The difference is that "we are held to a higher standard", that's why we have to get trained, schooled, pass tests, do an actual driving test and prove that we can handle a "commercial vehicle" that can and will weigh 80,000 lbs. We are considered "Professionals".....though unfortunately....some with a CDL can't seem to get a good grip on the notion.

If you pull a tank.....you have a greater responsibility. There is a difference between a tank and a box and an economy car. A tank can roll more than once, it can break open possibly. If its a hazmat load, then you have real problems. Even if its not a hazmat load....say 45,000 lbs + of motor oil, or vegetable oil and it gets loose on the road.....its really a big mess, and the resultant accidents are going to be numerous and have the potential to be very deadly.

Frankly, not everyone is "equipped" to handle a tanker. Especially a smooth bore (single compartment with no baffles)......many try, but can't deal with the surge or the handling characteristics. And thats where the "responsibility" kicks in.....

Here are the Florida Statutes, and oddly enough....there is no citation in the law that differentiates between driving a car or a commercial vehicle....when one is charged with vehicular homicide, so it appears that the tanker driver was not "singled out" or made an example of....

Florida DHSMV - DUI and Adminisrative Suspension Information

Manslaughter and Vehicular Homicide-s. 316.193 (3), F.S.

* DUI/Manslaughter: Second Degree Felony (not more than $10,000 fine and/or 15 years imprisonment).

* DUI Manslaughter/Leaving the Scene: A driver convicted of DUI Manslaughter who knew/should have known accident occurred; and failed to give information or render aid is guilty of a First Degree Felony (not more than $10,000 fine and/or 30 years imprisonment).

* Vehicular Homicide: Second Degree Felony (not more than $10,000 fine and/or 15 years imprisonment).

* Vehicular Homicide/Leaving the Scene: A driver convicted of vehicular homicide who left the scene of an accident is guilty of a First Degree Felony (nor more than $10,000 fine and/or 30 years imprisonment).

Here's a link to an article where an Assistant US Attorney (US Gov't Federal Lawyer) got sentenced to 7 year for a vehicular homicide in FL....and since he got convicted of a "felony" in FL.....his "lawyer's license" went up in smoke as well.....so, when he gets out....he can mow lawns for a living......

Vehicular Homicide Gets Prosecutor 7 Years - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville

 

If the tank had 9000 gallons of fuel on board as the story states, then the driver was pulling at least 2500 lbs over the limit. That happens quite often in the business from what I have seen.
It is a sad story and one that makes me realize I want to come home every night, so in order to accomplish this I slow my Ass way down on all corners and whoever is behind me will just have to wait...

It Is What It Is.....

Timberwolf

 

Don't you guys remember back when you first got your CDL? That bump on your head was from your "FAIRY GODFATHER" when you became a "PERFECT DRIVER". (He's got a very heavy magic wand.) That severe sentence is for forgetting your status on the hiway and letting your fairy godfather down.

We all know that driving like a 4-wheeler is not being a perfect driver.

 

And he served even less than what prompted your Wow!

2 years and he was released recently. Here is a link to the story that I posted recently regarding the release of the driver responsible for the Taylor University crash:

http://www.classadrivers.com/forum/a...tml#post405532

 

My friend... I can guarantee, or at least state with reasonable certainty, that if you drive a car in such a reckless manner that you roll it on a ramp, and kill 4 people like the tanker driver did....you will spend a significant amount of time in prison.

We are, whether we like it or not, held to something of a higher standard. While some non skilled jobs may pay more than trucking jobs, there are many jobs that require college degrees and even a Master's degree that pay "less" than trucking.... Pay is not a qualifier for "responsibility".

 

I sure would like to know more details on this accident. For instance, I'd like to know why it was charged as vehicular homicide rather than negligent or reckless manslaughter. But, even so....

The statute Skywalker posted shows a sentence of 15 years for vehicular homicide. How did this add up to 36 years? There were 4 people killed, right? Even if they were sentenced to run consecutively, which I don't believe they SHOULD have, it wouldn't add up to 36 years.

Stan, I gotta disagree a little with what you said. You can't sentence someone based on what loss of life MIGHT have ocurred.

And as for the "higher standard," I don't know. I agree that we are, to some extent, held to a higher standard, but I'd like to see the statutes that say that can be calculated differently into sentencing guidelines. Maybe it is, but I'm just saying I'd like to see proof of it. Sounds unconstitutional to me.

Why was the Taylor University driver, who admitted (plead guilty) to criminal negligence charged and sentenced for only manslaughter, whereas the tanker driver (who may have only been driving too fast for conditions, not necessarily even speeding,) charged with homicide by vehicle?

Like I said. Maybe, there is more to this story. If not, I would expect a successful appeal based, if nothing else, on the possibility that the judge, indeed, echoed the sentiment of the family to wit:

I think the judge's actions COULD be reversible. And perhaps even the "charges" of the prosecutor.

IF.... and I say IF.... the driver was otherwise "legal," it was a horrible accident, surely not intentional. [The man even risked his own life to try to save the victims.]

I would also like to know more about his "training" and licensing. With the current legal status of the Federal training requirements law, I think there is room to claim that the government KNEW that certain CDL holders were not properly trained, and therefore government "licencing" of them COULD place some of the blame on the FMCSA.

I just think the sentence is "unusual" and exhorbitant, and I hope he has a good lawyer (although, I can already see that he might NOT.)

