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Photos of
Truck Wrecks, Jackknives and Roll-overs on American Highways by Trucker Mike: page 1 |
Truck Wrecks, Page 2 |
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I have driven by hundreds of
accident scenes involving trucks alone or trucks and automobiles. Some
were silly, others were serious crashes, and a fair number were real
tragedies. One of the first I remember took place in New Orleans several
years ago on I.610. A tractor trailer, in trying to avoid running over a
passenger van that had swerved in front of it, lost control and went over the
guard rail of the elevated highway. When I passed the scene, the truck was
suspended from the elevated roadway by the trailer tandems as flames roared up
from the hanging cab. I heard on the radio later that the driver of the
truck had died and a hunt was on for the van that had caused the accident.
On another occasion, following a snow storm on I.80 in western
Pennsylvania, I passed three trucks lying at a forty-five degree angle in the
median strip, with the first truck against the ground and the other two trucks
stacked above it, as if they had been following each other closely in the
blinding snow and when the first truck went off the road, the other two followed
right behind it.
This section doesn't
contain any gruesome scenes and
is only a small sampling of the mishaps I have actually seen along the
road. Thanks to the built-in dating component of my camera, I know when
the following incidents occurred, but not necessarily where. A large
number of truck accidents involved only the truck and were the result of a
driver falling asleep at the wheel, following too closely, or driving too fast
for conditions. A prime example of a single-vehicle, driver-caused accident
is the one which left the complete 18-wheeler standing upright on its wheels,
tractor and trailer in a straight line, but situated about 200 feet off the
interstate highway in the middle of a grove of trees. I tried to picture
the events that led to such a situation, but it left me baffled.
 |
 |
| March 15, 2007 - A dry-bulk tanker, I think, lying on
its side. Where? |
April 4, 2007 - A covered flatbed trailer with wheels
in the ditch. |
 |
 |
| April 3, 2006 - A dump trailer on its side with its
load of gravel
spread across the
ground.
|
Dec.
11, 2006 - This one I remember. I.81 in southwest Virginia. I was first in
line behind the accident and watched flames gradually consume the whole
truck. The driver escaped, but was caught later. |
 |
 |
| April 16, 2007 - The driver of the red truck failed
to set the brakes as he parked up a slope from my blue truck. Coast, then
crunch. |
Sept. 23, 2005 - A trailer on its side off the
highway, no tractor visible. |
 |
 |
| Oct.
13, 2005 - The remains of a mobile or modular home after skidding off the
highway. |
June
6, 2005 - I can't figure this one out. Did the load shift? Was the
back of the trailer sheared off? Did the tandems come off? Whatever
happened here was a mess. Commercial
cleaning companies would have their work cut out for them. |
 |
 |
| March 20, 2007 - Another case of swerving off the
highway and getting hung up in a ditch. |
Dec.
4, 2005 - A jack-knifed truck, evidently caused by a snowy
road.
Note the tractor bent back beside the white trailer. |
 |
 |
| Feb.
8, 2006 - How does a trailer get flopped over on its side like this?
I'm not sure where the cab is. |
Feb.
7, 2007 - Another case of a driver losing control or sliding off the road
in snowy weather. It could have been
worse. |
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