The Deadly Dangers of Trucking 

The easiest way to get hurt is overconfidence and cockiness

One thing I would like to add to this is when you're opening your trailer doors when loaded. Open one door at a time. Never open both at the same time. You never know if your load has shifted or not until you open the doors and its too late. Happened to me. Double stacked units of corrugated boxes that weighed a good 1000lbs each. I made two mistakes, did not secure the load with a load bar, and opened both doors at once because I was in a hurry. One unit was leaning against the doors and fell completely out. I managed to see it coming so I got out of the way in time. I was very fortunate because that unit could have easily crushed and killed me.

thanks very much for this Video...! 1. Driving Tired 2. Distracted Driving (texting) 3. Driving too fast for conditions 4. Choosing the wrong neighborhoods 5. Proper Pre-Trip Instruction and Brakes 6. Pining up the Trailer 7. Never get underneath the Trailer 8. Stay Alert in Trucking Yards and parking lots 9. Don't climb up high on the Trucks 10. Use caution when under-neath a Truck 11. Don't mess with the Brake Chambers 12. Watch your footing when climbing up on a load

ALWAYS maintain three points of contact when climbing in or out of your truck. Remember to get out ass first when you climb down the cab or the trailer. I learned that the hard way when I nearly broke my leg trying to hop out of the truck.

I learned the bulk of what I know about spinning 18 and actually making money from the older guys. I figured they're older, still driving, what they're telling me must be the best way, or they wouldn't still be doing it. I'll take an older drivers advice over any young buck, any day of the week. Great video!

In 1979 I was stopped in California I-10 west bound scale for air leak on the chamber , at the time I did not know what was inside of it and I did try to open it up , lucky an other driver topped next to my side and he did see what I was trying to do . Thanks God he came at right time to stop me , otherwise I would had been dead from that spring .

1- be dumb and don't put the breaks, then put foot under. 2- turn engine off and do pre-trip right after (if you know what i mean "hot stuff") 3- park in dark areas and sleep for the night, even with empty trailers 4- crank trailer and dont watch out for face to be out of the way of the handle 5- not using gloves to crank handle (rusty iron, getting cut) 6- touch the exhaust right after regeneration 7- looking at your phone while walking in front of pumps, or parking lot at the truck stop 8- get the damn out of the way from a backing truck ..... how many times we gotta say it? 9- wearing dark clothes and doing just what i said before. 10- trying to fix a clearance light, not smart 11- slipping off the steps because you didnt have a good grip, or truck is tilted. 12- opening trailer doors and not getting out of the way, or not using door as a shield 13- not securing loads 14- breaking too hard, now all your cargo in the trailer is right inside your sleeper 15- driving tired 16- following too close for conditions 17- not paying attention 18- being dumb 19- being in a rush (rush = mistakes and mistakes kills) 20- did i miss something?

1:21 please elaborate and make a separate video for the newbies on how to know neighborhood is dangerious in advance so you can either go during the daytime or not at all.

In my rookie years of driving I drove across the state of New Jersey asleep I think. Fortunately the truck was parked nice and straight but I had no clue where I was when I woke up. Looked like a crazy man when I asked somebody where I was . Since then I've been very careful not driving when I'm tired

Driving the ice roads north of Yellowknife, speed limits are super low and the cell phone don't work. The biggest cause of accidents is definitely sleep deprivation. Every day of the ice road season I see at least 5 accidents, some of which are very bad, all of which are easily caused by drivers being sleepy. Get your sleep, too hell with dispatch. If your tired, rest. Make it home too your family safe and rested

.... good deal! Your video is spot on. Do a post trip and put your hand on each tire. A basic check but a hot tire should be checked. Blowing a outside tire on the interstate has more issues than just having to stop for a tire change. I too worried about some who were not listening to old timers ( like our own children .) It is a blessing to have men who teach by example . . And without judgemental dialog .

