it is for emergencies. Some drivers, thats the only place they stop because of a personal preferance of not liking rest areas and truck stops. Well....fine....but accept the responsibility that you've parked your truck in an emergency lane on a public road with dumb 4-wheelers. its asking for trouble. i'd say he should get 2 yrs mandatory. But done driving a truck for the rest of his life.

[Ronin]

I much preferred the emergency stopping areas of the PA Turnpike, large pronounced alcoves of sorts, large enough to fit 3-5 trucks in comfortably and still have 15 feet or so to the shoulder of the highway.

[Kevin0915]

I much preferred the emergency stopping areas of the PA Turnpike, large pronounced alcoves of sorts, large enough to fit 3-5 trucks in comfortably and still have 15 feet or so to the shoulder of the highway.

but still, should a van full of menonites lose control and clip your truck, then go spinning off to the other side of the turnpike where it then gets t-boned by a flatbed....the accident is still your fault.