Truck Drivers Strike Again

[Shadowhunter]

Click here, here, and here for articles in chronological order about the latest case (hit and run).

To paraphrase: A 16-wheeler truck slammed into a car on the Solomon Hochoy Highway around 2:30 AM on the 5th of December. The 5 occupants were on their way home after working on phase two of the Chaguaramas boardwalk. Two men were killed (one a father of 6, grandfather of 16; the other a father of 3) and two others remain hospitalized, one of whom remains in a coma in SFGH's ICU. The driver of the car suffered head injuries and lacerations but is currently out of the hospital. The truck driver never stopped, and fled the scene, abandoning the truck near the Preysal Public Cemetery, near his home. An auto body shop owner in Couva tipped the police off after he was contacted to fix a truck matching the description of the one reported in the accident. He is currently detained and the vehicle is to be impounded for inspection.

What do you think about this? What measures do you think should be put in place to cut down on these truck driving accidents?

Personally, I am furious at yet another truck driving incident and appalled at the driver for fleeing the scene and refusing to turn himself in even as relatives of the deceased pleaded for answers. I know the two hospitalized guys and one of them is expecting a baby this month (any day now actually). They are both very, very, very hardworking guys who support their families, never shirk from responsibility, and are always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone who needs it. They did not deserve this and all of the victims are leaving families with little to no financial support in addition to extreme emotional strain during this holiday season while the truck driver faces a very real possibility of a mere slap on the wrist based on previous similar cases. I hope he is charged by the full extent of the law for the severity of his crime so this may set a precedent for other truck drivers and/or truck driving companies to be wary of when hiring potential employees.

 

[LadyDeath]

Read about this on the newspapers and became so furious . Why didn't the driver stop? I am glad he is found and hope that he get many years in prison. The auto repair company alerted the police and the suspect us now in custody. I honestly cannot imagine the kind of heart these people have to cause a serious accident like that and drive away ! smh

 

[Shadowhunter]

I find it very, very difficult to be sympathetic to truck drivers each time a new case like this happens. My dad was a truck driver for about 10 years when I was a child and he worked very hard at ensuring the safety of others on the road as well as those who worked with him. He regularly stressed the importance of caution first and encouraged other drivers to either work in a shift system for long jobs or to pull over to get some sleep if necessary. In those 10 years I believe his company had no driving accidents.

How is it such a regularly occurring thing for truck drivers to cause accidents so often in such a small country? Too many drivers are falling asleep at the wheel, driving under the influence, making hasty assumptions on the road, and/or driving like they own the road because they're in a bigger vehicle and know they will bear the lesser damages in a potential accident. I don't think a license makes a sensible truck driver. If it does, then maybe more needs to be put into that test because apparently it doesn't prove much by way of sense or ability.

 

[nirtime]

I play euro truck sim sometimes and even in the game I keep the computer cars safe.
I just fell short of cussing when I hear this .

Imagine if the body shop owner didn't even call police. There would be no evidence and nothing to ever happen. It's not like anything will be done to reprimand this reckless excuse for a truck driver to begin with.

Just this week I had to stop on the highway twice cause these piss brains driving Rahmut gas tankers pull in front me and swing their trailers toward me with no prior warning. The indicator only came on when they pull. I told myself at the next light I was going to drop some cuss on both of them in the two times it happened but never got the chance.
I don't know how these people can't recognize a 18 wheel ladder frame which pivots at the rear wheels isn't a little sports hatchback . Somehow they have to stop.

Awareness only comes when somebody decide to shoot up one of these trucks or the drivers or block them and beat the living daylight out of them .

 

[admin]

The way how these truck drivers drive today still amazes me. Big trucks does be speeding on the roads, swinging around corners with out do care and attention and driving reckless to endanger other drivers all the time. I believe Trucks and vehicles over a certain kg should be paying heavy taxes to be allowed on the roads and heaver penalties for when they break the road regulations

 

[Steven Ramadar]

Very disappointed. I second that admin. These truck drivers reckless and careless on theb road. They doesn't want to give no signal for you to pass if they driving slow but the minute you go to over take the vex and speeding up on you

 

[nirtime]

The way how these truck drivers drive today still amazes me. Big trucks does be speeding on the roads, swinging around corners with out do care and attention and driving reckless to endanger other drivers all the time. I believe Trucks and vehicles over a certain kg should be paying heavy taxes to be allowed on the roads and heaver penalties for when they break the road regulations

While this is true, the problem stems from people having a careless mentality and with a lack of police supervision on the roadways it's easy to see why these issues continue.
So heavier taxes and fines I support but how often do police actually see the "sports car" truck drivers?
The majority of trucks have No "how's my driving" numbers or even company names anywhere so to even report their driving is impossible.

 

[MangaAddict]

Coming from Trincity last week, I was overtaking a car on the highway, when out of nowhere, a small truck pulls up on my bumper. It was late, so the place was dark, this guy was soo close I couldn't see his headlights! He was constantly blowing his horn and coming closer and closer. Finally, he pulled on the next lane, overtook me then sharply pulled infront of me and slammed on his brakes! I anticipated his dumba$$ behaviour, so I was already slowing down. If I hadn't done that, I would've slammed into him...if I did, who would've gotten wrong? ME! My wife and baby were in the car with me...I have a Baby on board sign...These people don't think!

