Black Ice

I was lucky. I gained valuable experience and learned a lesson I will never forget

I can say the same thing many times over in my 15-year career. I've found myself doing 50+ mph and suddenly realized it had turned into a sheet of ice. Fortunately, I was able to get it slowed down safely and get off the road.

Truckers take risks all the time. It's unavoidable. We have to take risks. Our job is to manage that risk and know where to draw the line. Most of the time, we do a great job. Sometimes, we misjudge.

I'm sorry this happened to your husband, Sharon. I'm sure glad he's ok!

Sharon, I will throw this out there for you to ponder. Whenever someone gets into an accident and has to talk with safety, we emphasize taking complete responsibility for everything that happens out there. Sometimes, a freakish event happens, and you could do nothing about it. But that's pretty rare. Most of the time there was something you could have done, and there's always something to learn from any significant event.

Let me explain the reason we emphasize taking responsibility.

Put yourself in the safety manager's place. He's interviewing a driver who just had an accident, and it's his job to determine if this driver is safe enough to keep around.

The driver says, "Hey, it wasn't my fault. The weather contributed, the traffic contributed, I had a stomach ache, and dispatch was giving me a hard time. With all that happening, I didn't see the car coming and I pulled out in front of him."

The safety manager is thinking, "If I decide to keep this guy, how will I justify it? How can I assure my boss that we can trust this guy to do better from now on?"

Drivers are paid to get loads safely from A to B in spite of the countless variables along the way. If the driver blames those variables for his accidents, how could you have confidence that it won't keep happening? Those same variables will be there again tomorrow. Will he screw up again and blame the same variables? If the safety manager decides to keep this guy and he screws up again, now the safety manager's ass is on the line.

But if the driver walks in with a well-prepared, written statement that explains exactly what conditions he faced, what decisions he made and why, and how he would do it differently the next time, now you have reason to believe that maybe he's learned from it. If the driver is obviously distraught about what happened, seems fiercely determined to learn from it, and can give a list of reasons why he'll be a safer, more productive driver because of this lesson, the safety manager has something to hang his hat on. If he decides to keep the driver, he can explain to his boss that he has every reason to believe this driver will be safer in the future than ever before.

I'm the type that takes complete ownership of my life. Almost all successful people do. So when we see someone who points fingers when they fail to meet their goals, it makes you think this person probably won't do what it takes to be successful in the future.

What is there to learn if you've done nothing wrong? If you come up short of your goals but claim you did everything right and believe the result wasn't your fault, it leaves the impression you've learned nothing from the event.

I'm not going to advise you about what position to take in the review. You must decide that for yourself. Your husband has been at this for a long time. If he was a rookie, I would insist he takes full responsibility. In this case, with the experience he has in the industry, I just wanted to present my perspective for your review. You may find that this approach gives you a solid reason why he should keep his job - because he'll be safer than ever before after the harsh lesson he learned. To me, that inspires more confidence than saying, "Keep me around, and let's hope I get luckier in the future."

I certainly wish you guys the best and I hope he gets to keep his job!

Hey Sharon, we are all glad your husband isn't hurt. We understand your financial concerns and how strongly you feel the need to defend yourselves in this situation.

Please realize each of us have been struck with terror at some point while driving a big rig. It comes with the territory. So much of the information you want to use in your defense is information that shows how liable you are. I would take all the advice here and ditch your plans of showing all this information during a review.

It is very obvious you both knew how potentially dangerous it was to move from Lincoln to York just because he wanted a "hot meal." Why else would you both be so obsessed with checking and double checking the weather? I honestly don't get the decision making process you guys went through. I've had "hot meals" in Lincoln before. I didn't need to drive another fifty plus miles.

I've yet to hear of a rollover that wasn't considered a preventable accident. This was completely preventable. Just stay where you are. Settle for a Subway sandwich if you have to. That's far better than losing your house, and facing the anxiety you are now.

Both of you have to realize you made a mistake. Own it. Embrace it. That's the only way you'll salvage this job. Don't bring up a shred of the evidence you're building for your case. It all points to the fact you knew how treacherous this section of roadway is. That stretch of I-80 is notorious for unpredictable and crazy weather events. Every experienced trucker and every safety manager knows that well.

I wish you guys the best. I honestly want to see you salvage this situation. I just don't see it happening with your current approach. The best thing to do is tell them you realize you made a poor choice when you decided to move further that day. Then assure them you've learned your lesson, and explain to them what you'll do to keep it from happening again.

Please keep us posted.

No Sir... We live in SW Florida , but he was rolling West at the time of the accident. He started slowing down, as prior to this the roads were good, and normal travel speed. Matter of fact the wind was tossing him around before the wreck and if he was on ice then the wreck would have happened much sooner. After going under the underpass and clear of the get on ramp on I80 the gust of wind hit him broad sided and thats when he knew he was on ice, slid him over far left and when the left front steer tire him the soft shoulder it layed him over. We have letters and messages, and radars from 7-8-9 pm that show nothing on radar. He had 35-38K of meat in the box... We are now waiting on Pictures (5) from the Officer on scene that got him out of the truck.