Winter time is an extreme danger even if you're not driving. My store had a delivery that was 13 hours late because the original driver slipped and fell off the back of his trailer when he stepped on the very end, reached for the handhold and lost his grip because it was covered in ice. He hit the pavement and broke his arm in two places. Make your equipment ice-free before you climb onto it.

Hey Dave, Talking about the unexpected ways to get hurt out here I had a good one happen to me a couple months back that I sure as he'll didn't ever expect. I had loaded som tool joint sections and had gotten up on trailer with my trusty big pry bar to slide these joints tight done this for years, these joints weigh about 7.000 lb. each, jam my bar in and lift, joint don't move, reset,this time I put some ass to it, The fkn BAR BROKE! (Bullwinkle don't know his own strength) I flew backwards off trailer hit hard,broke shoulder blade and 4 ribs . never saw that one coming, I have used that old railroad bar for 40 or 50yrs. just goes to prove, ya can be doing everything right and still get hurt or killed in this job. Stay safe out there drivers.

What you said about being on decks or strapping down loads is ESPECIALLY important for car haulers

Don't forget: use a headache rack when hauling pipes.

I'm glad u mentioned never go underneath trailer especially when loaded I've seen a couple trailers break in half was not pretty

My uncle is a rig mechanic and got pinned under a truck in the yard looking for an air leak. Didn't realize the truck was settling as fast as it was until he couldn't get out. He wasn't harmed but he was shaken up. It was 15F out that day and it took almost an a hour and a half for someone to find him because he couldn't get his phone out of his pocket.

Circle checks are NEVER a waste of time. You never know what you might find while doing "the circle"...

You are one giving man ,to take the time to share your experience , you probably give new drivers smarts that would take them years to learn by T and E and lord knows most other drivers will let you mess up or worse before giving you advice or a helping hand ..

Don't drive angry.... Almost every incident I've had was while I got pissed off or frustrated at something or someone.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!

Good information Dave you pointed out some really important stuff the do's and the don'ts.👍👍

Man I love your channel Dave. Thanks for all you do for truckers!

If I might add something to this subject is the danger of "Chaining Up". I used to drive a dedicated mail route which took me on I-5 Washington state over Snoqualmie pass. In the winter I had to chain up when the interstate was covered with snow and I always hated doing that because I would have to get under the tractor to get my driver wheels chained up. It was very dangerous not to mention laying down in the snow and dirt. Another problem was that when hauling mail, the trailer was very light and in icing conditions I was constantly watching my mirrors to make sure that trailer was not slipping around in the snow and ice.

The "shake hands with danger" series shows a good demonstration of the hazards of brake chambers.

excellent video Dave. lot of good advice, Thanks. It's amazing how easy it is to get hurt just by not paying attention to what your doing. Like you said " Keep your head about you all the time!!!!"

Thank you for sharing words of wisdom.

Thankyou,especially the bit about trailer legs collapsing.

Great video, thanks for the info!!

Great video Dave. Some of the safety measures you talked about I was guilty of doing, and I learned them the hard way. The one that I was most guilty of was the same one that you was guilty of, climbing the back door hinges to fix a light. Thankfully I didn't get hurt doing it. Thanks for sharing, be safe and stay between the ditches.

Excellent Dave! All good advice. Common sense prevails! Thanks

Well, pretty much don't never get ahead of yourself. Think it through

Thanks old G professional advice...Good looking out

"Thank You"! Very interesting. I hope and pray all drivers take your adise. I know I always will. God Bless

What's deadly is having a low power truck with no speed &low rpm. Give me a high power rig its fun to drive you will get over the mountain & back home & get your rest. Do you notice most big truck wrecks are gover down tractors 62mph units they will put you too sleep or have you out there way to long .

Thanks for the advice!!!

One piece of advise for owner/operators. Pay your self a high enough wage to qualify for maximum workers comp. Too many guys pay themselves minimum wage and take a large dividend out of the company. In Canada dividends are taxed lower that wages. Then if you do get hurt you got nothing coming in. Workers comp ain't much but it keeps food on the table. I know guys who got caught in this trap on their accountants advice. All you have to do is slip on the step and you could be out for a month. Or like the guy who broke the pry bar. You ain't bullet proof!!

