Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/566087
PULSE September 2015 | Overdrive | 3 By Max Heine Editorial director mheine@randallreilly.com C arolyn Mason's August cover story, "Suicide by truck," turned out to be a study in extremes. On the one hand, no agency keeps stats on suicides or attempted suicides where someone jumps in front of or drives into a truck. Such incidents rarely make it into news, partly because it's often unclear whether the instigator had suicidal intentions. On the other hand, this obscure topic opened a floodgate of reader responses online. The familiar themes that emerged are more striking in the context of these sad, intense tales. One refrain is the lack of financial and emotional support from fleets and insur- ance companies, though some fleets have provided generous time off and sustained pay while their driver regained emotional stability. Everyone knows the potential for insurance abuse in situations as subjec- tive as post-traumatic stress. Still, these incidents are rare and, for the most part, capable of being clearly defined. The relatively few driver victims should get the assistance they need. When you first hear of suicide by truck, you expect the surrounding circumstances to be so obvious that the trucker would be subject to only cursory scrutiny. But readers noted another familiar affront: Blame the trucker. That's even when a victim has left a suicide note, or when circumstances make it clear that there was no time for the trucker to have safely responded in any other way. One commenter was amazed how our account of John Jaikes' involvement in a suicide attempt pointed out that his "log books, phone records and equipment were scrutinized. Even his neigh- bors were interviewed about his character and driving habits." I imagine that professional drivers who've never had a suicidal encounter on the highway are not surprised. You know firsthand from the evolution of the regulatory machine that there is a ten- dency to hold you guilty until proven innocent. That's not likely to change any time soon, so be prepared – in terms of your perfor- mance and the condition of your equipment. If you don't have a forward dash- cam, consider getting one. For solid operators, far more often than not, photographic evidence will come down in your favor. Consider it a form of insurance against all the careless drivers, suicidal and otherwise, who can damage your career in the blink of an eye. On defense, again A suicidal collision turns the highway into a thing of horror for truckers who are suddenly drawn into someone else's nightmare. Some drivers never fully recover from such tragedies. My wife called me a week later – she told me [the driver] pulled in front of a loaded dump truck and got what he wanted. Douglas M. Fabish: I was a kid … hauling hazmat out of the San Diego tank farm. Pop was an old hand. We ran jet fuel to the Yuma (Ariz.) Marine base on weekends. Pop left out about an hour in front of me. There was a big smudge of smoke on the horizon in front of me. Pop was dead. The car driver admitted he was trying to commit suicide. Norman Ott: Happened to a friend of mine in Vegas a few years back. A man was handcuffed on the side of the interstate after a drug bust. He jumped up and ran in front of his T660 and was killed. My friend installed a bullbar after that. Over $8,000 in repairs plus the cost of the bullbar. Via Overdrive's Facebook page: Brent Hedlund: Actually had a woman who was obviously intoxicated try to lay down in front of my truck in Louisiana on I-10. Luckily, I didn't have anyone beside me, and I was able to dodge her. Jerry Noel: The sad thing is I know two people who have done this. … I feel sorry for the drivers when people try to kill themselves. They don't think of the driver. Heather Lynne: My husband is a driver, and I worry about this every day. I will never understand somebody using an innocent trucker. … If you want to die, I guess that is your choice. But please leave other people out of it.