 

Sorry Windy...My bad...I was responding directly to Mike3, because he and I do exactly the same deal, though for competing company's.

Some of the chemicals we haul are so deadly, that if the tank were to be ruptured in a roll-over, fatalities would begin occurring long before Emergency Responders were on the scene and able to properly contain the situation.
The very nature of the products we haul, requires that each of us give "all due diligence" to the manner in which we perform our jobs.

No, every load we haul is not haz-mat, as every haz-mat load we haul is not, by it's nature, "extreme" to deal with. BUT......few single individuals sharing the road with us, know exactly what the danger is, by simply reading the placard on a tank vessel or box trailer.
Each placard is easily discernible, if you have an "Emergency Responders Handbook" available, so that you could look up each placard UN number.

If you are a driver hauling a load of haz-mat, you are required to have in your possession, the "ER Handbook", just as all CDL drivers are required to have in their possession, an FMCSA handbook. That is why they make you sign the receipt, to prove that you were issued the book.
When you sign for haz-mat paperwork, the shipper is required to have you initial that placards were offered and that you as the driver, are in possession of the ERH.

One of our primary shippers, DuPont, hands out a copy of the ERH page relevant to the product, along with the MSDS for the product.
Warning labels are not required on vessel outlets, yet the majority of shippers place them, just to be "Safe". Anybody whom handles the outlet, has the opportunity to read what it is they are dealing with.

One of the most commonly known dangerous products being hauled on road and rail, is Cyanide. Yet, there are derivatives of Cyanide, that are far more dangerous and volatile. Cyanide is transported under a "Poison" placard, yet one of it's derivative products, which is far more lethal, is transported under a "Flammable" placard. That is done, because fire kills faster than poison.
Cyanide itself, will not burn easily, but kills quickly by ingestion or absorption, while several derivatives will ignite into flames quite easily, yet still can kill by ingestion or absorption.
In the ERH, an Emergency Responder will read that the UN number on the placard, indicates that not only is the product susceptible to easy fire ignition, but also that the product fumes are deadly if inhaled, and that the product itself is deadly via skin contact(absorption).

Fuels are a bad deal when spilled into crowded areas...like a congested freeway. Chemicals are bad for the same reason, yet chemicals can be deadlier because of their sweet odor. Some of the deadliest chemicals, smell very pleasant when spilled, and the pleasant aroma causes many people to forget that they are dealing with a deadly compound.


See above.....and below.


Now...the thing about Hazardous Materials and transportation regulations. All of the haz-mat regulations are covered by 49CFR, the transportation section of Federal Code. But a driver can also be held criminally liable under sections 6 CFR (Domestic Security), 23 CFR (Highways), 40 CFR (EPA), 42 CFR (Public health), 45 CFR (Public Welfare), 46 CFR (Shipping) and even 50 CFR (Wildlife & Fisheries), if an LEO is so inclined to pursue the charges. Once Haz-Mat is involved, most State Fire Marshall offices become involved, along with the locals.

Driving a truck is driving a truck is driving a truck. Spill a load of carrots on the freeway, a load of dirt or a load of toilet paper on the freeway, and yes, you personally, can be charged criminally for your actions.
Spill a haz-mat load, and the charges can be stacked tall and deep against not only the driver, but the carrier management, the shipper's management and even the consignee's management. Once the government is done with you, then the civil lawyers get after you, just in case you might be individually wealthy. Regardless, those people inconvenienced by your accident will sue, everyone involved with the load, because of the hazardous materials.

Now more than ever, you have to be extra cautious with how you handle your truck. It doesn't really matter what your hauling, the Locals, (Private Citizen & government alike), State's and the Fed's all, want the money your making.

Putting you in jail is just an added bonus for some people. Your never going to find anyone from "Public Citizen" advocating for you, simply because you drive a truck, and "They" are anti-truck. Do something wrong in your truck, and watch them vultures surround you.








ok...dissertation is over.



ps..the absolute worst haz-mat accident I could imagine, would be a truck hauling hydrochloric acid, colliding with a truck hauling chlorine bleach, with both products spilling onto the roadway, then being mixed together. BAD...very very bad. :hellno::hellno::hellno::hellno:

 

golfhobo.... In order to answer some of your questions...it would be necessary to see the drivers MVR, but I can say this from personal experience....many of the drivers that live down in that area....who drive locally are frankly "lunatics" and drive like they are on a racetrack all the time, and that includes fuel jockeys. So, I have a sneaking suspicion that the fellow may have been one of them that is always in a big hurry and took too many risks....and it caught up with him.

If Florida is willing to put a Federal Assistant US Attorney in prison for Felony Vehicular Homicide, then it stands to reason that a truck driver should expect no less if he or she is reckless and kills people.

Under the Florida Statutes, he was charged with FOUR counts of Vehicular Homicide. He could have actually gotten 60 years. Florida's judges have sentencing guidelines, and there are stated minimums....and the judge cannot sentence below that minimum. Sure the guy can appeal, but even if he gets his sentence reduced...the message is already "sent"...

The Crete driver that killed the 7 kids, got 7 years, but only because they didn't prove felonious intent. But even after all that...he could have gotten 85 years under the guidelines. On the civil side, after he gets out, he will probably be paying restitution for the rest of his life. Crete may not survive the eventual outcomes.