Sketchy info but 710 John Deere behind a dually on a gooseneck. The other car was a fatality. Tractor weighs about 24,000 lbs I think. Code: Incident: 01701 Type: Fatality Location: 20122-20841 Sr49 Loc Desc: 49 X Nishinam Gulch Rd Lat/Lon: 39.279389 -121.098966 Detail Information 8:28 PM 25 [90] 42-1 CPZ AND ENRT TO LN 89 7:16 PM 24 [79] UPDATE SIGALERT - SR 49 AND NISHINAM GULCH RD HAS ALL LANES CLOSED DUE TO A TRAFFIC INCIDENT. THERE IS NO ESTIMATED TIME OF OPENING. A DETOUR IS BEING PROVIDED 6:50 PM 23 [68] 42-6 : 1185 3A FOR TOYT 4RUNNER 6:46 PM 22 [66] ISSUE SIGALERT - SR 49 AND NISHINAM GULCH RD HAS ALL LANES CLOSED DUE TO A TRAFFIC INCIDENT. THERE IS NO ESTIMATED TIME OF OPENING 6:38 PM 21 [63] [Notification] [CHP]-CT INQ IF BOTH DOT ARE BLOCKED [Shared] 6:33 PM 20 [59] 42-S6 : SIG ALERT - LONG TERM CLOSURE - NO ETO 6:32 PM 19 [57] 42-5 BOTH LNS ARE BLK'D 6:25 PM 18 [53] [Rotation Request Comment] 1039 FISHCHERS TOW 530-273-3180 FOR HEAVY DUTY 6:22 PM 17 [24] 42-S2 BOTH LNS ARE BLK'D 6:17 PM 16 [38] [Appended, 18:23:53] [13] UNABLE TO XFER TO FIRE // XFERED CALL TO SAC COMM 6:16 PM 15 [37] [Appended, 18:23:53] [12] TRIED TO XFER TO GV FIRE 6:16 PM 14 [17] [Appended, 18:16:37] [3] SMOKE COMING FROM ONE VEH 6:16 PM 13 [14] SMOKE COMING FROM ONE OF THE VEH 6:16 PM 12 [16] [Appended, 18:16:37] [2] PART 1125 6:15 PM 11 [15] [Appended, 18:16:37] [1] WHI FORD F350 WITH 46' TL VS WHI GMC TK 6:15 PM 10 [12] RDWY 1125 6:15 PM 9 [33] [Appended, 18:23:53] [8] PER RP THERE IS A BACK HOE ON 2ND VEH 6:14 PM 8 [9] FORD F 350 VS BLU SMALL PK TK 6:14 PM 7 [8] 1039 CDF 6:14 PM 6 [4] RP CANNOT PROVIDE VEH DESCRIPTION SW 6:12 PM 5 [31] [Appended, 18:23:53] [6] XFER GV FIRE 6:12 PM 4 [30] [Appended, 18:23:53] [5] 2 VEH 6:12 PM 3 [29] [Appended, 18:23:53] [4] DRVR OO VEH OK 6:11 PM 2 [27] [Appended, 18:23:53] [2] BOTH LNS 1125 6:11 PM 1 [26] [Appended, 18:23:53] [1] TC Unit Information 6:13 PM 8 Unit Assigned 6:20 PM 7 Unit At Scene 6:14 PM 6 Unit Assigned 6:27 PM 5 Unit At Scene 6:14 PM 4 Unit Assigned 6:39 PM 3 Unit At Scene 8:28 PM 2 Unit Assigned 8:28 PM 1 Unit Enroute Click on Details for additional information. Screen will refresh in 60 seconds.
Damb! I know this position starts arguments, but, a 310 behind an F350 is dangerous enough!
Yeah Mitch, we don't know if the load had anything to do with the accident at this point, but I agree with you.
Story this morning: http://www.theunion.com/news/20714933-113/fatal-wreck-closes-highway-49-at-nishinam-gulch
Wow a 710 and 46ft trailer. That's got to be 10k worth of trailer plus the 24k of backhoe.
