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Semi driver cited after Dan Ryan crash

AJiveMan

AJiveMan

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Semi driver cited after Dan Ryan crash - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News


The driver of the Freightliner, 71-year-old Kenneth J. Dunn of Chicago, was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, unsafe equipment, and spilling a load on a highway, according to state police.

Read more: Semi driver cited after Dan Ryan crash - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News
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71 years old. Unsafe equipment can mean different things, one might be bad brakes.

Not saying this was the case, but I've never heard of anyone that age driving for a living.
 
70 is the new 50!
 
AJiveMan said:
Semi driver cited after Dan Ryan crash - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News







71 years old. Unsafe equipment can mean different things, one might be bad brakes.

Not saying this was the case, but I've never heard of anyone that age driving for a living.
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There's quite a few that age still driving mainly guys who don't know much else or haven't saved for retirement or just cant stand retirement. Also a lot of people are driving as a team to see the country after retiring if they don't have a lot of savings. Its pretty common.
 
His brakes may have failed, or he may have had his head up his ass. "Unsafe equipment' could literally anything from a inoperable marker light to a major brake failure.

I've never heard of 18 brake assemblies failing at the same time. If it was brakes, his trailer brakes were probably in-op. Most likeky, he didn't check them and didn't know, or he did know and didn't adjust his driving strategy accordingly.

Most likely, there was a loose nut between the driver's seat and the steering wheel.
 
PirateMk1 said:
There's quite a few that age still driving mainly guys who don't know much else or haven't saved for retirement or just cant stand retirement. Also a lot of people are driving as a team to see the country after retiring if they don't have a lot of savings. Its pretty common.
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Probably, I wouldn't doubt the retirement thing.

I knew a driver, actually owner operator who brought the rig home one evening, his last time. Emerging from the rig, he was uncoordinated, dragging his leg, speech was slurred, and his woman said ah ha, drunk and driving again huh! He was 63 y.o.. so sad.
 
My next door neighbor is 73 years old and she parks her Freightliner tractor in my driveway almost every weekend.

Just sayin'
 
apdst said:
His brakes may have failed, or he may have had his head up his ass. "Unsafe equipment' could literally anything from a inoperable marker light to a major brake failure.

I've never heard of 18 brake assemblies failing at the same time. If it was brakes, his trailer brakes were probably in-op. Most likely, he didn't check them and didn't know, or he did know and didn't adjust his driving strategy accordingly.

Most likely, there was a loose nut between the driver's seat and the steering wheel.
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it's incredibly unlikely his trailer brakes were in-op.... his trailer ABS system may have been ( unlikely that the cops on scene could verify that)... but inoperative ABS systems do not prevent normal braking operations.
the most common reason for an "unsafe equipment" citation is ...marker lights... then tires.

but yeah, "unsafe equipment" covers a very wide range of issues... they are "fix it" tickets
these types of violations generally do not contribute to or cause accidents.
 
Muhammed said:
My next door neighbor is 73 years old and she parks her Freightliner tractor in my driveway almost every weekend.

Just sayin'
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I had a customer that operated a heavy haul truck ( for hauling big equipment.. huge stuff)... he was 84 years old... with narcolepsy.
old geezer had 5 million accident free miles driven when he finally retired... and the nicest 71' Peterbilt I had ever worked on, it was damn near a show truck.
 
Thrilla said:
it's incredibly unlikely his trailer brakes were in-op.... his trailer ABS system may have been ( unlikely that the cops on scene could verify that)... but inoperative ABS systems do not prevent normal braking operations.
the most common reason for an "unsafe equipment" citation is ...marker lights... then tires.

but yeah, "unsafe equipment" covers a very wide range of issues... they are "fix it" tickets
these types of violations generally do not contribute to or cause accidents.
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It's not "highly unlikely" at all.
 
apdst said:
It's not "highly unlikely" at all.
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yes it is..full trailer brake failure ( all 4 brake positions) is incredibly rare.
when it does happen, we see all 4 positions lock up..usually due to loss of the air supply.

loss of braking power to all positions can be caused by only a few things... slack adjusters being manually backed off, loss of service air supply ( which quickly leads to loss of air and a lockup), or the chambers have been manually caged.
 
apdst said:
His brakes may have failed, or he may have had his head up his ass. "Unsafe equipment' could literally anything from a inoperable marker light to a major brake failure.