God bless you and thanks for all the advices! From a Venezuelan driver in this beautiful country.

Think about flatbed freight before accepting the load. Make sure that you can safely secure the load. If it is a tarp load again make sure that you can safely unroll the tarp again before accepting the responsibility. Always think about parking at the end of the shift late at night many areas won't have available parking think about this in advance. Have a plan where are you going to park? Think about this when accepting the load and before accepting the delivery time.

thanks for doing a basic safety video, hoping to get training on the way this fall at tri county training

Thanks for the tips!

Thank you for this info! It was especially nice to get the info on what to watch out for when flat-bedding. I am extremely green. I just got my class A, and haven't been out yet, and I have flatbed company that is putting a motor in the truck for me to go out with my trainer. Thanks again!

Watching flat bed drivers standing on top of a load tarping up, high winds, wet/icy are all bad mojo being up there. Finding a little gap between stacks of things (especially when you are walking backwards dragging a tarp aboard.

Great points...Trucks / trailers are big & can injure or kill a person very easily. Thanks for sharing your experience.

GREAT INFORMATION!! THANK YOU

Thank you for sharing your knowledge sir, i am a young owner operator and appreciate it

Great advice and as always a great video. Thank you

All good advice. Thanks.

Also flatbeds, keep your hands away from the winches! i got a finger caught in the gear and it aint no fun! Yeah it was a stupid rookie thing! :)

And as hard is it is to do have a exercise program or you probably won't see retirement !!

Very good video, I can't count how many times I have put a pin lock on without truck support...

Dave keep up the good work know your videos have got to be helpful to new drivers. It is good refresher for us old hands. Catch you on the flip side brother of the road.

I dig Canadian truck driving advise. It's sound.

Thank you .

I watched a guy when I was around 10 years old fall asleep at the wheel... first he was in the median then he went down in a ravine between two bridges.

Considering most semi truck tires are only rated for 75 miles per hour lots of drivers are going too fast.

Very informative video, old school trucking survival skills. Live long and always be safe

This is great. I start school for my CDL in about a month. Here in Canada, Ontario, Sudbury. Am looking at short hauls, company driver to start, possibly owner/operator later on.

Iv'e got a story about reversing onto a dock, when I was driving a rigid truck in the city I had a rear fold down that covered the back of the truck and folded out onto the dock at dock height I just got a new truck with a reverse camera it was in the middle of the city in an underground dock and this day a guy whipped around behind the truck as the edge of the lifting platform was close to the dock ( in between the platform and the dock ) I had two spotters ( the security guard and the guy looking after the work in that building ) it happened so fast they didn't have time to react and I just happened to check the camera an see him in time

Great tip

Thanks many times for your wisdom!

Thanks sir,

Best Saftey Educational video, Good job boss👏👏👏😀😀Thank you!

thank you!good to know.

Thanks sir you are great 👍🏼

Absolutely something that every new driver should watch more than once. And anybody in the experience range that I am in which is 13 years which is considered the most dangerous drivers on the road because we tend to get cocky & overconfident in our abilities which by the way might be something for you to talk about as well. What this is for every driver as a reminder of the safety of trucking. Thank you very much for sharing brilliant tips

Excellent advice

hi dave i remember my dad telling me in the 70s and 80s truck drivers used to drive with out a break

Smart advice

The old cabover is used to be pretty dangerous and getting in and out of those. Slipped a couple times. Also up on the back catwalk. The thing I notice a lot going into these big distribution centers Is people driving way too fast. Lack of patience waiting and not paying attention. Trucks going all different directions no need to be speeding.

Thanks for the common sense tips..Sir.

Great video man!

Thanks Dave great vid safety always first.

Very good sound advice sir, thank you !

