…Seems there is no way one can prevent all vehicle / train accidents, if…one is not really paying attention or taking too many chances.
On the CSX S&C branch {Geiger, Pa.},which carries roughly one or so trains each way per day…experienced a coal truck and train accident yesterday.
From the info I have {this is back in our home territory in Pa.}, the front end of the truck was smashed in or ripped off clear back to the windshield. Believe the driver lucked out and is ok…Don’t have details yet, but I will be right over that crossing tomorrow…Headed that way in the morning.
It was extremely foggy. The crossing has at least 8 regular flashing red crossing lights each way…2 each side and 4 across a structure side to side.
I drove by the site the day after on my way home from work. Truck must’ve been going at a pretty good clip because the skid marks started at the intersection with Listie Road - which I’m guessing is close to 1/10 a mile, give or take, from the crossing. Guess loaded trucks take a while to stop too.
…Just returned from Pennsylvania today and crossed that RR crossing a half dozen times over this past {long}, weekend and the crossing has 12…!! {each way}, regular red flashing warning lights, not 8 as I mentioned in above post.
…No, he didn’t fall asleep…as there are black dual tire tread marks on the highway for at least 300’…! Maybe more.
What he was doing to my eyes was taking a chance in the fog, as it was very foggy and the rails cross right in the bottom of a valley with hills to climb on both sides and this truck was a 3 axle coal hauler that can haul roughly 30 tons…and he was getting a run for the next hill, which is up about a bit more than a quarter mile before it levels off…But he wasn’t seriously hurt. Very lucky.
I’m 99.999% certain he did not fall asleep. Like Quentin said, it was very foggy around here that morning and the crossing is in the valley and most likely was making a run for the hill ahead.
Hopefully the next truck he buys has high torque so he can run those hills at a reasonable speed and not have to take chances. I myself have gone up hills so steep I wondered if the front end would go head over heels backwards.
…These are seriously big capable tri-axle coal hauling aluminum bed trucks that can do the job, but I understand so many trips are requested / day and we all know what it takes to do quotas in life at times. Luck just ran out on this trip…{for the truck}, but seems the fellow was given another chance. Perhaps when he finally made the contact he had wiped down most of his speed and it just ripped the front off the truck and the impact did not seriously injure the driver.
Individuals who are not familiar with the coal haulers that are prevalent in that country, Western Pa., and also similarly, in West Virginia. They picture “normal dump trucks”, not these bruisers with the high capacity beds[12/14 yd+ capacity], and a driver who is paid by the load, and intent on making the next load; so the drivers are prone to take more chances on familiar roads, in order to make that next one [load] .
I used to run a cement tanker and was paid by the load. High speeds with a old Maxidyne Mack for a chance to NOT be the number 5 person out of 4 availible silos down in Arlington we would be spread across all 4 lanes nose to nose charging across that Legion Bridge on I-495. The speeding ticket was less than the load paid so it was “Worth” the risk.
But Im much older now and I gotta tell ya I am familiar with some of those large dumps having driven a few that were equippted with tag axles and could carry as much as 30 ton (Dont tell that to the “Man” sitting next to the 20 ton bridge.)
Enough stories out of me, you can only run a certain amount of loads per day. I am not going to worry any more about number of loads vs time, distance and road conditions.
Maybe this man can buy TWO trucks or more, hire a driver or two; become a fleet and contract to the payer of load revenue and increase his income and also the amount of coal or whatever is being hauled per day.
Might be easier to become a company than it is to try to find work with an accident.
All I know if one person has that much work and it still isnt enough, it’s time to buy trucks and hire people. Bottom line, more loads, more money per day less payroll, upkeep, taxes, fuel etc etc etc.