""""""sHE'S a DIESEL! SHE'LL PULL IT NO PROBLEM""""""
When you lose the trailer brakes, all the horsepower in the world is useless.... I'm guessing that's what happened, as if you lost the brakes on the power unit you should still be able to bring it to a dead stop with the trailer controller. There's a point we all hope we never get to when driving... but when you do, you either freeze up, or look for the place in the weeds to put the juggernaut so you're the only victim of whatever or whoever failed. Sometimes there isn't any, but usually if you're able to think, you can find one. Sad all around though, one man is dead and the other has to live with that.
By: Greg Tassone, Public Information Officer, CHP-Grass Valley Area February 19, 2016 - At approximately 6:10 PM yesterday evening, Newcastle resident Terry Cordell was driving a Ford F-350 pickup truck northbound on SR-49 just north of Nishinam Gulch Rd (north of Nevada City), driving downhill toward the crossing of the South Yuba River. He was hauling a large, double-axle gooseneck trailer carrying a large construction tractor/backhoe. He was not licensed to drive a combination of vehicles of this weight and size. He had one passenger with him. Nevada City resident Andrew Zwolinski was driving the opposite direction (southbound) in a Toyota 4Runner. Auburn resident Wesley Guthrie was also driving southbound in a GMC pickup, directly behind Zwolinski. Cordell was driving at an unsafe speed for the load he was hauling and the downward grade of the roadway. Due to the large size of his vehicles and their load, combined with the excessive speed, Cordell lost control. His trailer went into the oncoming lane and began overturning directly into the path of the oncoming vehicles. Zwolinski saw the trailer overturning into his lane and accelerated in attempt to avoid the collision; his vehicle was hit in the rear but he otherwise made it past the trailer. The trailer and backhoe then overturned fully onto the GMC pickup driving behind Zwolinski. Guthrie sustained fatal injuries. Fire department and emergency medical personnel responded to the incident with CHP officers. Guthrie was pronounced deceased at the scene. Cordell’s pickup truck remained largely upright; he and his passenger were not injured. Zwolinski was not injured. CHP is handling the ongoing investigation. Cordell was released from the scene but his vehicles and equipment were impounded for evidence and further examination. More information on possible charges in this case will be released as they become available. SR-49 was closed in both directions for approximately 5 hours during the investigation at the scene and the extensive operation to clear the roadway. Other agencies responding to this incident were the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department and Caltrans.
Yep, said this over and over to folks preaching the 'my diesel pickup can tow it just fine" line. The thing people don't seem to ever thing about is that electric brakes aren't fail safe - there's any number of problems that could cause them to suddenly not work and once that happens you have 0 trailer brakes. Worse, the driver may or may not even know there's a problem until they need them - the newer controllers will display if they are not connected but that only helps if the driver happens to look at the controller and catch it. Totally unnecessary wreck caused by simple stupidity. RIP
As they say, it's not the go, it's the woh! That gooseneck probably had 10,000 lb axles. Not nearly enough brakes to stop a 30-35,000 lb combination plus whatever the pickup weighs.
And he was probably as the article says, going too fast for the load and conditions.... No way to know of course, but if he was braking the truck hard in the corner that would have made the trailer want to turn over... might have made it around if he turned in hard and gave it the boot. Or not. Sometimes even legal and experienced you can get into trouble... been there, thank the good Lord traffic was clear ahead of me. Burned out the trailer brakes and the brakes on the drive axle of a Kenworth cabover, no harm done except to my pride and my pocketbook.
Been on Hiway 49 many times in that area. It is not a friendly road by any stretch of the imagination for a truck and trailer even when all is working good.
This happened in my "back yard". I run this road every now & then to pick up rock. Dangerous road for a fool or inexperienced driver. Steep hill both ways headin down to the bridge over the Yuba River. Sad.
No doubt Mitch, only fools load a backhoe on a trailer behind a 350 and hit the road - I can't imagine a 710. Just damn. An innocent man lost his life over this careless, stupid incident that should've never happened. The driver should be brought up on manslaughter charges.