I've never heard of 18 brake assemblies failing at the same time. If it was brakes, his trailer brakes were probably in-op. Most likeky, he didn't check them and didn't know, or he did know and didn't adjust his driving strategy accordingly.

Most likely, there was a loose nut between the driver's seat and the steering wheel.
Click to expand...

Considering that the accident just happened, the driver most likely did not realize what was happening in front of him till it was too late, and he was probably running too close to the traffic in front of him reducing available reaction time.
 
Thrilla said:
yes it is..full trailer brake failure ( all 4 brake positions) is incredibly rare.
when it does happen, we see all 4 positions lock up..usually due to loss of the air supply.

loss of braking power to all positions can be caused by only a few things... slack adjusters being manually backed off, loss of service air supply ( which quickly leads to loss of air and a lockup), or the chambers have been manually caged.
Click to expand...

You said in-operable, not a sudden failure. I agree that a sudden failure is almost impossible.
 
AJiveMan said:
Semi driver cited after Dan Ryan crash - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News






71 years old. Unsafe equipment can mean different things, one might be bad brakes.

Not saying this was the case, but I've never heard of anyone that age driving for a living.
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Plenty of older drivers out there.
Trucking is a tough industry, the real stars of america drive the trucks that keeps america running. Not over paid athletes, actors and musicians.
No where near enough respect for our drivers that work up to 14 hours a day and 70 hours a week.
99% of all goods you buy were shipped by truck.
 
votemout said:
Plenty of older drivers out there.
Trucking is a tough industry, the real stars of america drive the trucks that keeps america running. Not over paid athletes, actors and musicians.
No where near enough respect for our drivers that work up to 14 hours a day and 70 hours a week.
99% of all goods you buy were shipped by truck.
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I know. When I pushed 80,000 pounds, I never got no respect either, much like the kind I get here at DP. I never get no respect.
 
apdst said:
You said in-operable, not a sudden failure. I agree that a sudden failure is almost impossible.
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Blowing a steer tire would be catastrophic. That could be defined as sudden failure. Safety violations could also include bald or worn tires, yes?
 
AJiveMan said:
Blowing a steer tire would be catastrophic. That could be defined as sudden failure. Safety violations could also include bald or worn tires, yes?
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YES, But lets just be honest here.
If ANYTHING ON A TRUCK is not in tip top shape they can get that ticket.
seriously headlight out for a trucker can get that ticket.
 
AJiveMan said:
Blowing a steer tire would be catastrophic. That could be defined as sudden failure. Safety violations could also include bald or worn tires, yes?
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That wouldn't be a sudden brake failure.

Yes.
 
votemout said:
YES, But lets just be honest here.
If ANYTHING ON A TRUCK is not in tip top shape they can get that ticket.
seriously headlight out for a trucker can get that ticket.
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True. Been there, and done that. Other members were talking about sudden failure. If the Dan Ryan trucker had bald tires, was the company was written up for it, and the accident was caused by that, then it's negligence, yes? in other words, big trouble.

The toll road worker killed and trooper injured on I-88, the company who the driver worked for had numerous safety violations too, the driver charged with vehicular homicide, and the company's license revoked, and no doubt, insurance company will shell out thousands, if not millions of dollars for stupidity.

Truck Company Involved In Fatal I-88 Crash Has Spotty Record | NBC Chicago
 
apdst said:
That wouldn't be a sudden brake failure.

Yes.
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If you've ever driven the Dan Ryan during rush hours in a tractor trailer, the driver or operator is normally concerned with running over cars cutting in front of him or her, add to that scanning the sides and behind, add to that multitasking like texting or talkiing on a cell and possibly writing down messages from a cell phone call for next pickup point, distracted driving, I'd believe that most truckers don't monitor their gauges every 10 seconds.

The Dan Ryan driver might have been distracted, or experienced a medical problem, it's too early to tell.

But, if there's an air leak left unattended, it can cause the brakes to lock up. I have seen truckers crimp off flexible air hoses with visegrips to stop air leaks.

Catastrophic failure of brakes is possible if the company neglected to keep them in good repair.
If brakes lock up, yes, that could be catastrophic.
 
