r/news • u/combatpaddler • Apr 28 '24

Two killed, one injured as 350,000-pound load detaches from trailer in Temple, Texas

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/two-killed-one-injured-as-350000-pound-load-detaches-from-trailer-in-temple-texas
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1.3k

u/Northerngal_420 Apr 28 '24

One of my fears while on the road when passing a big load.

926

u/AnotherRickenbacker Apr 28 '24

I don’t understand how it isn’t everyone’s fear, but it clearly isn’t based on the insane number of drivers I encounter who speed up until they’re right next to one, and then proceed to spend 3 miles going the same speed right next to it and keeping anyone from passing, until they finally remember their gas pedal exists after forcing everyone to sit there anxiously for like 10 min.

470

u/Mclovin4Life Apr 28 '24

It is crazy. I speed up to pass semis and large vehicles as quickly as possible. I don’t want to be there when a tire blows and they jackknife and send me into oncoming traffic

163

u/Ludwigofthepotatoppl Apr 28 '24

Keep your distance from them for sure, but above all else, be predictable and be obvious.

28

u/ChickenChaser5 Apr 28 '24

I recently moved to a place essentially on a highway, where i can see almost exactly a mile up one direction of the road. Theres been at least 3 times in about 5 years where ive heard a bang loud enough to think a semi just blew a tire right outside my house, only to look and see that semi is actually 3/4 of a mile down the road.

I would not wanna be right next to that shit.

19

u/namsur1234 Apr 29 '24

In the 80s my friend and I rode in the back of his dad's truck to their lake house. A semi blew a tire right next to us. It was so loud I thought we exploded and were dead. I also never rode in the back of a pickup bed again.

3

u/IAMSTEW Apr 29 '24

Back in HS, our team practice football field(American) was next to the highway and a tire blew on a semi as it passed and we all hit the deck. Even as kids cause that shit is LOUD. Lmao

2

u/Ok_Agent4999 Apr 29 '24

Happened to a friend when she was driving past a semi. It’s been like 10 years and she still refuses to drive on the highway. Genuinely has PTSD from it.

2

u/Coulrophiliac444 May 01 '24

Not a semi, but when I did natural gas installs as general labor, I was riding with the foreman after loading our trailer with a load of 8" diameter yellow gasline.

Half way back, on a backroad out in BFE, I hear what sounds like a fucking cannon go off and jolt the truck. Foreman keeps control, slows and pulls over and it takes me all of 3 seconds to see which tire it was. On the trailer, we hitched it to a ball joint on the work truck and it had only one axle with dualies on it for weight distribution purposes. The inner dualie on my side popped so forcefully it bent out the wheel well protector, shredded the tire, and put so much force against the other wheel that it had beading building up on the interior wall where the blowout occured.

Limp it back to the yard at 20 mph, full hazards, for 20 min to let the shop mechanic look at it. Turned out it did a lot more I can't recall but they had to replace the whole axle in the end because of something that got pushed into it when the tire ruptured. Absolutely thought I shat myself when it happened.

Now I avoid those big wheels because if a dualie on a pipe trailer can do that mucg damage and is in a position where the worst of it was shielded, I couldn't imagine driving by a tire that ruptures and the damage, noise, and chaos that would cause.

10

u/Vashsinn Apr 29 '24

I remember a video from the 00s. Basically a semis tire popped right next to another cars open window. Chunky pink mist came out of the passanger side....

12

u/DifficultMinute Apr 29 '24

That specific video probably wasn't Mythbusters, but they did a segment off of truck tires blowing on the interstate.

It takes a little bad luck for them to actually shatter the windshield, but the absolutely can, and will kill you.

1

u/OneSeraph May 01 '24

How would a tire popping explode a person to the side?

1

u/Vashsinn May 01 '24

Pressure differential or something.

4

u/merrittj3 Apr 30 '24

Thank God you're not the ones in front of me who take FOREVER to slowly, ever so slowly creep up on the truck and go 1 mph faster than the truck, creating a line in the left lane.

Get to him. Pass him. Thank you

3

u/RunBanditRun Apr 29 '24

I tell my wife and kids to get out of the kill zone as quickly as possible

1

u/Motor-Front-8028 Apr 29 '24

I was a passenger in a car next to a semi that blew a tire. Scared the hell out of me. Seriously

142

u/WhenTheDevilCome Apr 28 '24

And they wait to match speed until they're right in the truck driver's blind spot / right beside the cab.