File that one under "Famous Last Words".
Fools like this are what cause the DOT to make everybody suffer the consequences. I don't know the road at all, but according to some comments it sounds like a pretty good hill. 40,000 plus would be crazy hard to stop on flat ground with a pickup and gooseneck. I'm not going to be the guy that says "I hope they lock him up and throw away the key" because we ALL have done things that could have went south real quick. Terrible deal for the family of the poor guy that was in the wrong place at wrong time, and hopefully this story makes somebody somewhere think twice about taking such a risk.
Well said Shimmy.
It is almost literally in my back yard, I bet if I had the window open I could have heard the crash. I drive this about 3 times a week, the canyon is like a cliff on the left side and a wall of rock on the right with barely a fog line and a metal guard rail. I'd say it is about a 5% grade and if I am loaded with something heavy I go 20-25 mph, light I go maybe 35, lots and lots of corners, very little wiggle room and it is downhill all the way, no field to run off into if brakes fail or anything to slow your descent other than much rock.
I believe this tells the story, damn shame someone had to pay the ultimate price. One thing I've noticed over the years is how fast some folks do take hills especially while pulling, WHY?
Either inexperienced or a false sense of security brought on by good brakes... but good brakes for a stop or two are not good brakes at the bottom of a long grade, nor perhaps in an emergency going downhill into a corner. I've been there in my younger days, not fun.
I think part of it also is the very high power of modern pickup diesels, especially when tuned up. My feeling is that in some cases this makes it far too easy to pull a hill at speed, maybe even with cruise control and then come over the top going too fast or simply not realize how steep the hill is when going back down it.
In the big truck world this is certainly true, the old rule was you came down the hill at the same speed and in the same gear you went up it in. With the advent of bigger horsepower and more aerodynamic tractors and trailers you gotta throw that out and slow down. Brakes are a lot better than they were when I started out, but they're not foolproof.
Y'all can blame whatever you want. The fact is the driver of this truck made a lot of very bad decisions. Now he will live with them. Drivers of class 8 trucks have made fewer bad decisions and cause more fatalities in the past.
did we ever find out what happened? I have been arguing with some guys on the tractor forum about the difference between an airbrake truck and trailer combo with redundant systems vs a LD combo and relying on one wire for your brakes.
It's not so much the electrics fault, it's more so the fact that there is probably more brake surface area on one wheel with air brakes than the whole axle with electric.
I doubt we will ever find out what really happened. I am pretty certain it was a 710 which is way, way heavy. 24,000 lbs roughly. This is your typical canyon road. It goes down winding along a somewhat gentle ravine grade (Rush Creek) and then the creek suddenly drops steeply when it opens up into the main Yuba River canyon. When that happens the road makes a pretty hard right turn to follow the canyon wall. That is exactly where the accident took place. Rock wall on the right and cliff on the left. There wasn't even enough dirt on the shoulder to replace the guard rail posts that got knocked out.
Another difference most people don't consider: The rig in question is an 8-10,000 trailer, 24,000 load, and a 6-8,000 p'up, so, 38-42,000 lbs gross. Hooked up and loaded, the four wheels, (not tires) of the p'up might be carrying 12,000 lbs, and the trailer is carrying 26-30,000. A tractor-trailer loaded to the fed formula weighs 80,000 lbs. 46,000 on the six wheels of the tractor, and 34,000 on the trailer. Ok, a couple of scenarios: Break one wire and lose trailer brakes, 42,000 lbs being stopped by 4 brakes designed for 12,000 lbs, over 300% overload. or Two or more things go wrong, and you lose trailer brakes, 80,000 being stopped by 6 brakes designed for 50,000 lbs, 60% overload A sudden change of direction is needed, 12,000 lbs trying to control 30,000 lbs or 46,000 trying to control 34,000
BTW, I lost these nicest tractor I ever owned to this weight distribution issue. 1995 Mack CH613 pulling a 30' ultra-light aluminum dump trailer, going about 60 mph on flat level four lane road, no traffic, just before daylight in a light rain. A guy in another semi pulling a long flatbed pulled out in front of him, the tractor had ABS, the trailer didn't. The tractor STOPPED, the trailer didn't. The driver said he just had time to start thinking, "Wow!, I didn't think I could miss him!" before WHAM! the rear end of the trailer came around and took the cab off the frame. The driver wasn't hurt though, so it was better than T-boning the other trailer.
