John Doe was doing everything right on this overnight run -- 2 a.m., exiting for fuel and a late snack along I-40 in Arkansas, slowing well below the posted ramp speed limit of 25 mph as he approached a rollback wrecker loaded with pickup and stopped with lights on along ramp shoulder.
As shown in the video above, part of Overdrive sister publication CCJ's "Preventable or Not?" series, the roll-back wrecker's driver had other things in mind than trucker Doe's smooth passage down the ramp.
When the trucker later got a preventable-accident warning from his fleet, he asked the National Safety Council's Accident Review Committee for its considered opinion on the facts of the case.
Watch the video above to find out where the committee landed.
Hear plenty in the way of advice around the importance of having clearly nonpreventable crashes reviewed by the federal Crash Preventability Determination Program in this early-2024 edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast:
Find more in the "Preventable or Not?" series via this link.
[Related: FMCSA offering 'kinder, gentler' approach to safety scoring? Not if automated inspections go live]
Find more information on the ins and outs of the DataQs system for challenging crashes and violations in Chapter 15 of the updated Overdrive/ATBS-coproduced "Partners in Business" book for new and established owner-operators, a comprehensive guide to running a small trucking business sponsored for 2024 by the Rush Truck Centers dealer network. Click here to download the most recent edition of Partners in Business free of charge.
It was 2 a.m. and truck driver John Doe was headed west on I-40 just outside of Conway, Arkansas, as he prepared to get off at the Crumb Creek Road exit to refuel his big rig and grab a late-night snack. Halfway down the well-lit exit ramp, a Chevy pickup and a tow truck were parked on the right shoulder.
Slowing to less than 10 mph from a posted ramp speed of 25 mph and switching on his high beams, Doe cautiously came abreast of the tow truck when, WHUMPO! Alas, the dead-tired, inattentive tow truck driver had pulled right into Doe’s path, mangling his right front fender and headlight in the process.
Since Doe contested the preventable accident warning letter from his safety director, the National Safety Council’s Accident Review Committee was asked to render a final opinion. To his relief, NSC ruled in his favor, noting that the other truck’s sudden assault could not rationally have been anticipated.
