30-car pileup blamed on speeding Spokane driver (Trucker)
 

02:35 PM PST on Friday, January 19, 2007

KING5.com

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Series of accidents along I-90

SEATTLE - A 30-vehicle collision that blocked the westbound lanes of I-90 near North Bend for more than five hours Tuesday was due to a speeding semi-driver from Spokane going 70 mph, the Washington State Patrol said Thursday.

Troopers working Snoqualmie Pass this week during the snowstorms responded to dozens of collisions. However, moments before a semi lost control and jackknifed, speed was clocked at 70 mph on a trooper's radar, a statement from the WSP said.

KING

Several semi trucks jacknifed on westbound Interstate 90.

The flow of westbound traffic was all moving in excess of 70 mph, the trooper confirmed. Despite heavy snowfall and strong gusty winds, traffic failed to slow appropriately.

The semi operated by Atlas Van Lines was driven by Shawn R Biggs, 27, of Spokane. Biggs has been cited 18 times in the past, five times for driving on a suspended driver's license and once for DUI, the WSP said.

Biggs was cited for negligent driving for causing this collision, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.

Biggs has been cited 18 times in the past, five times for driving on a suspended driver's license and once for DUI, the WSP said.


:shock: :shock:

I can not believe this guy even had a job :!:

Goin Fer It's Wife

that says alot for the people who hire for certain companies

Well I hope this last stint keeps him off the road for good.

Biggs was cited for negligent driving for causing this collision, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.

... and thank God no lives!!

What seems even worse when you TRY to put this in perspective; all this in a 27y/o - in what time frame were the 18 citations? :shock: :shock:

18 previous citations and a DUI, what the hell was this guy doing behind the wheel?

Not defending this driver in the LEAST - his record speaks for itself - but just WTF was this trooper doing sitting and WATCHING all this traffic exceeding the posted limit in such conditions???? :shock:

[quote="golfhobo"]Possibly, dining on the fare from the local donut shop. :lol: :lol:

the trooper was checking out a jack knifed semi. nwcn said there were 8 of them and they showed a picture of an interstate trailer laying on its side. no problem they were gonna get all new drivers next year anyhoo !

I thought these Atlas Van line jobs were hard to get and good paying. About a month ago I saw one jacknifed in Alabama

My thoughts exactly. Gives the rest of a bad rep too boot.

I was at my moms house when I read this story. I just had to post it as it was so unreal that a company would actually hire someone with this record or keep him on. So I am back home to reply.

I wonder what the companies insurance is like with people like this working for them.

Me too :!: :!:

It is hard to believe!

It is hard to believe he even kept his CDL with that record.[/b]

golfhobo

Guess Homer must have seen more on the news about it. I am surprised he did not call for someone else to come in and slow the traffic down. Even more surprised that traffic was slowed down at the very presence of the Highway Patrol being there.

Goin Fer It's Wife

I guess it must not be so! Unless this guy was like the owners son or something.

Goin Fer It's Wife

My thoughts exactly. Gives the rest of a bad rep too boot.[/quote]

Just think how the rest of the Atlas guys feel about their reputation!

Goin Fer It's Wife

Might have been hired by a O/O to drive on of his trucks.

Re: 30-car pileup blamed on speeding Spokane driver (Trucker
 

I don't understand why someone with 18 citations still has a license. This guy is only 27 year old? If the 18 citations don't phase the company he works for, then adding one more probably won't make any difference either. Of course, it doesn't state what the other citations were for, but we assume that they were all moving violations. Whether they were moving violations or not, that is a lot of tickets. I have been driving for about 35 years and don't even have half that many citations over an entire career. And no moving violations. I can't get over this guy still being able to hold a license, much less drive a commercial vehicle. :?

70 MPH on Snoqualmie pass during a snow storm? He was begging for trouble.

As I have been reading through a lot of posts. I see quite a few messages asking" who will hire me with a couple of speeding tickets ect" and people seem to point them to moving companies. LOL

yep-that's insane and I know Snoqualmie like the back of my hand-Lots of times the West slope is Ice.
The Truck stop at North Bend is stategically located for times like this. Only bad thing is that it's no longer Ken's Truck Stop.

i always thought those moving van drivers were the worst.i dont like being around them at highway speeds.especially them orange ones. one almost took me out once on 15 at the nv border.they sure are hardworkers driving in those residential areas tho

I had those same thoughs on going 70 on Snoqualmie. I personally have never seen it, but my fiance' has and I have heard plenty about it. I asked my dispatcher reapetedly if he could get us a load up that way this past summer, just so I could see it, but it never happened. With this insane weather, nobody, whether its in a rig or a car, should be doing 70 mph....anywhere.

