Comments By guyjax(Guy Hodges)

No Charges Against Alleged Mattress Dropper Who Caused Tanker Driver’s Death

The van driver who allegedly lost mattresses on the New Jersey Turnpike last week, causing a crash that led to the death of a tanker truck driver, does not face criminal charges.

40-year-old Dalip Kumar, who drove for JSK Transport, was hauling 8,500 gallons of gasoline when traffic slowed suddenly for the mattresses in the road. An SUV cut off Kumar’s tanker. Kumar swerved to avoid hitting the SUV, sending his truck rolling over the guardrail. The truck exploded and Kumar was trapped inside and killed.

The 26-year-old van driver, Adam Abuhamoud from Linden, stayed at the scene of the crash. He was questioned by investigators, but there have been no charges filed against him.

A representative from JSK said that Kumar’s split second decision was heroic: “He definitely put his life at risk because he could have easily gone straight and veered into the other cars.It’s was definitely a very courageous act he did.”

It sucks this driver lost his life. It truly does. But.....

While the mattresses may have came off his truck or van and may have caused the cars to start breaking and its clear in the video ,once the truck moved , that he was clearly trying to miss the black car/suv that cut him off......But there were more factors involved than just a mattress.

but here is the kicker did anyone see the white car that was inn front of the suv and in front of the truck before the truck swerved? Not the one that merged in front of the black suv but the white car in front of that one?

Watch the video close up (full screen) and in High Definition. The truck was less than a truck length from the car i front of him when 2 cars merged in front of him and cutting off what little space he had.

Now imagine if the truck had left proper spacing in front of him in the first place instead of only half a truck length. Sure the cars might have still cut him off but at least he would have had more time use his brakes before having to change lanes fast.

Now I am not trying to blame the truck driver. I am only pointing out the reason why ALL safety everywhere always stresses proper following distances. One second of lapse of judgement can cost you your life.

I forgot about the registration being out of date. So that's another ticket right there and that also go against my CDL?

I don't think so. I think that's on the company to take care of.

A lawyer for something like this wouldn't be very much I'm sure. A few hundred bucks maybe?

Most states keep tickets on record for about 3 years but it varies by state so find out from your DMV.

I personally recommend getting a lawyer simply to make sure you protect your license. But from what you've told us I see no reason to believe you'll lose your job or run into significant problems finding future employment from this. I try to look at the big picture and focus on the long term. Spending a few hundred bucks on a lawyer to protect your career seems pretty small in the grand scheme of things.

Brett

Yes it should be the companies responsibility to make sure these are up to date it is ALSO the driver's responsibility to make sure all the permits are up to date and the truck is legal to run. Its apart of the Pre Trip inspection that is done BEFORE every trip ad before the truck rolls for the day. If the truck is not legal to run, for whatever reason, its the drivers responsibility to notify the company ASAP. So yes if the cop on the side of the road wants to he can site the driver for For failure to maintain legal truck documents and can also lead to a False Log ticket cause the driver certifies the truck is inn good repair ad in legal to run and in this case the truck documents were not checked during pre trip inspection.

Hello! I make a business plan for the cars hauler carrier company. Trailer for 10 cars. faced with the problem of the calculation of costs. included in the cost of insurance business liability. I spoke to several agents, but they ask me to provide data about the VIN of cars and driver's license. I can not provide this information, as it is just a business model. Please tell me the approximate cost of insurance business liability for $ 500 000. A one heavy truck, one driver, llc one owner. Transportation vehicles to 48 states.

I would think an insurance company would be the best people to ask what the cost of insurance is.

So it seems that the general consensus on firearms is, "probably a bad idea." So what about tazers and stun guns? My Dad bought me a tazer and asked me to keep it on me at all times when I told him of my intention to start driving. I'm a fairly small female and he did A LOT of research into the lifestyle and was concerned for my safety. Is company policy the only thing to contend with there?

