Just Safely Handled My First Jackknife

So I’m outside Tupelo, and Mississippi seems to be short on plows. I-22 has been moving along at around 35 mph ever since the Tennessee line, and suddenly turns into a sheet of ice.

I start a lane change to maneuver around a snow bank drifting in from the shoulder, then feel the tires lose traction and see my trailer swinging into the mirror. Luckily, I was only going 25 mph, there were no vehicles anywhere close to me, and I’m fresh enough out of training to remember exactly how to steer out of it.

I straighten out just fine, get off at the next exit, and shut the **** down in the offramp.

GOING OFF DUTY 😳 be safe out there!

So I’m outside Tupelo, and Mississippi seems to be short on plows. I-22 has been moving along at around 35 mph ever since the Tennessee line, and suddenly turns into a sheet of ice.

I start a lane change to maneuver around a snow bank drifting in from the shoulder, then feel the tires lose traction and see my trailer swinging into the mirror. Luckily, I was only going 25 mph, there were no vehicles anywhere close to me, and I’m fresh enough out of training to remember exactly how to steer out of it.

I straighten out just fine, get off at the next exit, and shut the **** down in the offramp.

GOING OFF DUTY 😳 be safe out there!

Dang good on YOU, driver!

See why these guys suggest more shorts (boxers) than Jeans?!?!?

Got MY driver home safe & early unlike last night. He had 2 mirror views himself. Nope!

Goodnight; stay safe!

~ Anne ~

Good save! Get some sleep!

Laura

Good job man get some rest

So I’m outside Tupelo, and Mississippi seems to be short on plows. I-22 has been moving along at around 35 mph ever since the Tennessee line, and suddenly turns into a sheet of ice.

I start a lane change to maneuver around a snow bank drifting in from the shoulder, then feel the tires lose traction and see my trailer swinging into the mirror. Luckily, I was only going 25 mph, there were no vehicles anywhere close to me, and I’m fresh enough out of training to remember exactly how to steer out of it.

I straighten out just fine, get off at the next exit, and shut the **** down in the offramp.

GOING OFF DUTY 😳 be safe out there!

Holy Cow! Good to read you steered yourself out of that predicament. Slowing down and parking is a great idea.

Well done, Eugene! Way to keep your wits about you in an Oh, __it! Situation.

Most importantly, did your undergarments remain unsoiled?

Congratulations Eugene! I am so glad to hear you managed your way through that potentially dangerous scenario.

For clarification and for those reading this in the future I'd like to point out that it isn't obvious from your post what type of jackknife situation you were in. There is a situation where the tractor's drive tires break loose (a tractor jackknife) and there is another situation where the trailer tandems break loose and begin to slide (a trailer jackknife). That second scenario is best handled by letting off the brakes and getting on the throttle. Steering will do little to correct it. The tractor jackknife is one that happens so quickly that it is not common to save it. About the only way out of one is an immediate response to the steering. I think you experienced a trailer jackknife, which is best controlled with your feet on the throttle, not with the steering wheel. I'm not picking at you. I just want to take the chance here and make this a teaching moment for anyone reading along.

We've got a great little article on this with accompanying video to explain these differing scenarios and how to handle them. I hope each of you will check it out at Dealing With Jackknifes.

Thanks for the well wishes all!

OS that is correct technically I didn’t “steer” out of it. For the sake of brevity, I cut and pasted this from my earlier social media post, where I figured my audience wouldn’t be likely to understand the details of what I actually did so I just used “steer” as a catch-all for “maneuver.”

Though I was gripping the wheel so hard it may have felt like I was steering ...... 😳