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ABF | Hats off to a good guy ABF driver...

When you have time to stop its awesome.

And part of the problem with Trucking is that Dispatch fails to give you time for anything. That rig will meet the minimum 45 mph fleet average or else.

I usually do not stop for anything unless theres bodies and people in distress, trauma etc in evidence. Otherwise keep rolling. Dispatch's greed has cost lives indirectly over the years. When I first started you have time to stop and check and no one pays you no mind and its useful in helping others. When the first computers invaded dispatch and informs them that if you do not reach Norfolk in exactly 5:12 from this yard gate you are late and will be fired for wasting time. That truck will be in Norfolk 5:12.

There has been times I have stopped regardless. That requires a mental discarding of any love of Dispatch and a willingness to be put out onto unemployment for incurring a service failure to help someone for a few minutes.
 
Triplex said:
Back in the day stopping for someone broke down or in an accident was normal, not like today where everyone seems to be in a rush. Sad how things have changed.
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I would never survive today.
In the old days, Ryder, Carolina, Lazy J, Central Motor Lines, and Akers drivers would stop for an hour or 2, play music, or hold a round table if we could find a light on.
 
Bird Man said:
When you have time to stop its awesome.

And part of the problem with Trucking is that Dispatch fails to give you time for anything. That rig will meet the minimum 45 mph fleet average or else.

I usually do not stop for anything unless theres bodies and people in distress, trauma etc in evidence. Otherwise keep rolling. Dispatch's greed has cost lives indirectly over the years. When I first started you have time to stop and check and no one pays you no mind and its useful in helping others. When the first computers invaded dispatch and informs them that if you do not reach Norfolk in exactly 5:12 from this yard gate you are late and will be fired for wasting time. That truck will be in Norfolk 5:12.

There has been times I have stopped regardless. That requires a mental discarding of any love of Dispatch and a willingness to be put out onto unemployment for incurring a service failure to help someone for a few minutes.
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My policy was to not stop, especially at night, unless 1. It was blocking. 2. There was no one else on scene. 3. I was being flagged down. 4. If I could secure the scene from further accidents by using flares or triangles. I considered it very dangerous to be walking around a scene at night without proper traffic control. I nearly was struck and killed by a semi near Ellensberg Wa one morning doing that. A BRIGHT LED flashlight is a must for signalling oncoming traffic if you are on foot, and be prepared to run.... I always called 911 and reported it immediately regardless. People just don't slow down and pay attention any more. I think a lot of them are on their phones texting. If you stop, you are creating an additional distraction to oncoming traffic, who may swerve into the accident scene trying to avoid your truck. These are all things you have to consider. It is an incredibly dangerous situation you may only make worse without careful thought. I always carried fusees in my ditty bag ( yeah, even with flammable HazMat, I just kept them in my personal bag) to quickly secure an accident scene from oncoming traffic. I would either set them out or give them to a person on scene to set out. Just strike them and heave them down the centerline in both directions ASAP. I also always carried a reflective safety vest as well, even before ABF issued them. I almost got run over in the Portland yard one rainy night by the yard goat and I learned from it.
 
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hangbelly said:
My policy was to not stop, especially at night, unless 1. It was blocking. 2. There was no one else on scene. 3. I was being flagged down. 4. If I could secure the scene from further accidents by using flares or triangles. I considered it very dangerous to be walking around a scene at night without proper traffic control. I nearly was struck and killed by a semi near Ellensberg Wa one morning doing that. A BRIGHT LED flashlight is a must for signalling oncoming traffic if you are on foot, and be prepared to run.... I always called 911 and reported it immediately regardless. People just don't slow down and pay attention any more. I think a lot of them are on their phones texting. If you stop, you are creating an additional distraction to oncoming traffic, who may swerve into the accident scene trying to avoid your truck. These are all things you have to consider. It is an incredibly dangerous situation you may only make worse without careful thought. I always carried fusees in my ditty bag ( yeah, even with flammable HazMat, I just kept them in my personal bag) to quickly secure an accident scene from oncoming traffic. I would either set them out or give them to a person on scene to set out. Just strike them and heave them down the centerline in both directions ASAP.
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I agree 100%, If I cannot be of any help I don't need to be there.
 
So here is a hideous but true story that happened to an ABF driver many years ago out of 490 Ontario Oregon. I have told this before, but it bears repeating as a lesson. Just consider this as well, and factor it into your thinking.... The mental anguish and litigation surrounding this event was mind-numbing and ruinous for Larry. He is a Christian man and still a friend, thankfully.
Larry was on his bid to Portland one morning around midnight with a set of triples. He got out to the Weatherby rest area interchange on I-84 when a wheel bearing on a left trailer axle on his 3rd trailer seized up and came off the axle spindle at freeway speed. He could not see the smoke of the impending failure in the dark, of course, so had no advance warning. The duals came off and ran alongside his set as he slowed the triples down and pulled to the right shoulder. It is a minor miracle he did not upset the rear box. In hind sight, it probably would have been better if it had. At least it would have been easier to see it in the dark, especially if the marker lights remained on. The duals finally bounced off the center divider and fell over in the inside lane of the westbound freeway.
A Yellow sleeper team was following him and pulled over with him, and the Yellow driver got out to help Larry walk back to try to get the duals off the freeway in the dark. They were both carrying flashlights as they walked back along the rt shoulder. A FedEx set of triples was approaching them down the freeway at 65 mph, so they began waving their flashlights to alert him of the danger. He pulled into the passing lane to avoid them and collided with the duals and went airborne and came down on the driver's side and began sliding toward them both. Larry ran for the borrow pit, but the Yellow driver was behind him and did not realize he was still on the interchange underpass and jumped the jersey barrier and fell 25 ft to the roadway below and was killed.
ABF and Larry were both sued by FedEx and the wife of the Yellow driver for damages. ABF defended both, but the wrongful death of the Yellow driver fell mainly to Larry. He never told me how much it cost him, but his attorney fees alone were ruinous. Please remember this when you want to help others as a knight of the highway. The Yellow driver's wife said he always was stopping to help others on the road. No good deed goes unpunished.
 
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