Keith A. Hamblin
February 2, 1996
This past January marked my 19th year of earning my living as a driver. Now I know about all you hands out there who will chuckle at that. I work with a few ole boys who were driving before I was born and they still call me a new kid.
I have seen a lot of things happen over those 19 years. Changes in the industry, changes in the laws, more and more truck school graduates every day and more accidents than I'd care to try to count.
I have been very lucky over those years and believe me, I am knocking on wood even as I write this. I was only involved in one of those accidents. I was broad sided by a speeding motorist. The investigating officer later told me that the kid who hit me had left 190' of locked wheel skids and was still above the speed limit on impact. Luckily he hit my tandems instead of going under me. His little roller skate Firebird knocked my tandems out from under me but he was still able to walk away.
The reason I am bringing this up is because of the wild winter we are having. We have huge amounts of snow and ice to deal with and we have a huge number of new drivers trying to deal with it. Many of these drivers have never even driven a 4 wheeler in the snow and now they're trying to get a big truck through it. The result is a lot of senseless death, injury and damage..
Winter driving can be miserable. Even an experienced hand is in a lot more danger than normal because of the other guy. We can minimize much of this danger just by using our heads and a few simple tools.
Obviously the most important tool is your brain and your eyes. If you're stopping distance is increased by 4 or 5 times, then ofcourse you need to decrease your speed to account for it. There will always be those who try to travel the posted speed limit no matter what the road conditions. Let them go ! You don't need to try to keep up with them and they're surely not going to support your family and pay your bills if you follow them into the ditch.
Another important tool is a 9/16" box end wrench. It is not a good feeling when you try to slow down and your trailer tries to pass you. A lot of stop and go traffic will put your brakes out of adjustment fairly quickly. It is a pain to pull on those cover alls and go crawl under the trailer to adjust brakes but I'm fairly certain that it is less painful than dieing or having to appologize to someone's family for killing them.
In my opinion, one of the very most important things you need to do is use your mirrors frequently. This goes for dry sunny weather as well.. If you don't know what is beside you or behind you at all times, then you are asking for trouble. For one thing, if the car in front of you suddenly spins out on the ice and you need to steer around him, you had better know if your escape route is clear. You do not have time to check when that car is stopped dead in front of you.. Keep your mirrors clean and use them constantly!!!!
A good way that I have found to see if you are in danger is the white knuckle test. Look at the backs of your hands. Are your knuckles white? If they are you are headed for trouble.. You are way too stressed and will probably make quick, jerky steering adjustments.. On the ice this means death. Try slowing down, Yes I know some of the other trucks are flying past you but something is telling you that you are unsafe. Listen to it!!! If a couple miles after slowing down your knuckles are still white, think about who might be raising your kids when you are gone then take the next exit.. There is not a load you can haul that is worth dying for..
If your knuckles are not white then you might be dangerously over confident.. Think about who is going to raise your kids when you are gone then slow down another 5 or 10 miles per hour..
Sorry for the lecture but I have had more close calls in the last two weeks than I have had in the previous five years put together..Most of these were with 4 wheelers. As a matter of fact the worst one was with a highway patrol. He had just passed me on a very bad road and I remember thinking that he should know better. As he got passed me he changed lanes and immediately spun out.. When his car quit turning he was at a dead stop in my lane and facing me head on.. From the look on his face I couldn't tell you who was the most scared, me or him.. He hit the gas to get away from me and he went into the median.. The road was too dangerous for me to pull over but I guess he could tell I was thinking about it because he waved for me to keep on going.. That was only one of many and I hope there are no more for a long time.. Anyway, until next time, keep all the shiny and dirty sides in their respective proper places and remember,,,,