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you have an accident, that isn’t your fault, you can’t possibly get
into trouble for that, right? While that may be true for four-wheelers,
it isn’t always true for truckers. Even if the driver of the other vehicle
gets a ticket and you don’t, your company may decide that your accident
was “preventable”. Even if the cop says it was the other guy's fault
and the other guy even admits guilt, you still might get fired for having
a “preventable accident”.
Most companies today have some kind of a policy regarding preventable
accidents. Usually, what they’ll do is get together with you and discuss
the accident. With the Big Cheese on your left, corporate honchos on
you right, and other assorted people whose blood is the color of your
company logo sitting around you, they will dig deep and analyze the
situation, looking for the answer to a simple question: was there anything
at all that you could have done to prevent this accident? Even though
none of them have ever driven a truck, they will proceed to tell you
exactly what you should have or could have done. If they find that there
was anything that you could have done to prevent the accident from happening,
they could call it a preventable accident. If you are a new driver,
that could mean the end of your tenure. If you’ve been there for a while,
a slip of paper goes in your file and you better not get another one
for a long time.
What's a driver to do? In two words, be careful. We all know that everyone
loves to blame the truck driver for anything they can. Your only defense
is to drive so safely, so carefully, that you never have an accident.
Impossible, you say? Maybe. But highly probable. Many drivers go through
life twenty, thirty, even forty or more years without having an accident.
Whenever I hear somebody say that they haven't had one in so long, I
always ask, “What's your secret?” And the answer is always the same,
“I always take my time and I am very careful.” If you know anyone like
that, ask them their secret - you’ll see.
When I started teaching my wife how to drive a truck she was scared.
She asked, “What if I hit something?” And I answered simply, “Just don’t!”
She wasn’t sure if she could do it, so I asked, “Can you move this truck
just one foot without hitting anything? Can you be absolutely positive
that you won’t hit anything with that one-foot move?” She seemed positive
that she could, so I added, “Take every foot that way.” And we proceeded
to go around the block at about one mile per hour. I’m happy to report
that she still drives slowly and still hasn’t hit anything yet (knock
on wood).
I have a system that I always teach new drivers: stay in your lane and
be prepared to stop. Those two things may sound simple and like not
enough information, but I am convinced that is the key to never having
an accident that is your fault. I call it “the two things to always
remember”. I even make my students say it out loud, many times, while
driving. “Stay in your lane and be prepared to stop. Stay in your lane
and be prepared to stop.” And they better be checking their mirrors
for the white lines when they say it. Two simple things that many experienced
drivers seem to have forgotten.
After getting some experience behind the big wheel, many drivers get
too comfortable. They start thinking they’re good because they can back
into a dock quickly or zig-zag through traffic without hitting anything.
These are not good drivers - they're good “aimers”. There's more to
driving a truck than how well you can aim it.
City driving has got to be the most complicated task for truckers. If
you drive a big rig in a big city, you’ll need big safety to get that
big paycheck, big fella. With so many people, cars and trucks flying
around in such a small area, there are bound to be accidents, either
preventable or otherwise. But you can choose not to be in one (for the
most part). Just stay in your lane and be prepared to stop. I know it's
not easy, especially when everyone around you is doing the opposite,
but that’s why they pay you the big bucks. While everyone else is lane-dodging
and tailgating, you’re expected to stay in your lane and be prepared
to stop.
I know what you’re thinking: if I stay in one lane, it will be the slowest
one. Okay, then switch lanes - once. But be sure before you switch,
because there ain’t no switching back and forth - not for trucks at
least. Say it again, “Stay in your lane and be prepared to stop.”
And what’s that you say? You can’t keep a safe following distance because
every time you open some space some pesky four-wheeler jumps into it?
Welcome to the big city. We truckers expect that from four-wheelers.
In fact, we plan on it. We expect better from you. After all, you are
the professional driver. This is your job. You (should) know better.
All those four-wheelers don’t know any better. So don’t blame them or
get mad. They can’t possibly know what you know about driving. You drive
more in a day than most of them drive in a month. So just give them
some room and relax.
Accidents do happen. But when they do it's because somebody made a mistake.
Somebody was in a hurry, or got distracted, or what have you. It’s always
the result of a mistake. If it wasn’t a mistake, then that means they
hit you on purpose. And if they hit you on purpose, then that wouldn't
be an accident, that would be a purpose, I guess. Since an accident
is always the result of a mistake and we are all human and therefore
make mistakes, please allow room for error - yours and everyone else's.
I think it was some smokey bear who said, “Only you can prevent preventables”
(or forest fires, or something like that). Be safe out there and don't
forget to visit www.bigcitydriver.com.
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