The weight distribution is a good point, hadn't really thought of it in those terms. My concern with electrics has always been that it's not fail safe - break/disconnect that one wire (or ground side) anywhere for any reason and you have no brakes instantly and may or may not know when it happens - very easy to plan on having that braking ability and then suddenly find out you don't and are trying to stop with only the pickup brakes.
The towing capability of a new GMC duallie crew cab diesel is 23,200: pretty soon, given the trend .... * Quite a few folks have gone to these newer pickups (in lieu of say a vintage air brake tractor and a work truck) due to: 1) vintage diesel in a "good ole tractor" not allowed to operate due to pollution (Cali thing) 2) insurance company's rate structure or exclusions for pickups hasn't reacted to the consequences and probably wont due to the large numbers (big pool) being operated 3) registration and license fees are less for the pickup 4) pickup is more versatile: has the "one vehicle idea" in it's favor **** notice how all the above aim at lower cost * With the increased performance of the mini equipment (ASV/skid steer and mini ex) and the types of jobs in the economy in general, this is a fairly notable shift from the jobs previously assigned to smaller dozers / traditional TLBs n skipdrags .... My point is: the use of these pickups (while not at the extreme in the condition described in this post) is on the increase not just in construction but in hot shot deliveries and other trucking. The braking by electric is the only choice for these businesses: I have read about electric over hydraulic but that is a special order for the trailer....most of these folks are going to own & operate a sophisticated truck with a technically old concept via the electric brake....
I've not seen a gooseneck or any electric brake trailer with more than 12,000 lb axles. If it has 12,000 lb axles, the brakes should be adequate for 12,000 lbs. So, assuming this was a dual tandem, the trailer was rated for 24,000 gross. The towing capacity of the pickup is less a concern IMO. The trailer and trailer brakes should be able to handle the load on the trailer. The truck is there to keep it pointed the right way. Now, if a guy takes a 24,000 lb gross trailer and puts a 24,000 lb machine on it and overloads the rig by 30% (assume an 8,000 lb trailer), that's 100% the fault of the guy who loaded it. Add to that the fact that he had no CDL and probably no formal training. I will go ahead and bet my pay check (pretty meager ) that the truck and trailer had not been inspected per DOT regulations. Finally, after all that, even if the rig was not overloaded and was in tip top condition, accidents happen. It's very unfortunate and hopefully it's a warning to other.
I agree with all you said, but don't forget the gross weight rating of the trailer is usually the axle weight rating, plus the tongue weight. It's usually 3-4000 lbs, but it could be 8-10,000 if it's designed to be pulled by a medium duty truck. I have a tag trailer with 2 12K axles, 34,000 GVWR, 24,000 lb load capacity, with electric brakes, but you couldn't do that with a pickup.
A 710 Deere backhoe behind an F350 is a receipe for a disaster- any way you stack it.
Sad to hear of this. In my younger days I have hauled some questionable loads behind a pick up, but with age and the experience gained by some close calls, I have learned better. My hope is that threads like this will serve to let many people learn from the mistakes of a few others, so that we have less people inclined to do such things. Many people have posted my thoughts already, such as weight distribution, brake surface area, back up braking afforded on larger trucks with air brakes, and the overall gross negligence/stupidity of that load behind a pick up, as well as the appropriate speed down a hill. One thing the big rigs add is Jake brakes or retarders, or better yet, both. Though some pickups have SOME engine braking ability, it is nothing like the real deal in a real class 8 truck. This allows the brakes to be saved for when they are really needed, instead of heated to the point of barely working getting down the hill so that when an emergency happens, there is not enough left to stop in any reasonable distance, if at all. The few hundred dollars saved by not hiring the right rig for the job sure looks bad once something like this happens. Now two families are likely ruined, one dead, and one likely headed to jail for a long time to think about the poor decisions he made.