 

[Shadowhunter]

These truck drivers are so ridiculous! I live right after a corner and I hear trucks coming down the road with such a speed it rattles everything in the house, on a regular basis. It's especially worse at night. Tonight was the first time in a long time I heard a truck blow their horn while coming around the corner......mind you, FULL SPEED AHEAD! Anyone on the next side would have to slam a hard brakes and swerve off the road to avoid that in time. There's always a few accidents a year within maybe a 200 foot radius of my house, caused by truck drivers of course.

 

[MangaAddict]

The thing about it, is that they feel they are safe up there and if an accident does happen, nothing going to happen to them! Now I'm not speaking about all truck drivers, there are those that take their time and are considerate enough to slow down and allow vehicles to pass and to those guys I applaud you...now go teach the others!

 

[nirtime]

The thing about it, is that they feel they are safe up there and if an accident does happen, nothing going to happen to them! Now I'm not speaking about all truck drivers, there are those that take their time and are considerate enough to slow down and allow vehicles to pass and to those guys I applaud you...now go teach the others!

That's exactly it man they feel they safe up in the cab, they're invincible. The problem is they don't care about what they do to people down low.
Just this morning a truck rush me and I know if I go to tell him something he go play he giving me lip.

It's true that there are some who are proper truck drivers but I find as of late that has began to disappear with the influx of younger drivers who just don't care anything. It's a mentality which we can't change without authority.

 

[Shadowhunter]

I really do appreciate the considerate drivers. I feel like getting out of the car and giving them a huge round of applause when I see one pull to the side and allow a line of cars to pass them when they understand they are causing traffic. Niritme is right, most trucks do not have the "how's my driving?" with their info. I would love to call one and commend their courteous, safe driving practices but the good truck drivers are so rare to begin with and whether good or bad, you can't give feedback to a truck with no information. I think it should be standard for ALL heavy transportation vehicles to have a "how's my driving" number. Companies can even have a feedback section on their websites. Not all feedback will be bad, but if the overwhelming majority is negative, then maybe that can show them they definitely have something to work on.

Anyone heard about the Grange Bay incident?

 

[Shadowhunter]

Just an update on the original story. The victim that remained unconscious in the hospital (comatose) has passed away. His funeral was last week. The only update in terms of justice is that the truck driver is being charged with 6 offences (<<click); no further news heard on this development.

This brings a total of THREE deaths over the driver's head. The other backseat survivor is still dealing with recovery issues as well but is, for the most part, recovering reasonably well; though obviously unable to work since the accident, until further notice. I hope the driver is charged harshly for each death in addition to his existing charges. These truck driver incidents are too plentiful.

 

[admin]

The majority of truck drivers out there feel they own the road and drive extremely fast and reckless while some drive slow and don't allow others to over take them. Truck drivers should understand that when they speed on the nation roads their vehicle becomes a dangerous weapon. Another thing I would like to add is that the insurance coverage for a truck should be Much higher due to the vehicle being a heavy duty vehicle.

 

[Shadowhunter]

The majority of truck drivers out there feel they own the road and drive extremely fast and reckless while some drive slow and don't allow others to over take them. Truck drivers should understand that when they speed on the nation roads their vehicle becomes a dangerous weapon. Another thing I would like to add is that the insurance coverage for a truck should be Much higher due to the vehicle being a heavy duty vehicle.

I agree. I don't believe any of the families have received any type of compensation, even for the owner of the wrecked car. It leaves a disgusting taste to think of these families dealing with deaths, medical stresses, loss of income, inability to work from the surviving victims, etc. with no assistance whatsoever from the man responsible for turning all of their lives upside down and running from ownership of his terrible actions, not even an apology was made. Hopefully this is not minimized to a fine or just a year or two in jail. Some real repercussions need to be put in place here, especially to show other truck drivers that this kind of thing will no longer be swept under the rug.

 

[nirtime]

The majority of truck drivers out there feel they own the road and drive extremely fast and reckless while some drive slow and don't allow others to over take them. Truck drivers should understand that when they speed on the nation roads their vehicle becomes a dangerous weapon. Another thing I would like to add is that the insurance coverage for a truck should be Much higher due to the vehicle being a heavy duty vehicle.

By chance is there separate legal speed limits for Class 4 and 5 vehicles?

I do believe truck insurance must be quite high but definitely not for the right reason as you pointed out.

Unfortunate doesn't even come to mind, its tragic hearing about the losses and down time the family has to endure. Then for them to probably receive nothing at all or just a little bit of compensation really blows... On the up side maybe insurance will pay off for the dead and will help the survivor to regain their footing after having to swallow so many losses from probably being jobless or whatever the case may be in addition to medical fees.

 

[LadyDeath]

On the other hand, i have seen people who take advantage of truck drivers on the road. SOME truck drivers drive slow and other motorists cannot wait to overtake them sometimes causing them to fear for their lives. There is no problem with overtaking but is the manner they do it, without a care for the truck driver. Some even overtake while a vehicle is heading their way on the opp side and nearly misses causing the truck driver to jerk to a sudden stop.

