Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/538378
80 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JULY 2015 PREVENTABLE or NOT? Doe messes up 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 Channel 19 revelation recently provided by Billy Bob Goldfarb, a westbound doubles driver. According to Goldfarb, Uncle Sam was poised to unveil a new online ver- sion of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations that could be viewed on smartphones! Holy eye-strain, Batman, 10-4? Suddenly, Doe's reverie was … "Ahhhhgg!" SCREECH!! KA-BOOM!!! Oh no! Without warning, a gray-primed 2014 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 he'd pounced on the brakes immediately and had tried to steer out of harm's way, the Charger's left front fender was a mangled mess. Merci- fully, 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 a final judgment. NSC immediately ruled in Doe's favor, noting that there was no way he could have anticipated Chumulski'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