Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/409540
80 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2014 PREVENTABLE or NOT? Doe dinged by bargain-hunting Buick R evitalized by coffee and a moderate-sized stack of Walnut Waffles – with low-fat butter, diet syrup and a healthy helping of fresh fruit – trucker John Doe pulled out of Snardley's Truck Stop with a smile on his face, a fresh bag of celery sticks at his side, and happy thoughts of weekend bass fishing in his head. The sun was shining on Interstate 40, the morning air was crisp, and the CB chatter was especially entertaining. At the moment, Channel 19 was being dominated by doubles driver Dudley Hill, who'd just concluded a demon- stration of his newly acquired duck call and now was extolling the virtues of L.C. Smith double-barrel shotguns. "Ol' Dudley really quacks me up," Doe mused. Doe approached the intersection with Hickey Highway, where he cau- tiously checked his mirrors, activated his turn signal, moved into the inside lane and slowed to about 20 mph, preparing to make a left turn. At that instant, a badly dented Buick station wagon driven by retired roofer Clyde J. Crumbquist recklessly rocketed out of the adjacent shopping mall, zipped across the right lane while fumbling through his coupons and … BLAM! … crashed into the right fender of Doe's long-nose conventional! Thankfully, no one was hurt, but Doe received another blow from his safety director: a warning letter for a preventable accident, which Doe contested. Rendering a final decision, the National Safety Council's Ac- cident Review Committee ruled in Doe's favor, deciding that he had no time to react and could not possibly have anticipated or avoided Crum- bquist's crazed attack. John Doe was preparing to turn left from the inside lane when a four-wheeler zipped across the right lane and crashed into his right fender. Was this a preventable accident? Hickey Shopping Plaza I-40 Hickey Highway