I am very much aware of exactly how off topic this is, but all the same there is a lot of information that I can give on the subject that will help someone out there. I believe and hope to emphasize why you should not have kids on your truck if you are in a position not to. I was in fact nearly in several accidents this last week which has reminded me off the fact. First there was a stupid dump truck who decided to perform a u turn right into the path of a moving Semi-truck. Then there were the two cases in Washington DC within 10-15 miles of each other (do you think they might be short of some brain cells up there?). One was another car parked on the highway waiting to get run over, needless to say this time i avoided the moron and called 911. The other one involved someone driving up the exit ramp and realized just in time to speed up and make it to the shoulder avoiding myself and another car.
The funny thing about the trucking world is that the majority of people that talk about accidents have no actual experience and if they do it is from after the fact. I remember sitting in an accident awareness class during my commercial drivers license training and none of what I learned in that class was applicable in the major accident I was in. The man teaching the class had never been in an accident, he only repeated the Department of Transportation general information on the subject.
Fact: The are 8 seconds of importance before an accident.
It takes the average driver 3 seconds to respond 3 seconds to make a decision and then about 2 to put into play any decision you have made. This means that if your trainer was as good as mine *looks at James* he will drill procedure into you until it is instinct. The reality is is that by forcing your body to act before you process it leaves you a little more time to make an important decision if you need to.
So what happens in an accident?
After the point of decision and the accident starts to take place a very interesting thing happens. The most accurate portrayal of an accident I have seen on television is on the show House. There is one episode where he is in a bus accident. Time does literally ground almost to a halt because everything is moving so fast. Things fly up in the air and almost seem to float about you and your world does literally seem to rotate around you. Then time speeds up again until everything grounds to a halt at the end of the whole incident. The one thing they do not teach drivers is to keep their mind clear during the period where time slows and they should. The reason being it allows the driver to prepare for when it speeds up again and be prepared for how the vehicle will move in that time, whether it is sliding along the road, an out of control vehicle, etc.
What happens afterwards?
Well once the accident has taken place and if you are still conscious, check yourself for any major injuries. Your chair should have deflated and you should be able to remove yourself from the vehicle. If you are mostly uninjured it is your responsibility as driver on duty to check the other people in the truck and if possible get them safely removed. If there is major damage to the front of your truck get away as fast as possible, because there is a serious danger of a fire and a general hazmat threat from the chemicals in the engine. If anything in your truck is strewn across the road please note that if it is not covered in chemicals it will be thrown back within your vehicle by the wreckers. Once out of your own vehicle grab one of the witnesses and have them call 911. Don't rely on your panic button. If your vehicle has rolled then it will not go off. Then proceed to check the other vehicles, if there is no immediate fire damage then do not remove anyone that could possibly have internal bleeding (the usually look like zombies). If someone cannot be removed from their vehicles have somebody stand by with a fire extinguisher (every truck has one). Once the cops arrive your job is done. The ambulances will start to arrive shortly afterwards and will take everyone off to hospital. In the emergency room you can contact your employer and any immediate family.
Who is affected the most?
The general story is that the driver of vehicles and anyone injured are the ones most affected by an accident, and while this is true for the person majorly injured and the driver has accidentally killed someone, but not otherwise. The one affected most in a trucking accident is the person in the sleeper. In the major accident that I was in with my husband, I have remained perfectly fine after the accident. It took awhile to overcome the initial effect (white cars being scary, etc). My husband still has difficulty sleeping in the back while anyone is driving, but then you have to understand why. In the back you have no control over your situation, you are unsure of what is going to happen. There are items flying all around and most of them hit you (this is why you need to earthquake proof your truck, because at any point in time you might be in one - securing that microwave for instance?). Other minor instances that could have been serious accidents I have found myself in similar situations where I am not in control and I find that I am more affected by those than when I was driving.
What do I think needs to be changed to improve the situation?
The best thing any driver can do is earthquake proof their vehicle. Make sure everything is stuck down or secured. I would also like to see paramedics brought in on the accident awareness courses to help drivers understand what to do in an accident situation.
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