Comments By Chief

Most company trucks have a device in their truck call a Prepass which allows us to bypass weight stations mostly if we get a green light. But there are always those few we have to pull into for one reason or another.

I-65 north leaving AL entering TN. I NEVER get a green light on that scale!

Why do I have a sneaky suspicion that this might be happening only because you're a truck driver and they don't care too much for us in the East?

And Woody, a dashcam is probably the best 80$ you can spend.

After that fiasco I would gladly pay $180 for a good dash cam. You can bet I'm getting one this next trip or as soon as possible. What brand and model do you use Daniel?

So the guy was doing something bad enough that the officer felt he needed stopped. In the process of being stopped the driver crosses 4 lanes and causes an accident. Then the officer decides no tickets are in order and no report needes to be filed? Unreal.

Did you get the drivers and officers info? I would imagine the insurance company at least would want to look into it farther.

The more I think about Daniel's dash cam, the more I think I might want one.

When it first started it was my assumption he was pulling him over for speeding since I didn't see anything else out of the ordinary. Your summation is correct except no report was written because that is Maryland law. It was obviously the trooper's decision to not cite him (or me which I'm sure he could have for something). He did fill out a driver information exchange form which also had all the MSP info including a case #.

That's the other weird thing. Without a report how do the insurance companies determine who was at fault and who's paying for what? Or, do they each pay for their own vehicles? My company is self insured and debt free so at worst repairs to my truck are paid by the company. I would have some serious heartburn if I found out the other guy's insurance company was blaming me and filing for damages.

And yeah, I'm already looking at getting a dash cam this next trip out.

There was damage to both vehicles but, because neither vehicle had to be towed it didn't matter according to MSP.

In a nutshell...I was northbound on I-95 just south of Baltimore about 0230. Trooper comes out of hiding and goes after this guy in the #1 lane (far left). I was in the #4 (far right) doing about 60 mph. As soon as I see this I let up out of the throttle some to slow down a bit to see what was going to happen. Trooper finally catches up to this guy but he continues on in the #1 lane. I decided to keep going where I was and just get past them because honestly I thought the guy was probably going to pull over to the left in the paved median. All of a sudden he starts coming right so I start braking and check my mirror to move left. Next thing I know this dude is literally stopping in the #3 lane with the cop behind him. My closure rate was too fast so going left was no longer an option so I decided to just stay in my lane. Well the guy decided to come over anyway and even after I went right to the shoulder he came over there too. I ran out of real estate, tore up the left side of his pick-up which tore off one of my steps near the air tanks, scraped up the wheel and fender. My right side impacted the metal guard rail which shattered the fiberglass around the hinge point on the hood. Now the whole hood has to be replaced. I don't know the exact extent of his damage but it had to be something considering the impact ripped my bottom step off.

I called MSP the next day to find out how to get a copy of what the trooper wrote up and was told because the accident did not meet any of the previously stated conditions there would be no report. That's when I found out that the other guy wasn't even cited for anything which really surprised me based on what the trooper had said to me at the scene.

I just find the whole thing really, really odd.

Funny thing is, the same three basic criteria are cited on the FMCSA website for what constitutes a recordable accident involving a commercial vehicle with a GCW of 10,001 lbs or more. I would infer from that information this accident won't even make the database. Or will it? Who knows. I guess time will tell.

Yep, I did fine and it wasn't too bad of a drive. Except that they can't drive 4 wheelers and can't drive forklifts either.

LOL. Wouldn't know about the forklifts. My tanker goes to chemical plants.

So, unfortunately earlier this week, I found out the hard way under what conditions the MSP writes up an accident report.

1. There is damage to state property OR,

2. Either vehicle has to be towed OR,

3. There is an injury requiring transport.

Unless one of those conditions is met MSP does not write an accident report and the at-fault is left to the insurance companies to hash out.

In my particular instance the other driver, who was definitely at fault (as inferred by the statements of the trooper made to me) was not even issued a citation.

Way weird and very frustrating. To me, this kind of situation just leaves a driver hanging out there at the whim of the company of how they want to report it on a DAC (if at all) and there's no documentation to prove otherwise.

When driving around/through NYC or the new England area in general, patience is the key. Don't expect to get anywhere in a hurry and don't expect any courtesy from other drivers.

I have both, a smartphone and an ipad. My company uses Transflo to submit our paperwork and I have apps on both of my devices for it. I use the ipad mostly because it's easier to see things on (for me anyway). My phone is pretty much for phone calls and texting.

Those are pretty much company specific questions. For internet access, are you referring to personal access to the internet?

For my company, if I have to do a 34 on the road somewhere (its only happened once in 4 1/2 months) the first 24 are in the truck and then I can get a company approved hotel. Layovers in excess of 24 hrs are the same. You should check with Knight to see what their policy is.

I hear ya guys. I learned how to drive big trucks during the winter in Wisconsin back in '89 and then ran all over the midwest and northeast so winter driving is no stranger to me.

Slower is better in nasty weather and if it's too bad to drive then stop. If a company has a problem with that then I shouldn't be driving for them. Fortunately my current company gives its drivers a lot of latitude so I do not anticipate any problems there.

How was '89? I wasn't born yet.

Daniel, you are such a baby in this world (age wise), but very old when it comes to having a level head on your shoulders.

By the way, '89 was a so so year for me. Was stationed on a navy cruiser out of Norfolk VA. I could bore you with lots of sea stories, but that is for another time.

Ernie

Ernie,

I was on a cruiser out of San Dog and got out of the Nav in Sep '88. Went thru school and got into trucking November that year and ran most of '89 before going back in the Nav.