Doe goes West, gets grief
60 Commercial Carrier Journal October 2008 On the fateful day of the accident, longhaul trucker John Doe had been plagued by triple-digit Arizona temperatures that'd scalded his driver's side door so hot that he'd blistered his arm when he opened the window to lean his elbow out for a little relief from his in-cab sauna. Worse yet, he forgot he'd left his last bag of Spicy Ranch Doritos on the sun-drenched dashboard, leaving the goodies inside less than tasty from the scorching heat. Jeez, what next? Doe asked himself. Alas, the answer to that question wasn't long in coming. Arriving at Big Al Murphy's Western Wear on Main Street in Tucson with some cartons of cowboy boots, Doe maneuvered his tractor-trailer around a large Dumpster, pulled up to the curb within a no-parking zone, engaged his four-way flashers, glanced at both mirrors (nothing coming except a green Chevy van) and proceeded to back his rig toward the front of the store. Without warning, the driver of the van, Sammy Tex Johnson, attempted to squeeze past the end of Doe's trailer, intent on gaining access to Big Al's tiny parking lot before its entrance was blocked and .. SMASHO! CRUNCHO! ... Johnson's Chevy van was totaled! Luckily, no one was hurt, but that didn't stop Doe's safety director from slapping him with a preventable-accident warning letter, which he promptly contested. The National Safety Council's Accident Review Committee was asked to render a final decision, and to Doe's dismay, NSC ruled against him, finding that despite Johnson's stupid move and failure to activate his turn signal, Doe could have averted the incident by continually eyeballing his left-side West Coast mirror while backing. John Doe, who was backing his rig toward the front of the store, smashed into a Chevy van whose driver was attempt-ing to gain access to the parking lot before its entrance was blocked. Was this a preventable accident? safety Preventable or not: Doe goes West, gets grief Automatic alerts of tire problems sent directly to your computer or mobile device Daily work orders generated identifying tires that need attention Your entire fleet's tire pressures surveyed with a click of the mouse Web site access to the reports you need to manage and maintain your tires The Technology for Tires ULTIMATE Call us and ask for a demo today. 1-877-878-4445 www.tirestamp.com 355 - 1301 W Long Lake Rd., Troy, MI, USA 48098 Write on Reader Service Card