Does Something Sound Wrong To You?

[Ron in Regina]

gerryh....I agree with what you're saying. The Driver scr*wed up. The
OP states he has been charged. Between the charge, and guilt, and the
increased insurance rate after this accident, I'm pretty sure he's now
out of that profession. It's an ugly and sad story for everyone involved.

I also agree with Eyeneye as physics can be a real biatch at times. I've
hopped a curb or two (never intentionally) while making a right-turn in
long wheelbase straight trucks where space (or a miscalculated
judgment) didn't allow a proper "S" turn, but had the good fortune to
never have a pedestrian or stop-sign or mailbox suffer for my mistake.
There but for the grace of _________ (insert deity) goes I.

 

[darkbeaver]

The mother is ultimately responsible.

 

[JLM]

The mother is ultimately responsible.

You have that right in that she's the one who has the most to lose, but I doubt if she broke any laws she could be charged with. In Canada (last I heard), stupidity isn't a crime.

 

[TenPenny]

Yep, he certainly has to shoulder some of the responsibility too.

"Some" of the responsibility?

The driver is not fully responsible for allowing his vehicle to leave the roadway and hit a person? That's an interesting perspective.

 

[lone wolf]

Did the kid see daylight and go? Not all the facts are presented here and those that are make it look like the truck driver was sloppy. In reality, you can have a dog-tracking trailer, or a truck configured for 2009 highway specs operating on a road designed in horse-and-buggy days.

I wouldn't want to have to live the guilt that driver will live....

 

[gerryh]

Did the kid see daylight and go? Not all the facts are presented here and those that are make it look like the truck driver was sloppy. In reality, you can have a dog-tracking trailer, or a truck configured for 2009 highway specs operating on a road designed in horse-and-buggy days.

I wouldn't want to have to live the guilt that driver will live....

It is the drivers ultimate responsibility to know his truck and what it can and can't do. No one elses. If it dog tracks, he should know that....AND have it fixed.... him being "sloppy" is an understatement. He ran over a child through no one elses negligence but his own.

 

[Cannuck]

The driver is not fully responsible for allowing his vehicle to leave the roadway and hit a person?

Legally speaking yes but being legally right doesn't give you much comfort when you are dead. As has been said, there isn't enough info to determine what the woman knew or didn't and what she did or didn't do about it. I know that if it was my kid and I knew the truck was turning, I'd be making sure my kid was out of the way. I've seen far to many p*ss poor truck drivers in my day.

 

[lone wolf]

It is the drivers ultimate responsibility to know his truck and what it can and can't do. No one elses. If it dog tracks, he should know that....AND have it fixed.... him being "sloppy" is an understatement. He ran over a child through no one elses negligence but his own.

I don't need you to tell me what driver responsibility is. Tell me, Ger.... What's the biggest vehicle you've ever driven? See ... a lot of people have never driven anything bigger than their own fingers up their noses, yet they preach responsibilities they can't even begin to understand.

Is the driver responsible if that kid started walking as soon as the power unit's hind wheels passed? Don't be so quick to pass blame until you know ALL the circumstances.

 

[JLM]

"Some" of the responsibility?

The driver is not fully responsible for allowing his vehicle to leave the roadway and hit a person? That's an interesting perspective.

Of course the driver has to take some of the responsibility but there is an onus on everyone to be watchful of their own safety. Some intersections just aren't designed for long wheel bases.

 

[gerryh]

Of course the driver has to take some of the responsibility but there is an onus on everyone to be watchful of their own safety. Some intersections just aren't designed for long wheel bases.

and if the intersection is not designed to accomadate long wheel bass, then the truck driver should NOT be trying to make a turn....again, it falls to the driver.

 

[JLM]

I don't need you to tell me what driver responsibility is. Tell me, Ger.... What's the biggest vehicle you've ever driven? See ... a lot of people have never driven anything bigger than their own fingers up their noses, yet they preach responsibilities they can't even begin to understand.

Is the driver responsible if that kid started walking as soon as the power unit's hind wheels passed? Don't be so quick to pass blame until you know ALL the circumstances.

You make a good point, but the driver HAS to take some of the blame. He has knowledge of "blind spots"- the kid doesn't.

 

[JLM]

and if the intersection is not designed to accomadate long wheel bass, then the truck driver should NOT be trying to make a turn....again, it falls to the driver.

That depends on the situation - he may have a delivery to make right there.

 

[lone wolf]

You make a good point, but the driver HAS to take some of the blame. He has knowledge of "blind spots"- the kid doesn't.

Of course the driver has to take some of the blame. I won't deny that at all ... but you show me a driver who claims to have never blown a shift or bounced a curb and I'll show you a liar. Personally, I think there should be a yellow line at crosswalks so pedestrians can figure it out too.

 

[Ron in Regina]

gerryh....I agree with what you're saying. The Driver scr*wed up. The
OP states he has been charged. Between the charge, and guilt, and the
increased insurance rate after this accident, I'm pretty sure he's now
out of that profession. It's an ugly and sad story for everyone involved.