Just Christmas eve my dad got into an accident while he was driving his truck because a man underestimated when my father was coming and pulled out onto a major road not even looking .

With that being said i think more caution and actions need to be put into place for truck drivers. What about the slow lane on the highway? Why is it that large container trucks are on the fast lane?

 

[Shadowhunter]

Unfortunate doesn't even come to mind, its tragic hearing about the losses and down time the family has to endure. Then for them to probably receive nothing at all or just a little bit of compensation really blows... On the up side maybe insurance will pay off for the dead and will help the survivor to regain their footing after having to swallow so many losses from probably being jobless or whatever the case may be in addition to medical fees.

I don't believe the driver has contacted anyone for insurance purposes (you would think completely destroying a vehicle and damaging another would indicate vehicle insurance involvement somewhere) and as far as I know from the families, none of the deceased were insured to provide compensation to their families to cover their deaths etc. Even worse was this happening right before Christmas as the driver's family no doubt had their Christmas celebrations and these families mourned their losses and spent the month planning recoveries and funerals instead of gifts, feasts, and jovial get-togethers. One of the victims just became a dad and is still unable to work, and due to the slow rate of his recovery, will be unable to work for a good while.

I am particularly outraged by this incident because aside from knowing some of these honest, kind, hard-working people, the last big truck incident I saw took FIVE lives of very poor young boys and guess what? There was NO compensation, NO breathalyzer, NO vehicle insurance for at least the destroyed car, NOTHING. FIVE funerals on one day, and the only help the families received were out of the kindness of visiting strangers who came to visit after seeing the story in the papers. The driver in that case apologized and said he fell asleep at the wheel (speeding around the corner) and couldn't do anything to help, the company he worked for gave no statement. I believe he paid a small fine, if anything at all. This case needs something much more than that. These kinds of things cannot keep happening. I can't tell you how disgusted I am by this. Police have the time to issue parking tickets and speeding fines, no problem, the law is the law. But where is the law when these much too regular incidents happen?

On the other hand, i have seen people who take advantage of truck drivers on the road. SOME truck drivers drive slow and other motorists cannot wait to overtake them sometimes causing them to fear for their lives. There is no problem with overtaking but is the manner they do it, without a care for the truck driver. Some even overtake while a vehicle is heading their way on the opp side and nearly misses causing the truck driver to jerk to a sudden stop.

Just Christmas eve my dad got into an accident while he was driving his truck because a man underestimated when my father was coming and pulled out onto a major road not even looking .

With that being said i think more caution and actions need to be put into place for truck drivers. What about the slow lane on the highway? Why is it that large container trucks are on the fast lane?

I hope your dad has recovered! I see large trucks on the fast lane on a regular basis, even when authorities are present, and nothing is done about this. I have also seen instances of truck drivers driving slow and motorists raging to overtake. In those situations, I think it's advisable for truck drivers to pull to the side and allow traffic to flow before resuming their journey (as some thankfully do).

Just recently, however, I was in a vehicle driving through a back road. There was a truck in front of us, heavy with a greatly protruding load of wood (no flag) and driving like a mad man. He (I'm assuming it's a he for sake of conversation) drove at a snail's pace, only until we were close enough to overtake. Of course he would then speed up, covering the road with smoke, and wait for us to catch up to him to do it again and again. As the passenger, I took out a phone to record him and take pictures. The driver of the vehicle I was in saw him looking in his rear view mirror, and upon seeing the phone, Mr. Big and Bad Truck Driver immediately sped off leaving a thick mist of smoke behind him. Sometimes they intentionally mean to drive like idiots.

 

[nirtime]

I have a video from my dash cam to throw up from 3 weeks ago. I hope it actually is on the SD... Cheap dash cam is unreliable.

Shadow hunter by you recording him I'm surprised that's all he did. I've had people approach me as a by stander to events which could have led to physical action because I was recording their absolute empty headed actions.
People have a problem with us recording when they doing their nonsense because they know what they're doing.

People also do try to advantage trucks. They try it with pick ups too sometimes... Idk what they're doing or trying to do but the over taking in an unsafe manner I've seen too many times.

 

[Shadowhunter]

The first time I thought to try recording such asinine behavior was actually around the end of last year. It seemed like one van targeted us on our way to and from our destination. When he came riding up on our bumper again and dazzling on the highway as we drove home at night (baby on board sign visible, car seat visible, family visible through our car, driving normally on the slow lane with no issues to anyone around us) we started talking about recording. He overtook us quickly and mashed brakes in front and refused to let us pass him or drive normally. My husband could see him watching the rear view to watch us behind him. As soon as I pulled out the phone, he sped off so fast we didn't see him again. I probably got 2 seconds of recording time, but his license plate was clearly seen. I have thought of the more dangerous drivers that may do more to jeopardize us on the road once they see you're recording, but I think their behavior is risky regardless and I'd rather have a little recorded proof than to face an angry driver and corrupt officers going solely on my word. At the very least, I can warn others to be wary of the driver of such and such vehicle on the road.