Actually, you've done a phenominal job of hanging yourself. You had a rear-end accident because you were going to fast in the fog and have the audacity to say things like "it was ony 3 or 4 mph tap", "she shouldn't have been going that slow", "have an accident in the FOG is NOT reckless, so shut your mouth". Most of your posts are in defense of your actions and not touching on the fact that it was your stupidity that caused the accident in the first place.

Simply amazing.

And then, there's this gem:

Simply put, you do NOT get it and you probably never will. And because of that, I'm frankly glad you're off the road and hope you never get back on the road with your current attitude. At least you won't have the chance to wipe out my family because you're too busy adjusting a camera while piloting an 80,000 pound missile down the road at 65 mph.

:x

If I were you, I'd step out of yourself for a little bit and take a good hard look at what people are saying. There's a reason for it. Stop defending yourself and dig in to a huge slice of humble pie and change your ways. You'll be off the road for a while and with your attitude, that's a good thing for the rest of the motoring public. Hopefully, with some time to absorb what people are thinking, you'll come to understand it and if you do end up getting back on the road again, hopefully it will be as a better, safer, and humble driver.

I agree that people should be afforded second chances at things and this is no different. But for you to get a second chance, you damn well better learn something from it first and you have apparently learned nothing so far. If you can't swallow your damn pride and accept the reality of the situation and that it was you and ONLY you that screwed up here and the screw-up was a royal one, then just make sure you get enough salt on my fries when I come through the drive-thru.

 

You know, I'll add one more thing here that maybe you aren't seeing. You seem to have it in your head that people are busting your ass simply to be mean and that's just not the case. People are busting your ass hoping that you'll learn something and if you get back on the road, will be a better trucker because of it.

 

Well I did learn my lesson, Will I ever go that fast in such fog again, hell no, nor in rain, snow, ice, whatever nature can throw at me, no I will be damned sure to be going at the safest speed, and no I do not think people are just trying to be mean, I think people are closed minded however. It is very easy for someone to have never been in a situation, to sit back and criticize those who have, because they don't know the experience, they only know the outcome of it. We all know a truck impacting anything can be quite devastating, especially if it hits a little fiberglass vehicle weighting in at maybe 1500 pounds, the laws of physics clearly state an 80,000 lb object hitting a 1500 lb object, isn't going to go over very well, but this is where everyone seems to get stuck at, they get stuck at the result, they don't care about anything else. I was LUCKY it was another truck, I MADE the mistake in judgement, but not because I was being negligent or reckless, but because I quite frankly didn't have enough experience to judge it correctly, now I gained that experience via a hard hands on lesson.

I would just like to see people not criticizing me on the outcome of my mistake, but on how to better NOT make mistakes in the future. And as far as 'adjusting' the camera, I really do not see any connection to it and the accident, as it had nothing to do with it. I had it mounted up on the dash within easy reach, and in a way that I could adjust it without even taking my eyes off the road, if I would hit a bump sometimes I would see it out of the corner of my eye move, and reach up with my hand and just quickly point it back right, isn't any different then adjusting your rear view mirror in your car.

Something else I don't understand is why so many people are against the idea of a webcam in a truck! Aside from letting others just watch the country as you drive thru it, I eventually did find software that lets you record at the same time, could be quite an important thing in a court if I was ever in an accident I couldn't prevent, or happened to see something important, and if anything it made me an even better driver because I knew people where watching, even possibly my own company (I know someone else who had a webcam in his truck and his employer would usually anonymously pop in to watch), so it kept in my head a conscious check to drive safely.

I bet some of these people that are all anti-anything in their trucks either A: Drive around with a truck that has absolutely nothing in it but a rand mcnalley, a few sets of clothes, and toiletries (I highly doubt this), or they are the ones that drive around with every possible thing you can think of from the microwave to the kitchen sink. Point is it doesn't matter what is in that cab, as long as you are safely driving that vehicle.

Having this accident does not make me an UNSAFE driver, it just means I made a mistake, a rather big one, but a mistake, the fact that my driving history prior is perfect, should attest to that, hell how many of you can honestly say you never even got pulled over your entire life? (Including in your teens when you first got your license), never got a ticket, never had any other accidents, never got arrested, not many.

 

They haven't been in that position because they haven't PUT themselves in that position. They drive carefully in order to not be faced with the same situation and have earned the right to criticize. That criticsm should be taken constructively and not defended.

I don't understand why this is difficult to understand. What if you had hit a car?!? If you really don't understand why people are stuck on you having a rear end accident, then you haven't learned anything.

I'll cut that off right there. You made the mistake because you WERE negligent. Driving a vehicle, ANY vehicle, in fog at 50 mph is negligent and reckless. Period.

You are being criticized precisely for the fact that you are not listening to people telling you how to NOT make that mistake in the future.

And you make my point perfectly. No, the camera did not directly cause this accident...your careless driving did. However, had you wiped out a family of 5, any semi-competent lawyer would eviscerate you on the fact that you had a camera mounted on the dash and a laptop open on the passenger seat. That amounts to a serious distraction, whether you were looking at it at that moment or not.

Same old song and dance. *sigh*. A rear-view mirror is an integral part of your driving...people are trained to use it from the time they get their permit at 14. Make that argument that a dashcam is the same as a rear-view mirror to a judge and you'll find him adding zero's to the end of the damage awards to the family you killed while adjusting your dashcam.