Well said! The only thing I will add to this thread is the marketing of the BIG three pickup manufactures. Dodge 3500 diesel is advertised at 31,200 towing capacity. The fact is the public see's that and thinks the truck will tow 32,000 and maybe a little more. Never adding in the weight of there truck. The ads are in some ways misleading, And I'm not defending the guy who caused this wreck- he was old enough to know better Truck Shop
This. These towing capacities boggle my mind. Rated total GCWR for an 85 F350 is 18,500 max - ie ~10k towing capacity. Now that's somewhat underrated I think, but still - what really changed that more than doubles the towing capacity? Way more power these days, and larger disc brakes with ABS are somewhat better, but the physics is still the same, and weight distribution mentioned above applies as well. How do they get away with this? Crazy to me. Add in too that speeds are increasing as well - pretty common to see folks with trailers doing 65+, and just going from 55 to 65 is nearly 40% more kinetic energy, not to mention more stress on tires and such and a greater reaction distance. Lack of engine braking too, and I'd bet many folks towing these loads don't have any real training or knowledge how to drive properly even though a cdl is technically required.
I think that 31,000 number is actual trailer weight, the GCWR is almost 40k on those LD trucks. I have a hard time understanding how a smaller truck (3500 in ram's case) can tow more than their 5500 model!?!?
http://www.ramtrucks.com/assets/towing_guide/pdf/2016_ram_chassis_cab_3500_10k_towing_specs.pdf truck shop
On the 27th I about the GMC and 23k....I found the page where I obtained this and after reading further it appears that may very well be the CGVW ....nevertheless the trailer allowed total weight has increased markedly with these newer diesel rigs. http://www.gmc.com/trailering-towing/towing-charts.html
I believe the new F-450 is also rated to pull 31,200 lbs (40,400 lb GCWR) with the lowest gear ratio. That's crazy.
They can all spec or say or show what they want on or in an add for these trucks, someone sees it and says "I have a truck like that, so I can tow a fullsize backhoe like it does in the commercial I saw on the TV!" All of those commercials have the tiny, tiniest writing at the bottom for about a half a second "when properly equipped". Most of the adds show a gooseneck instead of a pintle hitch, I'm not sure most guys even know the difference. The bottom line is this guy was negligent and made a horrible choice, what the truck can or can not do doesn't matter at this point, he has to live with what he did for the rest of his days.....
I believe that is for single rear wheel and not duel rear wheels
Also interesting that the gas engines are rated for more than the diesel - weight of the engine being the difference I assume.
Your right, this chart is for duel's http://www.ramtrucks.com/assets/towing_guide/pdf/2016_ram_3500_towing_charts.pdf Truck Shop
Any chance the F350 driver was "running the hill"? Was he coming down one hill, trying to carry as much speed as possible through the bottom to help get up the other side? I have owned two JD 310's, tried towing the first one on a 10 ton tag with electric brakes behind my 3/4 ton truck on a rainy day, had to put it in 4wd to steer around the corners. Did this for a couple miles on a private road, gave up and roaded the backhoe the rest of the way. I've never tried this again, I'll pull the tag empty with the p/u but a p/u truck is just too light to pull the tag fully loaded. If you have never seen a JD710 it is one giant backhoe. I could never figure out why anyone needing a hoe that big wouldn't get an excavator.
My dad and I ran a 780C Case for 15 yrs, after that we got a 446B Cat. For what we were doing at the time, they were perfect. Agree that an excavator is definitely the way to go, but there are places and businesses where the backhoe is much more versatile.
No way to run this hill. The bridge at the bottom makes a complete U-turn but the road is solid curves all the way down and up. http://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=39.28858,-121.10086&z=15&b=ter Accident site just north of the 49 in the lower center of the picture, northbound, downhill, before the sharp curve to the right and then left.