Oh I see what you’re saying now.

I definitely sympathize with your husband in that scenario. I used to push the limits in adverse weather and road conditions frequently and I’ve had more knuckle-whitening experiences than I’d like to admit. But, if we’re being honest, that’s exactly what he was doing—pushing the limits. Going full speed with all the warnings Kearsey and you described that day was risky. If he had been going slower he would have been able to slow down more quickly before reaching the ice and choose a course of action that wouldn’t have resulted in him rolling his truck. Or maybe he would have chosen not to get on the road at that time for just a hot meal. I love a hot meal as much as the next guy but now that I have a little more information, it just doesn’t seem that the risk vs reward added up in your husband’s favor on this one.

All of us have made poor choices and taken unnecessary risks at some point in our careers, but like every driver on this thread has said, his best defense will be just taking responsibility for the poor choices he made that day and explaining what he would do differently if he found himself in that situation again.

I apologize for the redundancy. I know I’m more or less summarizing what has already been said on this thread but I didn’t want to ignore your reply. Best of luck to you both. We’d love to know how the review goes in a couple weeks if you wouldn’t mind popping back in and letting us know. Hopefully it goes well and he can keep his job.

I'm glad he wasn't injured. In a way though, he handed the company the gun, ammo, cleaned it for them and shot himself in the foot with it.

From a financial standpoint, the company is paying him yearly cost increases, bonuses and a ton of other perks, equivocally paying a lot more per mile than a driver in the 3 to 5 year experience bracket. Drivers reach peak efficiency after a few years, we're limited by our hos as to how many miles we can run, after a certain point, the company is just paying more without getting any more benefit. It's good image and marking to new drivers to have long term drivers, but year after year of cost increases, plus impending retirement, the company got away lucky. They have insurance, which will minimize their exposure. I don't forsee them hiring him back.

I'm not saying they're a bad company, it's just business, and if it's a sizable corporation, the profit margin outweighs the compassion. If there is a person he can get through to, perhaps.

That being said, We tend to focus on the mechanics of driving in a situation as drivers, but the problem is the decision to be on the road in the first place.

After 35 years in the industry, it's expected that he should be able to recognize weather patterns and not be on road at all. I have a hunch that the companies decision to let him go is rooted in the decision making process that he not only chose to drive, knowing there was hazardous weather, but chose to drive at the speed limit, assuming he's not governed, being 75 mph there.

The lines get blurred when you're out on the road, dispatch wants you to perform and there's always a subtle dance of manipulation as to weather or not you really need to shut down, as well as we get complacent after enough times of defying the laws of winter and physics, but in the end, it's the drivers life and career on the line.

It serves as a powerful reminder to us to slow down and to shut down, not push that limit. I'm guilty of it too.

My heart goes out to the OP and her hubby!

For the purposes of continuing the educational component of the thread for new drivers, I'd like to add to Kearsey's comments a little...

It sucks to hear stories like this and good people facing rough circumstances. With that said each driver assumes the risk when we challenge mother nature. Unless another motorist does something to instigate a crash in winter time, the accident will be up being preventable and fall at the driver's feet 95% of the time as we have all these apps on our phones, weather radio built into the truck stereo, CB's with weather band etc.

Besides tell tale signs of ice on the mirrors and windshield, another way is to evaluate the tire spray from other vehicles ahead of you and or your trailer tandems in your mirrors. If the spraying stops that likely means it's now frozen to the road and you need to safely park.

As I write this I am sitting at the TA in Southington, CT pushing my delivery to Friday which results in about a $400 haircut to my next week's earnings for my family. Previously I've driven through blizzards, an ice storm (empty on my way home), tornado warnings, high winds, but blowing snow in Hew Hampshire on 6-9% mountain grades? Nope, time to eat some Oreo Pudding and put the brass ones on the shelf for 36 hours. Not worth the risk. Like Capt. Briggs said in Magnum Force (Dirty Harry), "A man (or woman),needs to know his(her) limitations". Drivers ultimately need to know theirs AND the limitations of an 80,000 lb. vehicle and when to call it off when flirting with either one.

Most of my comments are to help newer drivers make good decisions, again my heart goes out to the OP's family, I will pray that you guys land on your feet!!