You know, I'm not opposed to a driver having a dashcam in his truck. It's actually a pretty neat idea...I've seen a few setups. But not the way you have it. If you want to run a dashcam, give it a permanent mount up in the corner of the window by the passenger seat, well away from you or any attempts from you to mess with it. Strap your laptop back on your bunk, again well away from you and your ability to mess with it. And then while you are driving, leave the damn things alone and keep your eyes on the road where they're supposed to be!

Yeah, those would be your guys with 30 years of experience with no accidents. And you see a problem with that?

Does that make you feel better to take juvenile shots at safe drivers? :roll:

Again, so what? As long as it's all in the bunk and not a distraction, who the hell cares?

But you weren't safely driving your vehicle, were you? You can make cracks at everyone else all you want, but it's only illustrating your immaturity in this whole matter. Admitting your mistakes is the first step to moving beyond this, but saying "I made a mistake, BUT this and BUT that..." only proves that you haven't learned a damn thing yet.

To be completely blunt, you're what's wrong with the industry. If you don't want to be part of the problems this industry faces, then be part of the solution. Listen and learn from safe drivers and put away the gadgets. Otherwise, stay out of a truck so that none of us or our families become another statistic.

:x

 

You sliced up something I said to make it say something else, I was not making a crack with the toiletries singularly, I was talking about I doubt many people drive around in an empty truck period.

And as far as the negligent/recklessness thing goes, I disagree there, to me, recklessness is doing something you know to be dangerous and stupid, true doing something potentially dangerous and not knowing it can still be classified negligent, but I do not believe it to be reckless, the entire meaning of the word reckless itself means without reguard or care.

And seeing how no one is willing to hire me anyway, everyone will probably get their wish, so you can all rest assured that I am not going to run over you or anyone else, all because I made a miss judgement on how fast I should go in fog.

Ohh how fun it is to change careers, again, to learn something and put all of your dedication into it, for nothing, wonderful things I tell you. (now this statement you can take as whining)

 

Yeah that is why I never had a service failure, a log violation, or any other safety related issue other then the accident, that is also why I even had a few places ask if I could try to get on a dedicated route to deliver to them.

 

Then I apologize for that. It does appear that you were making "unwashed" cracks at safe drivers. If you meant it the other way, then I misread it and apologize.

But that's just it...negligent, careless, or reckless are all part of the same bird. Again, we'll go back to you getting lucky that you hit a truck and there were no injuries. Had you hit a car and injured and killed someone, you would have gotten slapped with a careless and negligent driving and been roasted on a courthouse spit.

 

Actually, Diesel.... the roads are not a WHOLE lot safer. There are still PLENTY of 5, 10, 30 year drivers out there who are driving recklessly, distracted by their gadgets (like GPS) and thinking they are invincible.

I know it SOUNDS like he hasn't learned his lesson, because he feels the need to defend himself against a whole army of criticizm here. But, the real problem is/was in his TRAINING.

Although, it DOES sound like he would have been speeding in fog in a 4wheeler, the problem is he never learned how dangerous it was in a TRUCK. That MIGHT be a result of the POOR training new drivers get today.

I would like to see ALL "safety directors" as concerned as T/F is..... but, I'd like to see them funnel their "concern" into the training programs.

UNTIL "safety" and "training" stand up and fulfill THEIR obligations to the industry, I think crucifying a new driver for his FIRST accident MIGHT be a bit disingenous.

It CERTAINLY doesn't foster TRUST on the part of new drivers that their company cares ANYTHING about them.

Even most COPS get a second chance after a "preventable" shooting.... unless it was malicious!

I go back to my contention that NO driver should be turned out SOLO with so LITTLE training! Say what you want about "team training" companies, but alot more gets "absorbed" over a longer period of time with someone around you than SOME people want to believe! How many professional pilots get First Seat without first spending YEARS in the second one?

There are some MAJOR shortcomings in this industry, but they are not ALL the fault of a driver with only a FEW MONTHS experience. If having gadgets in the truck is such a problem.... a SAFETY DIRECTOR should BAN them..... or at least put a minimum time in service limit on having them!

Now, don't get me wrong. I just got RID of my "ex-Swifty" partner who continued to claim that there were no warning signs on a hairpin exit, and THAT caused his rollover! No WAY I believe THAT.... and his failure to accept his role in it worried me! But, that only bolsters my point that drivers are being "turned out" without proper training and supervision.

WE (new drivers) have as much invested in this enterprise as the companies do! The difference is.... THEY can always fill the seats while WE suffer a damaging loss to our livelihood and hireability.

SOME people are just not cut out to drive a truck! I, personally, saw very little in Matcat's statements to make me believe he ISN'T! Sure, the idea of a quick lane change gave me pause. But, AT THE MOMENT of surprise, and WITH a knowledge of what was beside and behind him, that would have worked! I'm pretty sure he didn't think it was the BEST thing to do, and the fact that he DIDN'T do it, shows he had SOME realization that it was better to stay in his lane than to take the chance.

I'm NOT defending his poor judgement concerning the speed in the fog! I think I made this clear on the other thread. I just can't help feeling somewhat compassionate for a driver who gets LITTLE training and then is expected to have the good judgement of you "lifers!"

I'm just saying..... I don't think it is fair to blame EVERY new driver for making a mistake! SHARE your knowledge with them here on this board, or CHANGE THE SYSTEM!! They have invested ALOT in becoming a driver, and they shouldn't be treated like disposable razors!

Now, don't come back at me about his "attitude." I've been following the thread(s.) I KNOW why he is "defending" his actions as well as YOU do. I don't need to hear you defend "yours."