I was told a similar thing by my trucking instructor on the first day behind the wheel. He said "If ever you lose the respect and fear for what this truck is capable of doing in an accident, you will become the most dangerous driver on the road. Keep the caution inside and you will do fine!"

 

The D.O.T. in recent years, change the term from accident to Crash! An accident isn't always an accident!

With the recent ice storms in Kansas, my friend was driving at 35 mph. He looks in his left mirror, and sees a driver coming up on him at around 50 mph. The other driver makes it down the road another 1/4 mile, and finds him with his rig, tipped on his side, with his drive wheels still spinning.......

Was this an accident?? Drivers need to use more common sense!

 

I think Windwalker made some VERY good points, as did a few others. I've ONLY been out there for two winters now, but here's my take.

O/O's seem to end up in the ditch more often than company drivers. Maybe because they often have ungoverned trucks and think they can drive faster than the rest of us, or just think they know more.

Doubles end up on their side more often, because they don't have double drives and therefore no "interlock" to give them more traction. Or because the "whip" action on the back trailer makes them less stable. I've seen MANY Yellow trucks on their side... and I consider their drivers to be more experienced than I am!

It is not unusual to see a truck in the ditch from a company that USUALLY doesn't drive in icy conditions. What can you expect? They just don't get the experience at it.

I've seen maybe 50 trucks wrecked in icy conditions (as I passed by.) For the MOST part.... I've never heard of the company I saw listed on their cab.

I'm SURE you could assume that many of those drivers were newbies, but I'm not so sure! Newbies are more likely to take it slow!

There are THREE conditons, IMHO, that casue wrecks on icy roads. A driver that has NEVER driven on ice before... even in a 4 wheeler. And those who HAVE and think they KNOW better than the weatherman! (or didn't bother to CHECK the weather!) And those who are tailgating under conditions that should warrant MORE safety and cushion.

So... as others have answered you, I doubt that it is "related" to the company. It is a driver thing! Some people don't realize that this industry is built on DRIVERS! If you're a bad driver in a 4 wheeler, you can't be expected to be a GOOD Truck Driver! By the same token, if you KNOW how to drive 4 wheels on ice.... it won't be such a stretch OR a problem for you to drive 18 wheels and 80k lbs.!

Be SAFE, be CAREFUL, and NEVER - EVER- argue with Mother Nature!

She doesn't CARE about your experience, your family, or your LIFE! That is YOUR job!