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AJiveMan said:
True. Been there, and done that. Other members were talking about sudden failure. If the Dan Ryan trucker had bald tires, was the company was written up for it, and the accident was caused by that, then it's negligence, yes? in other words, big trouble.

The toll road worker killed and trooper injured on I-88, the company who the driver worked for had numerous safety violations too, the driver charged with vehicular homicide, and the company's license revoked, and no doubt, insurance company will shell out thousands, if not millions of dollars for stupidity.

Truck Company Involved In Fatal I-88 Crash Has Spotty Record | NBC Chicago
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Just wait till they allow the mexican companies onto our roads that have no where near the regulations the american truckers have to comply with.
It sound to me like this driver was an owner operator meaning he owned his truck.

Drivers are to do a complete inspection of their trucks every day before driving, and also inspect tires and things every time the stop.
By complete inspection i mean 108 piece checklist.
 
AJiveMan said:
True. Been there, and done that. Other members were talking about sudden failure. If the Dan Ryan trucker had bald tires, was the company was written up for it, and the accident was caused by that, then it's negligence, yes? in other words, big trouble.

The toll road worker killed and trooper injured on I-88, the company who the driver worked for had numerous safety violations too, the driver charged with vehicular homicide, and the company's license revoked, and no doubt, insurance company will shell out thousands, if not millions of dollars for stupidity.

Truck Company Involved In Fatal I-88 Crash Has Spotty Record | NBC Chicago
Click to expand...

They are also getting these less then desirable companies off of the roads, bad driver also.
 
votemout said:
Just wait till they allow the mexican companies onto our roads that have no where near the regulations the american truckers have to comply with.
It sound to me like this driver was an owner operator meaning he owned his truck.

Drivers are to do a complete inspection of their trucks every day before driving, and also inspect tires and things every time the stop.
By complete inspection i mean 108 piece checklist.
Click to expand...
Exactly.

And if he was a O/O, shame on him for neglecting his rig, doing that puts other people's lives at risk.

I'm watching local news everyday to see if or what the violations were and the cause of the accident. I'm thinking distracted driving or a medical condition.

Oh, BTW, former Governor Ryan did prison time for issuing bogus licenses.

Ryan's political career was marred by a scandal involving the illegal sale of government licenses, contracts and leases by state employees during his prior service as Secretary of State;

George Ryan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


There's a lot of people driving trucks who can't speak English.
 
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AJiveMan said:
If you've ever driven the Dan Ryan during rush hours in a tractor trailer, the driver or operator is normally concerned with running over cars cutting in front of him or her, add to that scanning the sides and behind, add to that multitasking like texting or talkiing on a cell and possibly writing down messages from a cell phone call for next pickup point, distracted driving, I'd believe that most truckers don't monitor their gauges every 10 seconds.
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That's every metropolitan area in the country.



But, if there's an air leak left unattended, it can cause the brakes to lock up. I have seen truckers crimp off flexible air hoses with visegrips to stop air leaks.
Click to expand...

It depends on the airline. Crimping off a break line will cause the air to that brake chamber to be cutoff, thereby locking up the brake.

Catastrophic failure of brakes is possible if the company neglected to keep them in good repair.
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Not all 18 brake assemblies. However, if the trailer brakes are out of adjustment, braking power is greatly reduced. The tractor brakes alone aren't enough to stop within the 600 feet of safe stopping distance


If brakes lock up, yes, that could be catastrophic.
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Brake lock up isn't necessarily a brake failure. If brakes lock up because of a loss of air pressure, then the brakes didn't fail, because they did exactly what they're supposed to do.
 
AJiveMan said:
Exactly.

And if he was a O/O, shame on him for neglecting his rig, doing that puts other people's lives at risk.

I'm watching local news everyday to see if or what the violations were and the cause of the accident. I'm thinking distracted driving or a medical condition.

Oh, BTW, former Governor Ryan did prison time for issuing bogus licenses.

Ryan's political career was marred by a scandal involving the illegal sale of government licenses, contracts and leases by state employees during his prior service as Secretary of State;

George Ryan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


There's a lot of people driving trucks who can't speak English.
Click to expand...

I don't care if he's an owner/operator, or a company driver; shame on him for not insuring that his equipment was in safe working order.
 
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