Near Miss: Tire Blowout Debris And 4-Wheeler Avoidance

What I think you'll see here is how paying attention to your surroundings...what's going on around you, who and what and where people are, and leaving plenty of space equals giving you time and room to make safe decisions and reactions.

Notice several car lengths in front of me is another tractor-trailer.

Traffic is heavy with four-wheelers on a Sunday.  I'm in the right lane, and I know the left lane is full of a line of four-wheelers passing me.

I also know that I have another tractor-trailer behind me, and that he is keeping a prudent and sensible distance behind me.  (I've been watching him for many miles, and I have come to the conclusion that he is a decent driver and won't do anything stupid.)

Now back to the video...

From the rig in front of me, you'll see a puff of smoke and/or dust, and you'll also see several four-wheelers swerve and/or stomp on the brakes.

These are indications that something silly is going on ahead and that I should slow down and prepare for anything.

I slow a bit and turn on my hazards to indicate to the folks behind me that there is a problem ahead.

As I get closer to the problem, I see chunks of rubber and parts of the stricken rig flying all over the road, and four-wheelers swerving in every direction.

I don't want to run over the junk in the road because I have brand new tires on my tractor and I'm pulling a brand new trailer.

I don't want to damage any of it if possible because damaging stuff is below average and unprofessional and embarrassing.

I know I can't go into the left lane to avoid the junk because it is full of four-wheelers.  I know the right shoulder is clear because I have checked my mirrors.

I see the stricken rig is on the right shoulder now and it is still moving, but I have slowed down enough that I know I have plenty of time and room to take my rig to the right shoulder to avoid the junk in the right lane.

This is what I do.

I miss the junk and get back into the right lane and carefully pass the damaged rig.

No harm done to me or the folks near me.

(Please note that it takes a lot more time to describe what happened than the time that elapsed during the actual event.)

It all seems so simple.

Give yourself time and room.

And always pay attention.

It can make all the difference.

Thing-a-ma-bobs And Doojy-floppers?: Trailer Tire Air Pressure System

See the silver and red lines on this trailer wheel?  

If your trailer is equipped with these lines, it probably has one of these on the nose of the trailer also.

Everybody knows I ain’t too smart.

I thought those lines on the wheel hub might be some kinda fancy oil lines to keep the bearings lubricated.  I had no idea what they were, and I never investigated them because I’m a lazy stoopid truck driver.

Then…a while back…a road service tire repair guru showed me that those lines are actually air lines which are used to maintain trailer tire air pressure during normal operation. He showed me how he could mount a flat tire on the wheel (without removing the wheel from the hub), and then inflate the tire using the truck’s air system.

Pretty cool.

A few weeks ago, one of my work pals hipped me to what was going on here with the item in the second photo.  I knew that item was a warning light, but I thought it was a warning light used to indicate reefer malfunction.

Then, I got told by my buddy.

I am such a moron.

That light is part of the trailer tire air pressure maintenance system.  If trailer tire air pressure gets too low, that light will come on, and the attentive and prudent driver will see it in his rear view mirror and react accordingly.

Now you and I BOTH know.

Never stop learning.

Ain’t life grand?