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Truckers Say *USA - Job risks demand alertness
Even after 21 years on the road, truck driver George Coots is still amazed at what he sees
Tulsa,OKL,USA -The Tulsa World, by GAVIN OFF -July 5, 2009: -- He’s watched as minivans suddenly brake in front of him and wheelie-popping motorcycles whip by like his big rig was stuck on the shoulder... Coots has seen cars draft so close that they disappear behind him and others that seemingly attach themselves to the side of his double-wide sleeper and refuse to either pass or fall behind... The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration database, details more than a million accidents since 2000 involving commercial trucks or buses that weighed at least 10,000 pounds. By comparison, a fully loaded tractor-trailer could weigh up to 80,000 pounds... The database doesn’t list who was at fault and even includes wrecks in which trucks were involved but had little to do with the accident... Oklahoma County typically leads the state in the number of truck-related crashes, fatalities and injuries each year, with Tulsa County usually placing second in all three categories... One reason for the high number of trucking accidents in the state is the high number of trucks, Capt. Craig Medcalf of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, said... The 59-year-old Coots, his wife, Patricia, and their dog, Coco, stopped in Tulsa on their return to Minnesota from California... Coots said he’ll drive for another three years and retire when he reaches 62... It simply becomes too dangerous to drive much older than that, he said...Labels: truckers' stories
posted by Unknown @ 5:02 AM
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