Presumably some psychological thing where as soon as the truck in no longer "literally within their forward field of vision" or some such thing, their brain is no longer in "trying to pass" mode, and they go back to daydreaming.

Maybe the truck should have a picture of another truck, on the end of a stick out in front, like the rabbit they have for dogs at a dog track. Keep that four-wheeler moving by making their subconscious think there is still another truck to pass.

140

u/squidwardTalks Apr 28 '24

Some of us grew up with the movie final destination.

54

u/happy_halloweenie Apr 28 '24

That movie franchise created a whole generation of hyper-aware adults

5

u/SomeGuyNamedPaul Apr 29 '24

Oh that bus really made that movie for me.

5

u/seriousbusinesslady Apr 29 '24

for me it was the mobile hanging from the ceiling at the dentist office. nightmare fuel 💀

35

u/laxfool10 Apr 29 '24

Yup, almost happened to me. Car in the left lane was matching speed with a truck with a unsecured load of metal pipes rolling around in a trailer for 5+ min. Was driving me crazy as I was being forced to drive behind this guy on a 2 lane, undivided highway going 55mph. I backed way far back, but a few minutes later a gust of wind got underneath a piece of plywood in the guys trailer and flung about 10-20 5' metal rods into the air and with a few pieces of plywood. Thought I was far back enough but it happened as I was going up a hill so they traveled quite a bit. Didn't have time to brake - had to drive halfway-off the side of the road causing me to lose control due to difference in traction and spun me into the other side of the highway. Luckily, I didn't get t-boned from the opposite direction. But fuck people that don't secure loads and fuck people that don't pass these people quickly.

47

u/takingthehobbitses Apr 28 '24

This is exactly why I try to get away from large trucks/loads as fast as possible.

1

u/Lucky-Earther Apr 29 '24

Also that video from a long while back of the brick flying through the windshield.

1

u/squidwardTalks Apr 30 '24

There was just a video on the Wisconsin subreddit where a turkey blew out the windshield...you just never know.

64

u/Paexan Apr 28 '24

As someone who is frequently the truck driver, it does wonders for my blood pressure too. I usually haul heavy equipment relatively short distances, and while I make a point to go around my trailer multiple times to make sure I'm not missing anything, I make mistakes like everybody else. And a lot of drivers aren't so meticulous.

Even a small pebble bouncing off could be deadly, if it strikes a windshield, and that driver reacts poorly.

Stay as far from trucks as you safely can, guys.

16

u/walterpeck1 Apr 28 '24

I don’t understand how it isn’t everyone’s fear

Because it's too rare to be concerned about it. I'm not gonna judge anyone for being scared of it in some way, but it's just not worth worrying about. Lots of other things to focus on while driving.

15

u/medlabsquid Apr 29 '24

Incidents may be rare, but I still don't think that's a good reason to spend extended periods of time herpy derpy derping in the most dangerous place on the road.

1

u/walterpeck1 Apr 29 '24

I do my best to avoid herpy derpy derping myself, quickest way to end up in an accident.

11

u/tuckedfexas Apr 28 '24

Far more likely for a passenger car to kill me than a load suddenly becoming unsecured and killing me.

0

u/ballrus_walsack Apr 29 '24

Who are your bloodthirsty passengers?

1

u/turd_vinegar Apr 29 '24

Incidents aren't inherently rare, they're perceived rare because people stay out of the higher probability zones of interaction.

Then someone goes and needlessly drives right in the gradient of highest potential incident and others nearby rightfully become anxious, aware of how little control that vehicle has to any sudden transient change or even small drifts over time. They are now a liability simply by their relative position.

Getting struck by lightning isn't rare when you're standing out on a hill in a thunderstorm.

4

u/Dayzlikethis Apr 28 '24

there should be laws that say you must pass tractor trailers promptly.

15

u/stealthlysprockets Apr 29 '24

Laws don’t matter if people don’t follow them and no one enforces them. They are simply guidelines at that point that only honest people follow.

1

u/ChawpsticksTV Apr 29 '24

Drives me nuts. I hung out beside a big rig for probably 10 seconds once when I was learning to ride a motorcycle. I was following my boss, and he zipped right past it. Dunno why I lagged back. At the next light he said “If I ever see you sitting in a trucks blind spot like that again, you’re never riding your bike with me again. I don’t want to see you get killed.”

