February 8, 2010
Can't avoid jack-knifing? Don't be a truck driver
By Michael Dresser
Getting there
Allow me to nominate an official Public Enemy No. 1 from the weekend's Super Bowl of Snow: tractor-trailer drivers who can't keep their rigs from jackknifing.
Driving a truck is a hard job, and those who do it deserve respect. But when a truck jack-knifes in the snow, it almost always means the driver was going too fast for the conditions.
Sorry if I seem unsympathetic, but letting one's tractor-trailer jackknife is highly unprofessional. Airline pilots are expected not to overshoot runways. Surgeons are expected to remove all the clamps before they suture patients. Lawyers are expected to not miss court filing deadlines. Police officers are supposed to avoid shooting unarmed, law-abiding civilians.
And truck drivers can reasonably be expected to drive at an appropriate speed in severe weather so they don't jackknife and tie up important travel corridors at critical times. It's like an entry-level requirement. If one can't attain that goal, one should find another line of work.
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