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R&L..... Interstate 71 back open on all lanes after semi-trailer fire

A while back I drove for several miles smelling hot brakes which has a unique odor. Finally I came upon a parked rig on the side of the road with a brake fire. I can tell when a brake is dragging but apparently some drivers can't feel the drag. This one had both sides of the same axle on fire so he had not one but two brakes dragging for miles. There was a pickup parked behind this rig I wondered if the pickup driver alerted him to the fire or if the driver finally looked in the mirror & saw the smoke.
 
DCM_Doc said:
A while back I drove for several miles smelling hot brakes which has a unique odor. Finally I came upon a parked rig on the side of the road with a brake fire. I can tell when a brake is dragging but apparently some drivers can't feel the drag. This one had both sides of the same axle on fire so he had not one but two brakes dragging for miles. There was a pickup parked behind this rig I wondered if the pickup driver alerted him to the fire or if the driver finally looked in the mirror & saw the smoke.
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I can tell you that the driver of the tractor-trailer did drop the trailer but he dropped it in the middle of the road..... and then let it burn
 
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Stimpy said:
I can tell you that the driver of the tractor-trailer did drop the trailer but he dropped it in the middle of the road..... and then let it burn
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I wonder if drivers don't look in their mirrors. If this driver had looked at least once every mile he would have seen the smoke. Maybe the truck driving schools teach them to always look ahead & not back. It was always my thought that a driver should look left & right, near & far, ahead & occasionally behind constantly moving their eyes, never staring in any direction for a long time.
 
DCM_Doc said:
I wonder if drivers don't look in their mirrors.
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I was never schooled in driving tractor trailer (yep, I'm that old) but I always like to know what is going on around me in all directions and what I can expect within a given amount of time. i e if I see a vehicle coming up from behind I like to gauge its speed so I can mentally determine when he/she will be in my space. For me it's important to be able to instantaneously make a move in the event of an incident to avoid a disaster and knowing where everyone else is is part of that equation. I practice this in my car as well. When stuck in heavy traffic I strive to see everything I can behind me and leave four or five feet between me and the next vehicle, one never knows when they might have to steer hard right or left and mash the motor to avoid being involved in a multi-vehicle pile up from behind.
 
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