Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/858523
116 commercial carrier journal | august 2017 Rig Dig_CCJ0413_PG108.indd 1 3/21/13 9:56 AM PREVENTABLE or NOT? Doe crunches Chuck's Charger C autiously piloting his tractor-trailer along sunny two-lane Second Avenue at the posted speed limit of 35 mph while intermittently burping from the huge morale-boosting helping of "Kid Flesher's Awesomely Hot Two-Gun Chili" he wolfed down at Tommy's Texas Diner, John Doe reflected on a podcast revelation recently provided by Billy Bob Goldfarb, a westbound doubles driver. According to Goldfarb, Uncle Sam was poised to unveil a new online version of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations that could be viewed on smartphones! Holy eye- strain, Batman, 10-4? Suddenly, Doe's rev- erie was ... "Ahhhhgg!" SCREECH!! KA-BOOM!!! Oh no! Without warning, a gray-primed 2017 Charger driven by teenager Chuck Chumulski had blindly and hastily exited a high-fenced apartment complex, only a few yards in front of Doe's tractor! While Doe had pounced on the brakes immediately and tried to steer out of harm's way, the Charger's le front fender was a mangled mess. Mercifully, Chumulski was shaken up but otherwise unscathed. Since Doe contested the preventable-accident warning letter from his safety director, the National Safety Council's Accident Review Com- mittee was asked to render judgment. NSC immediately ruled in Doe's favor, noting that there was no way he could have anticipated Chumul- ski's suicidal maneuver or avoided ramming his car with only a split- second warning. Without warning, a sports car blindly and hastily exited a high-fenced apartment complex only a few yards in front of John Doe's tractor, leaving Doe with little time to avoid impact. Was this a preventable accident? Second Avenue