Just Had My First Steer Go Flat And Want To Make Sure I'm Not Getting The 2 Year Over Confidence.

I'm currently sitting on the side of I 25 with a flat driver's side steer. It blew, but not a blow out. I heard it blow and immediate put on my hazards, got over when lanes were clear, inspected. Put out my safety triangles (which took me a while to figure out how to unfold without breaking). Called dispatch as I'm on a hot load relay exchange, for which the other driver is going to be 4 hours late to the rendezvous point anyway, (slightly irritated at that. 2 times in a row now).

Roads are clear even though it's cold (12 degrees). I was doing 65, didn't feel any oddity with the steering, I actually didn't know i blew it, just knew something with air just went. So no panic, again though I think it's just luck saving my bacon.

I didn't see anything out of the ordinary during pre trip, new steers, less than 20k on them. Pressure was ok. Aside from that, I've been seeing lots of posts from drivers with accidents that have varying lengths of experience. We had 4 accidents from my terminal this week. I've got enough experience to feel comfortable in most situations and that makes me uncomfortable. I don't want to get over confident, complacent and over do it.

What's the solution? I just am sticking with my fundamentals for now and really concentrating on the basics. How have you experienced folks gotten through this phase? I feel like it's the terrible twos and I don't want a turn in the barrel.

My guess is that driving into colder weather was the cause. When nearing 0⁰, tire pressure can be difficult to maintain, so if you were parked for a while and it was cold, it's possible that the bead was loosened without you being able to tell during pre-trip. Weight of the truck while bouncing on the road can then lead to an air leak, which then causes a flat tire. It's not a blowout because it was the tire coming off the rim, essentially the opposite of what is commonly seen in summer months with tire blowouts from increased pressure.

My guess is that driving into colder weather was the cause. When nearing 0⁰, tire pressure can be difficult to maintain, so if you were parked for a while and it was cold, it's possible that the bead was loosened without you being able to tell during pre-trip. Weight of the truck while bouncing on the road can then lead to an air leak, which then causes a flat tire. It's not a blowout because it was the tire coming off the rim, essentially the opposite of what is commonly seen in summer months with tire blowouts from increased pressure.

Nope. A big a$$ nail, probably at the shipper. Repair guy said it probably held for a while but went all the way in and was actually inside the tire. Made him a pot of coffee. He appreciated it.

Davy, I’ve been driving roughly the same timeframe as you, approaching my two year mark on July 12, 2023. So I keep the complacency issue in mind like you do. I’m not one of those experienced drivers you seek advice from, but I have given your question much thought.

A reasonable, healthy amount of fear helps me. Not the paralyzing fear that is the opposite of no fear at all, but I fear death, I fear injury, I fear causing harm to someone else. I fear losing my sense of fear, if that makes any sense itself. Fear is like pain. It’s there for a reason which is our own protection. We are benefited by making fear our ally. It’s what keeps us cautious, defensive and safe.

We all observe drivers who drive like they have no fear at all. This is reckless, careless driving. I think complacent drivers have lost this healthy sense of fear.

Yeah, it wasn't the temperature change. The Canadian trucks would never move if that was plausible. I heard it gets cold in Alaska, too.

Incidentally, the tires can be inflated to more than 400 psi without failure. What fails? The wheels.

Oh Jesus, it's like you were inside my head.

I'm to the point of confident in my ability to go forward, and go backwards, but I know I'm right in that danger zone of "Pshaw.... I got this....." And "Ohhhh snap, I just messed up and killed my career...." It's a place I am not very used to being in, that's for sure. All I can do to combat it, is go back to the very beginning, like you said, and put that much effort into the details, even if my pretrip and post trip take me a little longer.

Just pretend every day is your first day, I've been out here 5.5 years and still do that. Few years ago I found myself getting complacent, which was a feeling I didn't like. Now I sort of act like it is my first day every day, I'm not as paranoid now as I was back then I only check things twice instead of 4 or 5.

Also, I blew a dolly tire about 3 years ago. I was the first one to take it out after it was PM so a mechanic and my self inspected it, I made it about an hour from the yard when it decided it couldn't take it anymore. After that I was wondering if I had missed something and doubting my pretrip, but the funny thing about tires is they can appear fine on your pretrip than something you can even see on the road ruins it.

I've done risky things safely my entire life - truck driving, the climber in a tree service, rock climber, ice climber, football, hockey, race cars, etc. I've never broken a bone, had a stitch, or had to go to a doctor or hospital for an injury.

I manage risk well for several reasons.

For starters, I simply don't assume things will be okay. I do everything in my power to make sure they will be ok. I double-check and sometimes triple-check things. I know that you're rolling the dice every time you make an assumption, and making assumptions while doing something risky will eventually lead to disaster. When will that point come? God only knows. Why couldn't it be this time? That's what I always ask myself, and then I continue checking everything.

When I'm driving, I know that anything can happen at any time. Almost all the worst accidents I witnessed over the years were in fantastic conditions; a sunny day, light traffic, and clear roads. That's when people let their guard down.

Another key to risk management is controlling your emotions. If you keep yourself calm, you'll think clearly. When you get emotional, you lose that clarity. I rarely get emotional, but if I do, I do not take on risks until I can gather myself. That might mean stopping for lunch or going for a jog. Whatever it takes to get your emotions back in control before doing anything risky.

Patience is also key. Getting in a hurry causes all kinds of mistakes. Patiently do your pre-trip. Patiently make your way down the highway. You're not losing time by being patient; you're saving grief, which saves more than time.

Ask anyone who has had a preventable accident of some sort and they will almost always recall a time before the accident that they made a bad assumption:

"I didn't think anyone was behind me."

"I thought that car was going to wait for me before making the turn in front of me."

"I just checked the locking pin the last time I stopped and it was fine. I didn't think I needed to check it again."

Patience, diligence, and handling your emotions well will go a long way toward keeping you safe.

Davy, I love your attitude and your approach to things. You always make excellent points and raise great questions.