Truck driver sentenced to 110 years for accident.

Should the Colorado governor commute the sentence of truck driver that lost his brake

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Geeko Sportivo said:
Did I stutter?
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I'd say more like slobber.

"And every truck driver knows not to use his/her breaks in the mountains and they know why not to use them. This was drilled into them while training."

Don't use your brakes in the mountains? WTF? How do you slow down or stop? Put your feet out?
Of course you stay in the appropriate gear for declines to avoid overheating the brakes. But you still use the brakes.
 
Sirthinksalot said:
Well I agree 110 years is too harsh. Unfortunately, I have not seen any info indicating that the governor can change the sentence. He can either commute it, meaning the guy gets out after 2 years or let it stand. There doesn't appear to be a 3rd option. And as I pointed out before, the dude was offered a chance to take a plea deal and refused to accept anything more than a traffic ticket. That tells me, despite his apology during sentencing he really doesn't accept responsibility. He chose to take his chances with the jury. Now he has to live with the consequences.
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Thank for the additional information...It's just such a tragedy...in every way....
It sounds as though he didn't get the best legal advice on top of everything else....and that maybe he shouldnt have been driving a truck...period.
 
RB 60 said:
I'd say more like slobber.

"And every truck driver knows not to use his/her breaks in the mountains and they know why not to use them. This was drilled into them while training."

Don't use your brakes in the mountains? WTF? How do you slow down or stop? Put your feet out?
Of course you stay in the appropriate gear for declines to avoid overheating the brakes. But you still use the brakes.
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I'm on your side! Sure one should be able to tap the brakes occasionally at opportune times in the mountains But, when I was training, I had a trainer that would not allow me to touch the brakes in the mountains. If I did ever use them in the mountains he would come unglued and jump out of the bunk and SCREAM- GET OFF MY BRAKES- and don't touch them again. He said brakes are for coming to a complete stop- AND THAT WAS HIS FINAL WORD!

So, I had to learn to not use them at all in the mountains. When I got rid of him, and started soloing, I did what I thought was safest and less difficult by the occasional use of the brakes in the mountains- AS NECESSARY! Which was not very often.

As I said- the Rockies are not the Poconos! Descending down a pass in the Rockies on State Highways can go on for 12-15 miles of switchbacks with sharp hairpin curves and the grades are often very steep.
 
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TOP said:
I'm not saying he should get off with only two years...but I truly don't believe he deserves life in prison....It was an accident... The petition was to reduce the 110 year sentence...
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He got out of his truck to check smoking brakes ... yeah, an accident ... we need a petition for 220 years ... remember the dead, but does it matter since none were in YOUR family ???
 
Geeko Sportivo said:
I'm on your side! Sure one should be able to tap the brakes occasionally at opportune times in the mountains But, when I was training, I had a trainer that would not allow me to touch the brakes in the mountains. If I did ever use them in the mountains he would come unglued and jump out of the bunk and SCREAM- GET OFF MY BRAKES- and don't touch them again. He said brakes are for coming to a complete stop- AND THAT WAS HIS FINAL WORD!

So, I had to learn to not use them at all in the mountains. When I got rid of him, and started soloing, I did what I thought was safest and less difficult by the occasional use of the brakes in the mountains- AS NECESSARY! Which was not very often.

As I said- the Rockies are not the Poconos! Descending down a pass in the Rockies can go on for 12-15 miles of switchbacks with sharp curves and the grades are often very steep.
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No one ever told me that.
 
TOP said:
Thank for the additional information...It's just such a tragedy...in every way....
It sounds as though he didn't get the best legal advice on top of everything else....and that maybe he shouldnt have been driving a truck...period.
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Agreed, it seems like his lawyers probably didn't warn him just how severe of a sentence he could be facing. I hope he is able to appeal his conviction.
 
Blackcat13th said:
Dunno. Hard to believe tho.
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Truck transmissions aren't like automobile transmissions. They are difficult to down shift. It can be done, but only the most experienced drivers know what RPMs and how far to depress the clutch. So you must be very familiar with the tractor.
Rule of thumb: Stay in the same gear you went up in and set the jake at the top of the hill. Keep an eye on the air pressure and brake only when necessary to keep from overheating. Always use runoffs in emergency situations. Take the first one you see.
 
TOP said:
Thank for the additional information...It's just such a tragedy...in every way....
It sounds as though he didn't get the best legal advice on top of everything else....and that maybe he shouldnt have been driving a truck...period.
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The DOT has mandatory jail sentences for certain safety violations and drinking while driving or driving too soon after drinking etc.

The DOT is rough and strict on Truck Drivers. That was the only way to make Truck Driving safe!

Truck Driving is a very dangerous job- one of the most dangerous- up there with commercial fishermen, policemen/fireman and etc.

Nearly 700 truck drivers are killed every year due to accidents.

One out of every 10 people in America is a Professional Truck Driver of some kind.
 
RB 60 said:
Truck transmissions aren't like automobile transmissions. They are difficult to down shift. It can be done, but only the most experienced drivers know what RPMs and how far to depress the clutch. So you must be very familiar with the tractor.
Rule of thumb: Stay in the same gear you went up in and set the jake at the top of the hill. Keep an eye on the air pressure and brake only when necessary to keep from overheating. Always use runoffs in emergency situations. Take the first one you see.
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--->"Always use runoffs in emergency situations. Take the first one you see". (how hard is that to remember?)
 
Geeko Sportivo said:
My trainer had a lot of pet peaves that I totally ignored after going solo! :laugh:
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Our routes weren't mountainous, although there were some hills. I ground a pound or two trying to downshift (and possibly bent the shifter) once or twice (maybe three times) until I learned to drop gears before the decent. Downshifting on hills is difficult, both up and down. It takes lots of practice, and it still ain't easy.
 
Geeko Sportivo said:
When you are that scared, you do not know what you would do!

When you are doing over 90 in a runaway Truck going down a Mountain slope, a Truck Driver must already know his life is not near as important anymore as the lives of everyone else and take the ramp! TRUE DAT! Yes, he should have taken his own life instead of theirs. But that is a decision he made in about 1 second of time. He didn't have much time to think about it.

Taking the ramp is suicidal, at best. Many Truckdrivers are killled taking those ramps- more-so than not. That does go with the job though!

The idiot panicked and made the wrong decision.
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What I do know is that millions of trucking miles have passed and each trucker in that situation used the runaway truck ramps as they are trained to do. Do I think he deserves 110.years? Probably not. Do I think k he should spend time in prison for negligently killing multiple people? Absolutely.
 
Grumpy said:
He got out of his truck to check smoking brakes ... yeah, an accident ... we need a petition for 220 years ... remember the dead, but does it matter since none were in YOUR family ???
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Of course it matters....why he decided to continue with the brake problem was obviously the wrong choice...but did he continue to purposefully cause such a horrendous accident ?......doubtful...
I don't know the particulars, but I'll look into it closer into it...
I understand you disagree with me, though...I got it...
 
TOP said:
I saw that...it's a terrible situation from every angle...And perhaps he shouldn't have been driving that type of vehicle period....
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He was 23 at the time a relatively new CDL driver and had never driven in the mountains before. All his experience was driving in Texas. I blame the company he drove for not him.
 
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