Well that's a true fact! also when electrics heat up it seems the magnets heat up and loose some grip as well sort of a false brake fade. Indeed I'd bet we've all done stuff without having a problem. Used to drag triple hay wagons behind a JD 6300 and its only got single axle brakes! Couple years back I had my trailer brakes get hot when a bit of a detour aimed me down another road I wasn't familiar with. That road had a 1.5 mile 15-20% grade. It was at this time I learned a couple things, electric brakes suck when hot and that ceramic pads when overheated pretty much go away as to relative braking force. I've had semi-metallic pads gripping a red hot rotor with plenty of grip still but it seems the ceramics just give up, I could only slow down to about 30mph on this grade. My backhoe and trailer only weigh about 16000 total. Thankfully there was a 2 mile flat at the bottom I drove at 25mph to cool everything off but yes, that sucked. I changed rotors and pads after that trip. In europe, it seems any trailer over 10k needs air brakes so they have all the doodads to let the hydraulic brakes drive a trailer air system.
Electric brakes do really suck for all the reasons previously mentioned plus this one---almost impossible to find replacement assemblies/parts not ''HECHO IN CHINA''. That right there alone is scary. In my old age [62], seems I drive my 10 ton electric braked trailer behind my 7500 Chevy slower every year---and for damn good reason. Gonna replace ASAP with air.
I'm sure you folks knew it wouldn't take long for some outfit to market bigger brakes for diesel pickups. The real problem is people trying to skirt the permits, cdl's, pee tests and state and federal requirements using a diesel pickup to get around it. Sorry but that is the truth, I've had people tell me that is the reason they do it. Plus they don't want the expense of owning a class 8 truck. I wonder how long the wheel bearings will last with this conversion and 22.5 wheels and tires. http://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/dually-big-bite-brakes/ Truck Shop
Couldn't access the link, but I had a conversion on my '97 dually 4X4 can't remember the size exactly but they were big RV tires, had steel adapter plates and Budd lugs. Never had the slightest issue on the rear but the front cartridges let go at around 200K. Really didn't feel too bad about that. I had the Michelins bandag retreaded for the rear, they wore like iron, fronts were good for 70-80K as long as you kept it more or less aligned when you put new ones on. The gear sets had been swapped to 4.10's.
I've got a local concrete contractor who is a customer of mine. He uses his (plastic chromed-out) 2006 F-350 crew cab, 4x4 dually to haul a FORD 555D backhoe with a 10-ton trailer. He does all of that with a production OEM receiver hitch. He is honestly a ***** stupid drunk. I told him to at least upgrade to a (somewhat) massive class # 5 receiver hitch, but he has YET to listen to anything I have ever said to him. He's the kind of guy who got hurt while he was self-employed, then sued himself (by suiting his own workman's compensation policy) to the tune of $80,000. Then, he went out & bought this bull-**** 6.0L power-stroke f-350. He has yet to do much of anything right. He can tear it (concrete) out & put it back, but I have no faith in him for **** else. Now, I told all of you guys that because this is the very sort of guy who would be most likely to accidentally kill someone based on vanity-based decisions. I wish a DOT officer would pull his ass over & conduct a proper DOT inspection. He would most likely have a huge fine to pay that I feel certain he can not afford to pay. How do guts get away with this day after day?? Why are they not held responsible?? Because they say that they did not know any better?? In my world that is considered negligence, at the very least.