Not to defend this guy or his company that hired him by any means, however most states wipe off all citations after a 3 year period and unless a company runs a 5 or 10 year motor vehicle report they would not show up. The DOT has access to this information of course and that information is released to the public, because that is what makes the public hate us even more and will help create more regulations against those of us who are law abiding. It is really frustrating that the good are punished because of idiots like this!

Thankfully this guy is off the road again and no one was killed, however I have been on ice/snow packed roads off and on for the past week and MANY an idiot truck driver has blown past me. What part of SLOW DOWN FOR BAD WEATHER do they not understand?

There is more than enough blame to go around on this one the State Police officer should have been doing his JOB instead of just sitting in the middle clocking. Also the company should have been more caeful on who they hired. Lastly the DRIVERS in the accident ALL of them should have SLOWED DOWN for the condtions of the road.

Is there a CVOR or the equivalent for drivers here in the U.S, like they have in Canada?

A CVOR is like a driving abstract for truckers, and any and all violations go on there, not matter if the violations have been wiped off your regular driving abstract. Even violations your accuired in your car get reported to your CVOR.

70 mile an hour,he was probably on the cb yelling "honk honk beep beep look out stupid!"

He'll probably have lost his privelage to drive period now.

To have had that many violations?? I think it must've been a misprint.

He got it! :)

Goin Fer It's Wife

They may not have enough citations to get hired on at this company :D

Goin Fer It's Wife

seems like everytime I talk to a driver with multiple serious felonies or an outragous number of tickets, they are driving for one of the moving companies like Atlus. Perhaps their hiring standards arent that high.

Re: 30-car pileup blamed on speeding Spokane driver (Trucker
 

Hopefully the State will pull his CDL from him. I was very surprised when I read this article also that someone like this would still have a CDL.

Goin Fer It's Wife

I will watch out for the Orange Ones! :)

Goin Fer It's Wife

just_froggy

I hope you get to see it this spring or summer. Just watch out for any Atlas Moving Vans! :P

Goin Fer It's Wife

There is your answer to that question :)

Goin Fer It's Wife

I agree! Well hopefully they have learned a lesson without the loss of life.

Goin Fer it's Wife

And people wonder why I hate running over the pass on 90. People are idiots. Last time I chained up, I saw Semi's w/o chains jackknifed or in the ditch. People are just plain ignorant when it comes to I90...

LOL

Goin Fer It's Wife

I hope your right. I do not think it was misprint but some could have been non moving violations.

Goin Fer It's Wife

Think about it
 

For those of you who have apparently spent so much time critizing me (Shawn R Biggs, Atlan Van LInes driver) answer me this: If you were driving down an icy pass at 70 mph and booked a hard left, would you just jackknife and slide a little, or would you not roll? At the time of the accident I was only going 25 mph...the news reports never say I was clocked at 70 because I WASNT....the state patrol officer (who by parking his car in the right lane of traffic while he checked on an accident that had already occured caused this accident) wasnt even in his car....it took him 20 minutes to walk back to the accident scene after we came to a stop.....also if I was going 70, why wasnt I arrested at the scene? this rookie officer parked his car in the right lane of traffic just around a curve, I had a car traveling directly to my left so I couldnt change lanes so I had to either hit the patrol car head on and launch him into the accident victims he was securing or wait for the car next to me to get in front of me so I could get over knowing it would cause a jackknife......my decision while it may have inconvienienced some people...saved lives.... As for my driving record,,,, the 18 times I have been cited include several instances of noise complaints, contributing premises to minors, and jaywalking as well as 5 tickets for defective equiptment for having neon lights under my car... I was cited for a dui but NOT CONVICTED (cold + cough syrup....use your imagination)None of this was in the last 5 years and All of this was checked out by Atlas Van Lines safety dept who has a VERY thorough application process. The state patrol officer is afraid of being blamed for this accident which is why every time the media writes a new report they have mysteriously new info.....I wasnt cited at the scene....tha should speak for itself......if anybody has any questions feel free....but I would appreciate it if u would stop critisizing something u know nothing about

What is "contributing premises to minors"?