Photo by Robson Hatsukami Morgan on Unsplash
I really should not have pushed on. Because in just a few miles I would have My Real Life Trucking Accident Part 2.
Just as you get into Wytheville, VA. you have to drive on I-77/I-81.
Just outside of Wytheville they split back up with I-81 continuing on northbound and I-77 going southbound.
There was a bridge that was under construction just south of Wytheville VA. We always called it – the New River bridge.
As I started over the hill to the bridge it was really snowing hard and was almost a whiteout.
My Real Life Trucking Accident Part 2 this is gonna hurt
So I was slowing down to about 40 to 45 mph. As I started onto the bridge, trucks that were coming northbound started hollering on the CB about a wreck. It had just happened on the other end of the bridge in both lanes of traffic on my side.
This is going to be fun. I was using a braking technique that is called stab braking to try and get stopped. Stab braking is exactly what it sounds like. To do it you stab the pedal and then let off and stab it hard and let off.
The reason for doing it is the trailer tires will lock up and the trailer will start to jackknife. But when you let off of the brake pedal the trailer will straighten itself out. But you have to continue to do this until you stop completely.
I did get to stop my truck before hitting anything in front of me. And I finally got my truck to stop about 100 feet back from them. So I was as close to the side of the bridge as I could get. I had my four-way flashers on and yelling in the CB to warn trucks behind me to stop.
But I looked in my mirror and I saw what scared the living daylights out of me. I saw a tractor trailer sliding sideways, he was going too fast. And I knew he was not going to stop before hitting me.
The Impact was horrendous
He may have been hollering at me on the CB but I don’t remember hearing him. But I could see he was going to hit me. There was also a small car in a slide with him. But all I was thinking about was what can I do to save this from becoming a bad situation.
I looked for a way out, but I was on a bridge 150 feet above the New River. I couldn’t just jump out and run. So I did the only thing that I thought might save us all. I thought if I could get my truck moving just before he hit me. It might soften the blow and that might save us.
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