Yes there is some intentional and unintentional skirtage going on that's for sure. Those 'big brakes' what a marketing scam! Stainless rotors don't grip worth a damn and you can't just whip a 3 piston caliper onto a balanced system unless it has the same area as the oem one. The major difference there, the Hawk pads have an incredible bite. As to bigger brakes, comparing rotors between my 350 and 550, the 550 rotors are more than 1 inch bigger and half again thicker and they'll drop right on. In cab chassis config the max gvw is just under 18,000 and in motorhome config its 22,000 with front brakes going from 14.5 to 15.5. So yes, more stoppage in motor home brakes, at least on the pointy end. I would actually like to take my truck trailer down to the RMV and get a class A combination license, but I'd rather get the full air brake ticket but don't want to spend 5k on a school for doing what I already do. Just to drive the F550 I need a medical card, same for the F350 as its over 10k hell I think the F250 now takes you into the 10,000 pound class. A 5 ton tagalong trailer on the 550 puts it into the class A category if it breaks the 10,000 pound category, same as a 9ton or any decent gooseneck trailer towed by the F350 as most are 10 ton ish. I've overloaded the 550 with firewood unintentionally a few times and the brakes are wonderful even with 7.5 ton on the bed. The mention of a class V towing hitch, there's one mfg of towing accessories out there that took a full size pickup lashed between a huge Ag tractor and a dozer and they pulled! The class 3 hitch failed at the cross tube to side plate welds at around 20,000 pounds, I was a little surprised at the low number, 2:1 safety factor seems small once you add in rust and such over time.
This is why I always take it slow, use the jake, ration my brake power, and make sure my ******* brakes are ALWAYS checked, and triple checked before I pull out.
I guess this about wraps up this case: https://www.theunion.com/news/nevada-county-manslaughter-case-ends-with-sentencings/
Not much for another mans life.
Nope, sure not, not for being that negligent. They ought to at least have to support his wife and child.
I have read over this thread and I am sorry for the man and family that has the loss of life. I also feel sorrow for the guys that were sentenced in the accident. The driver was unexperienced in problems with hauling and he is one that got taught the hard way. Pulling weight and driving around heavy equipment is a dangerous business. Drivers that do not do it, don't realize how much so. They tend to ride to close, cut off my safe stopping distance space, and pull out in front of me. The dot should make every driver sit in a dump truck simulator that moves and can show what it is like to loose your brakes. fiIt is a nerve racking experience pulling in Atlanta traffic. I have almost "wrecked" several times. We also move wide loads typically up to 12' wide around the city. Many people don't yield or help. We adjust our schedule to go a the lightest traffic time of the day in order to have an easier pull. A few things I have learnt the hard way. * Use the lowest deck trailer you can to keep the load low. * Hit your trailer brake controller to test your brakes while moving each time you jump on the road. Even if they work, a lot of them do not self tighten and you must adjust the brakes to make sure they keep grabbing as time goes on. Over time they just work less and less and then you have no trailer brakes at all. * Buy the best tires you can afford, that have the highest load capacity for your wheel size. * Take a breath, carry a one gallon jug of water for drinking. SLOW down. Yes you just got cut off but once you get used to allowing it to happen it wont bother you as much. Which leads me to the next one. * Try to maintain safe stopping distance even if cut off.. *If the load is heavy in the rear, stop and move it forward if possible. I use 5 different deck over the wheels trailers. They are more dangerous to pull and easier to roll than any low deck equipment trailer. I was just thinking the other day I would like to upgrade my two axle bobcat trailer to a low pro 3 axle trailer. I managed to wreck myself even with years of pulling experience. Improper tongue weight got me. Once you experience that you will not want to try it a second time... Lucky for me I was using a low pro trailer and the load stayed on and the truck and trailer did not leave the roadway in a bad area and no one was around me. A lot of guys haul just the same way these guys did. I see it almost every time I get on the interstate and think to my self let me stay the heck away from that guy with too much weight, which is too high up, with too small a tow truck or even those with the camper that is three times bigger than the towing vehicle. Hell just watch a tire blow out on a semi and you will learn to stay away from the sides of a big truck while in motion... Throw in a little bad luck (**** poor planning) and one little problem (in there case it seems it was the profile and grade of the roadway, but there are so many others that can happen. Wet roads, ice, blown tires, vehicle failure ) and another unlucky driver and there you go - another bad news story.
That seems like a slap on the wrist for a man's life and how many laws were broke to be in that situation Seems to me a driver in a real truck with cdls trying to be legal would get in more trouble for less negligence