Again the local and state laws come into effect. I asked a Baltimore MD cop about tazers and pepper spray one time while waiting for a tow truck to show up to tow cars that were blocking a driveway so I can deliver and he said that ,at least in Maryland, that if a so called "defensive weapon" can be used as an offensive weapon also it might be illegal but its up to the officers call on it. But he did say that tazers were illegal for private ownership in Maryland.

Driver shortage? That's funny cause I have yet to see a dock that is over flowing with to much freight. The ATA represents big companies and the real driver shortage is due to.....A shortage of drivers willing to drive for low wages.

debated with myself about responding to this post after having read through the comments but felt i needed to. Not even going to talk about reciprocity cause it really does not apply here. Not going to mention CCW or federal laws as they do not apply either.

This topic comes up ever few months and everyone is always worried about the federal laws concerning guns and trucking but simply forget about the most important and most valid laws.....The local and state laws.

Even if it was not against every company policy out there , which it is, you have to remember that other people also have rights and that includes not allowing weapons or guns on their property . Private or commercial.

Gun owners need to be warned at least once not to bring the gun on the property. Well that is done once the owner post a sign that says no weapons allowed on that property. THAT is the one and only warning that is required and from that point forward that gun owner can face criminal trespass while in possession of a firearm. Most places that is a felony which will strip your guns right from you.

Every customers property that you pull your truck on to or every DOT scale house you pull into , if you are carrying a gun in the truck , puts you at risk of being charged with a crime and loosing your guns rights. Is it really worth that risk?

Here is another issue that you simply must consider. Since it is against every companies policy to have a firearm in your truck and they find out , by whatever means, you will be fired and they WILL report why you were fired on your DAC report. From that point forward no other company will touch you cause you had a firearm in the truck and you were fired cause of it. And since it is a employment report and not a violation report it will never come off your DAC. THAT alone will ruin your driving career.

Only you can decide if its worth it.

Many may ask why this is such a big deal and I will tell you. The main reason companies disallow firearms in a truck is due to lawsuits. If something were to happen and you needed to defend yourself you have just opened yourself up and your company to a Wrongful Death lawsuit. A good lawyer will argue and win when he tells the court that the driver knew and willing broke company policy by having the firearm on the truck and the person would still be alive or uninjured if the driver have followed company policy. The burden of proof is a lot less in a civil lawsuit than a criminal charge.

So I just got pre hired with mcelroy. I just passed my cdl test and got my license. I'm 21 so I know my options are limited. What's the first year average pay? Weekly pay? I would like other options if someone can find a better one. Thank you

I assume you have at least talked to a recruiter after you filled out the app? I sure hope you did.

What did they tell you the first year pay was like?

I drive an automatic now. While there is less stress the only difference is the truck shifts for you.

It's the weight of the load that causes you to be slow on a hill. Not the shifting. Automatics have the same issue. They are slow on a hill due to the weight.

If you are on medication it's best to carry your long form since they are listed on there and have been approved by the DOT medical doctor that did your testing.

Most people register their medical card at the DMV. That does not list your meds. The only thing the DMV does is put in the computer that Yes you have a valid medical card.

Fast forward 3 months down the road. You standing in a scale house with your prescription meds on the DOT officers desk. While they do have your name on them you have no proof the DOT medical examiner even knows about them since you do not have you Long Form with you that list your meds that the dot doctor knows about.

So what does Barney Fife in and small poetry duck town dot scale do? Puts you OOC (out of service) cause he has no way to tell that the doctor that did your dot physical knows about your meds.

Oh did I mention that it's Saturday and he can not call the dot doctor that gave you the exams until Monday.... Happy sitting around till Monday so he can confirm that you can have your prescription meds with you and the doctor knows about them.

Think that is far fetched? Not really. Arizona has a law on the books that the dot or any law enforcement can pull you over and ticket you for having you mud flaps "sailing". Basically when your driving and if the wind causes your mud flaps to come up more than 8 inches from their vertical hanging position it's called 'sailing' and you will be fined.

Forgot this pic.