As a new driver, bright eyed and bushy tailed, it?s very easy to be over taken by the thrill of driving a Big Truck. Please remember just that. It is a VERY big truck and demands the utmost respect and immense responsibilities. I have been fortunate that I have never had an accident in my 10 years out here. That is not to say that I have not had my share of close calls. Luck plays a hand it that, but driving safe is not an accident (wow, that?s original), it?s a commitment. Please take a look at some of these pictures, ESPECIALLY THE ONES YOU WILL FIND UNDER THE TAILGATE LINK.
Drive Safe
http://www.truckcrash.com/index.html
"Truckers need to learn, from day one, that the job is chalk-full of hazards. They should understand that danger lurks around every corner.
A few drivers go into it with eyes wide open, never forgetting that the job is a constant series of life or death decisions.
Others don't seem to give one flying fig for anyone but themselves. For whatever reason, whether they imagine themselves as living in an episode of Smoky and The Bandit, or if they have just been watching too much NASCAR on Sundays, too many truckers fail to implement even the most basic safety techniques, putting themselves (and others) in the gravest danger.
The attitude seems to be that if there is a corner to be cut without getting caught, well that's the name of the game. They have fallen into that penny wise, pound foolish trap of squeezing as much money (miles, hours, loads, etc.) out of the day as possible, and if someone gets hurt along the way, well, it's too bad for them. In other words, "Hooray for me and the rest of y'all can go straight to the hot place."
Actually, most of us truckers are somewhere in the middle. We neither act recklessly, nor do we do everything possible to avoid damaging stuff and hurting people. Most of us care about safety, but cut a few corners here and there. We do our jobs pretty safely, but we could be a hair more careful.
Simply put, there is room for improvement.
So, how far should a trucker go to preserve the life of another human being? Should he just do whatever is legally required and no more? Or, at the other end of the curve, should he sacrifice his own life to save a stranger's? It's a tough question, but one that each driver needs to consider before inserting the key into the ignition."
