Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/550385
34 | Overdrive | August 2015 or most truckers, a car parked on the side of the highway is no big deal. For Wade Schim- melpfennig, the sight triggers flashbacks he'll always have. That's be- cause Schimmelpfennig is part of a tiny unmeasured segment of truckers: the unwilling victims of a suicide by truck. "The trauma for the trucker is similar to those who are used against their will in suicide by cop or suicide by train," says Dr. Dan Reidenberg, managing director of the National Council for Suicide. "The post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms can be severe and last a lifetime." Reidenberg says it's common for the trucker to feel guilty. Should he have swerved? Was he as alert as he should have been? Resolving such feelings often is difficult because there is often little or no support resources for an over-the- road trucker and his family. Also, most truckers get little to no training to prepare them for suicidal incidents, unlike railway engineers. Railway suicides and other fatal rail accidents are common enough that most engineers experience at least one in their careers. The Federal Rail Administration recorded 305 railway suicides in 2013. Following are the stories of Schim- melpfennig and other drivers who recount their suicidal experiences. Highway suicides provide the ultimate test of driver response and sear horrific memories into the minds of innocent truckers By CAROLYN MAGNER MASON