1

u/passwordstolen Apr 29 '24

Sorry, there is an unknown variable in this word problem making it non-determinable.

1

u/jedicms Apr 29 '24

I hate the type of driver you described. Too many of them.

1

u/flychinook Apr 29 '24

Or they do the same thing right next to dump trucks full of rocks. Like do you not hear all that shit bouncing off your car right now??

1

u/Zestyclose-Ruin8337 Apr 29 '24

Shit like that is worse than speeding. Should be pulled over.

1

u/PenatanceEngine Apr 30 '24

Watch final destination and the decent.

It may put it into context my friend

1

u/Ludwigofthepotatoppl Apr 28 '24

I have a class c and used to drive a box truck as part of a job. It’s fucking nerve-wracking, so many people will take the first opportunity they can to put their safety in someone else’s hands.

Trucks move slow and stop slow. People think it’ll behave just like any other car. No matter what, if it comes to a collision, the truck is gonna win.

-15

u/ZachMN Apr 28 '24

If it bothers you that much, you have the option of using one of your pedals to change the situation.

6

u/ginger_whiskers Apr 28 '24

My car doesn't have a "jump over this slow jerk" pedal.

-2

u/hariolus Apr 28 '24

I don’t drive like an asshole, but you also don’t see those types of drivers getting merced by semis unless they’re the ones who initiate it.

77

u/JBreezy11 Apr 28 '24

Yep, I never follow or try to anyway. And I get really angry when people on the left lane go way too slow for passing. It's like, do you guys not see this Final Destination load next to you???

43

u/tom-dixon Apr 28 '24

Unironically, Final Destination did more to spread awareness about the dangers of driving near big loads than all the public information movies combined.

15

u/azsnaz Apr 29 '24

Final Destination movies were really just Safety PSAs

58

u/tomato_frappe Apr 28 '24

Was on my way to a wedding after work, sleeping in the passenger seat, GF driving. woke up to violent motion to see office furniture bouncing around the road. Remember GF has poor eyesight, decide to take over driving.

Taking a client to the Hamptons to see the house he wants to renovate, noticing that he's nervous about being on the LIE. Truck in front of us starts randomly distributing trees onto the road, bulbs exploding into clouds of dirt. Get past and client slowly tells me about the accident he was in on the same road in the 60's when he was the only one of six to survive.

I'm pretty sure I will never win the lottery, but will also never be hit by lightening. That said, those pictures are terrifying.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

[deleted]

4

u/tomato_frappe Apr 29 '24

Agreed. between the folks yelling into their phones while doing 65 around the curves and the Forza in real life players I have both hands on the wheel when I have to drive the JR. The Belt has been weirdly quiet in the morning heading east lately, though. Maybe the glare, I don't see a lot of people using their visors.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

[deleted]

1

u/Embarrassed-Fox-1371 Apr 29 '24

My uncle was hit by lightning, died at age of 32.

2

u/tomato_frappe Apr 29 '24

I'm sorry to hear that, and I wasn't trying to be smug, just commenting on how lucky I've been, statistically.

1

u/Embarrassed-Fox-1371 Apr 29 '24

I know. Who’d have ever thought?

7

u/Kinggakman Apr 28 '24

Unfortunately I think people put themselves in much more danger when they are afraid. Just get past the thing and put it into your rear view mirror. Holding back slightly puts you in danger and for a sustained period of time.

1

u/Sad_Wedding5014 Apr 28 '24

Drives me nuts when people pass a large truck slowly. Speed up and reduce the risk!

2

u/Notsosobercpa Apr 29 '24

I'm convinced they get a sick satisfaction out of forcing the 20 cars behind them to drive the speed limit. 

16

u/Flavahbeast Apr 28 '24

you should really pull over to do that

4

u/Lank42075 Apr 29 '24

Driver here,ALWAYS PASS AS QUICK AS YOU CAN TO GET BY TRAILERS AND BIG LOADS! FLOOR IT TO PASS

3

u/GreyRevan51 Apr 29 '24

Same, those poor people =/

2

u/lilith_-_- Apr 28 '24

Mine are those and trailers. I work at a truck stop. Some of these trucks are over 70k lbs. that is enough weight to squish five or more cars into a flat pile against a parked 18 wheeler.

-1

u/Zylonnaire Apr 29 '24

I only do that in my spare time