Awesome video. Thanks much

u reflect great leadership,I can tell at different times u experience some wild times on rd lol,its how we live n learn building experience

Thank You 👍🏿👍🏿

Ty 4 Knowledge

I've been driving forever so it seems. The most dangerous part is being in a bad city in the bad part of town. Always park outside the city. The Petro in Gary is fine now. It's new and has security driving around all night. Years ago this was not safe at all. The Loves across the street is fine also. Both are clean places to park.

Yikes I hope none of us are ever around the 7 that gave this a thumbs down! The biggest thing I was taught years ago is that there would NEVER be a load to anywhere, at anytime, that was worth my life, or someone else's. I almost lost my life at I-76 east & US 85 North in 1993. Four old people in a car swerved in front of me at the last minute to go to Greeley. I hit the exit sign that used to be in the median with the drivers side door at 65 mph.

Great t shirt tour also love your videos and experience. Really inspiring to be Frank

You are so right

Just wanted to add a couple of long shots to what you put down already .Back in the 80's even into the 90's before I started pulling end dumps and doubles here locally , I signed on for a few months with U S A Trucks out of Memphis and they were doing a lot of government for the FAA and and military .Hauling small arms , ordnance ,grenades and shoulder fired rocket tubes (never haul that stuff and the parts that make that stuff dangerous on the same load ).stuff that can turn a quick profit on the streets or in Mexico and latin America , revolution and arm smuggling was the big thing in them days .Not much in that respect has changed in fact things have gotten worse ,but when hiring on at USA Truck I was given the company pep talk I was instructed If I were to see something strange like a trailer door not secure or it swing open in the draft behind the trailer ,to never pull over ,stop and close it or inspect it until I reached a safe area with people around . It sems they had on a couple of occasions where the truck was followed by a pickup with 3-4 guys in it and the truck would pull in tight behind your trailer and one or two would crawl out onto the hood ,cut your seals and start unloading you while you doing 65 down the freeway . Far fetched ideas but it happened and probably still does . To pull over you risk not only probably lose the entire load ,truck and trailer and possibly your life too. One more and Ill STFU Be observant of cars and pickups that always seem to be somewhere behind you ,maybe way back but always there ,passes you up only to slow down and let you pass them .....you never know .maybe they are just going your way or maybe casing you ....... And if hauling along the border USA /Mexican border areas of south Texas , NM, Az and Calif. Its a given we try and keep an eye on the truck but its not always possible when going inside to pay for fuel or get a weekly shower and food that ain't micro waved . I used to do a good circle of my truck then crawl under the trailer and look it over from tandems to king pin for anything that 's not supposed to be there .It has happened to others ,never me but I didnt want to take the chance only takes a minute anyway .The dope smugglers would plant their dope on a frame rail or under the trailer and let you haul it for them taking all the risk while they just follow you until you get it close enough and grab it at your next fuel /pi** stop .But one time across the scales and get called in and it's all over ......you get the charges . That was in the 80's though , not much has changed in the dope business .

Always love your videos and the messages 🇯🇲

Thanks sir

Great video as usual!!!

Good tips friend. KUDOS.

If I never drove tired, I would never drive.

And one last thing, as Dave said, proper pretrip, but also a proper post trip.

THX! NICE!

As i watched some of your videos, I am glad I am a driver in Europe.

smart instructions

great video dave! missed ya

thanks dave great advice as always, im like number 700!!!! yay!!!

Be careful not to have your legs or feet sticking out from under the truck in a bay in a parking space or on a shoulder or you could be run over.

I like your videos they are helpful thanks

Excellent

great video have a great night be safe.

lost good friend a number of years back. He was loading a gravel truck onto a flat deck. Not sure why he was using his flat deck as he had a double drop trailer also. He had the gravel truck on the trailer facing backwards. He was standing at his headache rack pulling his chains off when that gravel truck rolled off the front of the flat deck, crushing him. The gravel truck had those shitty juice brakes, mechanical parking leaver and none of it worked properly. fellas, make sure that load is not going anywhere before you turn your back on it.

Cool man!