Hello, We both looked at NWS , NE 511 and I have letters from a DOT plow driver and the Fire Dept. First call to service was at 732pm, his accident was 745pm. He moved over a lane going left due to a big truck on the shoulder, he didn't move all the way over he just gave the driver of the other truck room. As soon as he cleared the Embankment and the truck the wind gust smacked him sideways and the first and only time he knew there was ice on the road. He stopped in Lincoln for fuel, he called we both looked up weather and at the time it was clear to Grand Island. His wreck was at the 359 Waco Nebraska exit. The roads were dry and clear. UNTIL ,they were not. No ice build up on back of mirrors, no ice on the windshield and he didn't have defrost on. Trust me... The WHAT IFS OR SHOULDA COULDA is tearing us apart. He has 25 days of Vacation left so that will catch up some bills, after that it's all fair game.

He was at full speed until the exit, when he saw others in the ditch and sideways and slowed up fast.

The wrecks were an indication of trouble.

He was approx 35 yards West of the underpass when he was hit with a 44mph wind gust, all of a sudden black Ice and it pushed him to the median, and once the steer tire hit mud it laid him over."

This was interesting... so how fast was he going? He should have been in the right lane. So he jeopardized the safety of other people when he was literally pushed across two lanes.

He may have issues getting hired in this economy. Ask your car finance company and your mortgage company for deferments. Some may do it, some won't. There used to be a way to reduce your mortgage interest rate for up to 5 years, but you would still owe that money on the back end. It is to be used only for cataclismic events. Ask your congressman if this is still available. It was enacted during Obama so I dont know if still available or even if u would qualify. Doesnt hurt to ask.

Apply everywhere. Take any job.

We both looked at NWS , NE 511 and I have letters from a DOT plow driver and the Fire Dept. First call to service was at 732pm, his accident was 745pm.

Yes, i read that the first time you wrote it. And as I posted, the entire region was experiencing high wind. By 7:32pm, reports had been on for high wind for over 3 hours that i can prove. I know they were on for hours earlier. Any company will be able to prove it. Ice or no ice, he was already in a dangerous position. When they lost towns and mile markers.. they are estimates.

You will come across as pushy, demanding and desperate if you keep pushing the "it wasnt his fault, he didnt know" angle. Why? Cause its his job to know.

We all get over confident. We all get complacent and push through some bad situations. If i was a safety dept rep, and you gave me a plow driver's letter... i would laugh and ask what he knows about combination vehicles and wind resistance. The fore dept in that town may not have been called... but many fire departments in other towns were so active they shut down the roads in and around the state.

What is it that you want from us? Just to vent? You already decided it was a non preventable, despite his company and a few of us agreeing it was totally a preventable. The fact that you just said shoulda woulda coulda... you realize he could have done something to prevent it. If he was parked, it wouldnt have happened. That is what they will argue to label it a preventable.

Apply everywhere and contact your creditors to male payment arrangements. Perhaps he can get unemployment, but that will differ from state to state.

Good luck

Something else to remember.... this major accident is goijg to affect the company's CSA score and insurance for 3 years. They dont catch a break for firing the driver. Sometimes insurance companies may demand the driver be fired so it is out of their hands.

First off, I want to Thank you all for your inputs. I know i can talk until I'm blue in the face, but the roads were dry, no spray from either his truck or others. We are governed at 68 with cruise, 65 foot. He NEVER used cruise the whole way, due to winds. But when roads are dry, temps were mid 40's in Lincoln, I think we all can say, that we drive as far as we can when the roads are good, until weather dictates otherwise. Yes, winds are always a issue. He had 30-35k in the box, I don't consider that light. Gross was at 76k per Cat Scale. Yes, yes, yes, we all knew that there was a Storm coming in from the East, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm radars, showed absolutely nothing in the area at the time, not even ice. Nebraska 511 showed green travel lanes to Grand Island. He wasn't pushed but wanted to get what miles he could before the storm hit. If Radars wasn't picking up anything then how were we supposed to know what lay ahead. I was NOT on the phone with him when he left Lincoln. For those of you that said the wind warnings were up, no, not for the area. Of course there is wind, we drive in wind daily, was it a little more than normal, yes ... I'm not sure what is gonna happen next. Not sure what they are gonna do to his DAC report. His backing incidents are just that, he has been driving so long that his ego got in the way.. I'm a truck driver for years I don't gotta get out and look. All truck drivers get complacent. ITS A BAD THING... I'm not sure where we will end up, statements on letterhead from the Fire Dept and from a DOT plow driver/ Supervisor hopefully help the decision making. As far as Insurance goes, they are self insured. I can say that their CEO's don't return phone calls, period. While we wait for his Asst Fleet Manager to call us all we can do is pray. I've reached out to a Realtor to either sell or rent out the house. We have a 41 ft 5th wheel that we can live in if need be. He does have some profit sharing monies that are due to him, albeit not much, and we have confirmed that he will keep all of it if fired. Prior somebody said they can take it all back. We called the bank directly. I have my Parents Estate belongings that I will sell for for pennies on the dollar if I have to.. Let's hope and pray for him. He has said that he will take a drive cam permanently as well. And or probation..