I also agree with Eyeneye as physics can be a real biatch at times. I've
hopped a curb or two (never intentionally) while making a right-turn in
long wheelbase straight trucks where space (or a miscalculated
judgment) didn't allow a proper "S" turn, but had the good fortune to
never have a pedestrian or stop-sign or mailbox suffer for my mistake.
There but for the grace of _________ (insert deity) goes I.

In the eyes of the Law, the Mother and her Children on the
sidewalk are totally Not at fault. The Driver who's wheels
hopped the sidewalk will be 100% at fault. It doesn't make
the child's leg(s?) any less crushed though...In this situation,
everybody loses. It's ugly, but it was an accident. Lone Wolf
has it right in that without more details, all we have is a short
article for reference though so not an overabundance of
details.

The Child will be crippled. The Driver will be roasted. That's
about all we can be sure of. 8O
_____________________

 

[VanIsle]

That depends on the situation - he may have a delivery to make right there.

He may have had a delivery to make "right there". However: An Ottawa truck driver has been charged after a transport truck jumped the sidewalk . If he had driven the route before, he should have known it was a difficult turn and should have slowed his vehicle to an appropriate speed whereby he was paying 100% attention to the turn and could have honked his horn to show his presence. If he had never driven the route before I think the same approach would apply. From the height of his seat and window, if he was paying attention, he should have been able to foresee this. Truck drivers were amongst the most highly respected drivers on the road. Sadly, this is no longer the case.If this driver worked for a specific company, did his load require such a long truck? If it did not, then the onus was on them to send a shorter one in my opinion.

 

[gerryh]

I don't need you to tell me what driver responsibility is. Tell me, Ger.... What's the biggest vehicle you've ever driven? See ... a lot of people have never driven anything bigger than their own fingers up their noses, yet they preach responsibilities they can't even begin to understand.

Is the driver responsible if that kid started walking as soon as the power unit's hind wheels passed? Don't be so quick to pass blame until you know ALL the circumstances.

A 10 ton split axle delivery truck for a nursery in and around the lowermainland and Vancouver. Exact length I'm not sure, but she was longer than the 30 ft Class C motorhome I have. So, yes I have driven something bigger than my own fingers up my nose.

The article states that he jumped the curb and ran over the boy, NOT that the boy was on the road and he got run over, so how about sticking to the facts presented rather than doing a "what if" that does not apply. The driver "misjudged" the length and turning radius of hs vehicle which resulted in the injury of a pedestrian. 100% driver fault.

 

[lone wolf]

A 10 ton split axle delivery truck for a nursery in and around the lowermainland and Vancouver. Exact length I'm not sure, but she was longer than the 30 ft Class C motorhome I have. So, yes I have driven something bigger than my own fingers up my nose.

The article states that he jumped the curb and ran over the boy, NOT that the boy was on the road and he got run over, so how about sticking to the facts presented rather than doing a "what if" that does not apply. The driver "misjudged" the length and turning radius of hs vehicle which resulted in the injury of a pedestrian. 100% driver fault.

The whole story is a "what if" that begins with a truck jumping a sidewalk then goes on to say it jumped a curb. Newspaper stories are written by people looking to sell newspapers... Think about it.

Even you are doing the "what if" thing in "ran over the boy". How about you stick to the facts?

 

[DaSleeper]

The OP does say that he was charged with making an improper right turn.......unless one of us was a witness.....all we can do here is make assumptions;-)

 

[gerryh]

ok....second news story from CBC with eye witness accounts and direct quotes from the paramedics.

Driver charged after 8-year-old's leg broken by tractor-trailer

 

[Ron in Regina]

I posted a picture of a straight truck earlier in this Thread. I haven't
driven this one myself, and that doesn't bother me at all. It's most
likely one of the most difficult trucks (non-articulated) trucks to make
a right hand turn in. It's 39 feet long with a 378" wheel base.

The trick with this is the wheel base and placement of the rear axel.
For those that aren't involved in the trucking industry, here might be
part of the issue in this story (I guessing), and part of the reason for
the argument between Lone Wolf and Gerryh.

This truck (unloaded) with the rear axel located so close to the back
of the truck (during a right turn), much like tractor-trailer combination,
will want to take it's rear wheels over the curb (and sidewalk, and a
significant chunk of lawn) without a super-exaggerated S turn...but you
don't have to worry so much about what is sitting left of you in a right
turn....

Take this same truck, but move the rear axel forward about 10 feet,
and you now don't have to worry about it try'n to climb the curb as
much as before, but now everything behind the rear axel in a right
turn will try and swing out over the lane to the left of you....

The driver will be found at fault (I'm pretty confident in this guess)
and has already been charged. We don't know if he was new to
trucking, or new to that truck but use to something else...we don't
know much as Lone Wolf has pointed out, and I'm very certain
he'll be 100% at fault as Gerryh has pointed out.

Many truckers face this and worse everyday. It in no way excuses
what happened here, but I posted it for perspective. When we where
designing this truck, we KNEW that would be an issue, but due to
many factors (load size and current laws in two countries), that is
exactly what we had to design to get the job done.

In order for it to do this:

It had to be designed exactly as it sits...The wheel base alone on that
unit would be longer than gerryh's 30ft Class C motorhome, let along
the entire length of that truck....and that's when it's not hauling an RV
behind it on the ground. Makes me glad I'm driving a desk and not a
truck at this point.