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Trucker denies guilt in 10-death crash

76 Year Old Donald Leroy Creed of Willard, Mo told a Miami, Ok judge today he wasn’t guilty of killing 10 people in a accident that involved his Associated Wholesale Grocers truck on June 26th. Mr. Creed said he had no idea what happened to cause a group of cars that were stopped in a backup due to another accident to end up under his truck. I for one was relieved to see the area residents for the most part supporting the trucker. Some say the support comes from him being an older person. As of this far the only evidence being released is that he ended a 22 Minute cell phone call 8 minutes before the impact. Highway Patrol investigators said his cruise was set on 71 at the time of impact, which the turnpike speed limit is 75. I will start by saying this is very sad that so many people lost their lives. I wasn’t there when the accident took place but I have driven a truck for over 10 years and have seen times when I could have been in this same spot. Back in May I was east bound on I-70 coming thru Columbia Mo when a young lady switched lanes only leaving less than 2 car links between me and her and slamming her brakes on to make a exit ramp, I was able to slam on my breaks fully loaded and turn right off the shoulder to avoid missing her. I am without doubt I would have killed her had I not of done so. I have seen stuff like this happen time after time in my years. And if this is the kind of thing that happened to Mr. Creed it isn’t right. I’ve personally known a few guys over the years that did unfortunately take a life while driving a truck and it breaks my heart to see the hell and torment these guys go through always wondering what they could of done different. I for one will pray for Mr. Creed because no matter what Judge in Miami, Ok does to him he will always have that heart ache inside.

Killing 15 Babies is Legal!

I usually don’t blog about the stuff you would see on your local 6 o’clock news channel, but this pisses me off. After reading the story today about Irene Vilar who has a Abortion Addict, I set back and said OMG. According to what I read Mrs. Vilar’s book will soon hit the shelves of your local book store called “Impossible Motherhood”. In this book undoubted she blames being born Puerto Rico and her dead grandmother who died when she was 8 for sick addiction to killing babies as this is what did in her interview with ABC. Mrs. Vilar has had 15 abortions in 16 years most of which she while she was married. Reading the article that ABC News put out I would haft say she seems like a smart person as she was enrolled in Syracuse University when she was only 15 years old. Oh did I mention she has 2 children she raises daily! Now I am not going to argue whether or not abortion is right or wrong but I will Stand up and say when abused to this degree there is no way to justify 15 abortions when you are aborting your husband’s children or having no medical illness which abortion would be justified in. What a sick world we live in when the government will leave such a program as the right to abortions open to where it can be used to such degree.

Dyeing Fright Brokers

Could freight brokering become a monopoly or maybe even a thing of the past? According to today’s Transport Topic’s news letter, freight brokers are failing at a staggering rate of over 70%. At over 70% this would haft to be one the fastest fly by night business currently in the US. I for one have seen the evil hand of unstable fright brokers who book you on a load today and by the time you drop their load they are closed. Well according to the people I have talked to most are feeling bad for the brokers who are closing up. Well NOT ME! The ones I feel sorry for are the one who hauled their loads in weeks or months before they closed. With the economy in the shape its end not a lot of owner operators can make it after being screwed on a foul nonpaying load. I’ve seen personally several men loss their trucks and even their homes over crooked brokers before. And I am afraid that with the upturn on failing brokers we will see more of the owner operators and small trucking business’s fold up. So guys beware of these no name brokers when booking your next load.

H1N1 Flu Is hell

I will haft to say when I heard all the talk about the Swine Flu, Better now known as the H1N1 on the Open Road on Xm months ago I was fairly uninterested. I figured this was one of those things where people get all worked up over nothing. Well 2 weeks ago my sister whom is only 4 started pre-school and right off the bat she caught the H1N1 Flu. And upon our families surprise when she was taken to the Doctor their office was full of children infected with this flu. At this point we were aware of how fast it spread but once again I stood back and said “Nothing to stress over I’ve never had the flu”. I figured for some stupid reason I would be spared lol. My sister caught it on a Friday and by Monday nearly our whole family had it. My mother ended up gravely ill and had to be hospitalized for several days. But we all survived it this far. The H1N1 Flu is still spreading around NW North Carolina really bad but most everyone I know are now on the ending stages of it. Now let me tell you this stuff hits your respiratory system hard. I guess the best way to explain how it felt was like someone put rubber Cement in our lungs. Now can you imagine trying to cough up that thick crap? It took a few weeks, tomorrow being 2 weeks for me and my wife and we are getting better just still trying to get the finally part of the mucus from our lungs. I wish anyone luck who gets this crap.

A Truckers Health

As a driver I personally had let my health take the back burner to my driving career. When I started driving I teamed with a family friend, we ran a weekly route from North Carolina to the West Coast and back. Running team with a veteran driver help me learn how to be a safer driver unlike many of these 3 week training programs. Me and Gurney teamed until 2002 when he had a heart attack. I then was joined by another good friend with whom I teamed with until 2004. Just in my teaming years I can recall alot of times
Me our my Co-Drivers health took the back burner to the load we was hauling. I can recall back in 2001 when me and my first co-driver was in the Bay Area of California when our alternator went out. Like any reefer hauler we tried to run our truck off the reefer to get the truck off the highway. While hooking up the wires my Co-Driver tripped off the cat walk after getting tangled in the air lines and came crashing onto the pavement head first. Once I realized what had happened I rushed to his side to find him bleeding really bad and in alot of pain. But like most of us he wiped of the blood and managed the best he could to get his job done. We got our truck fixed and came back to North Carolina only to find out for 2 days he was riding and driving around with a broken wrist and 2 broken ribs. Another time I recall was back in Nevada in 2003 when I had a abscessed tooth really flair up. The pain very intensive and the swelling seemed to grown more by the hour. I finished my 3 day trip and got home with my left eye swelled completely shut. These are just a few times I've seen either me or someone I knows health take a back burner to our career. What puzzles me is WHY, Why do we let our self fall behind all other. Why do drive for days in pain or sickness just to deliver a load? No one will ever know but it happens daily. This is the reason I for one support Newer and Harder Medical requirements in the trucking industry. I am currently off the road due to a lack of care for my health and well being. At the age of 31 I am already having major health problems from to much care for my job and the all mighty dollar and so little about my Health. So I would tell any driver in this world that Harsher Medical requirements are WONDERFUL because it will force you to give a damn about you self.

The Economy and the Driver

As a driver has the economy hurt you? I bet the answer is yes more then its no. The economy seems to be kicking alot of people in the rear. I've herd so many drivers say they have lost pay, miles and even jobs. Now we all know the economy has hurt alot more then trucking but the effect it has had on our industry could be blogged about till the cows come home. I recall back in January when a local lumber company that employed over 200 driver laid off everyone of them, and in the small town I live in it was the talk for weeks. Many of these drivers found jobs but a few still remain unable to find a job. Living in the North Carolina we have already seen a major hit with some many factories leaving the US that it has taken the economy in North Carolina and really twisted it. But the main thing that want to blog about today is how a veteran driver can loss everything really fast in todays economy. In August of 2008 a driver I know really well went to work for a company in Las Vegas NV, all seemed ok with his new job. He was getting miles and getting paid good money. Well this all changed in April of this year when his life of hard work started to crumble. In April he was still working just as hard as before doing the same amount of miles, but he started getting calls from the company telling him his check would be a day late. And by the end of May they were a week late. He was looking for another job and had not found anything as of the end of June he was in the worse mess of his life. He came home for some home time and was off a few day when he got a call that his paycheck had bounced from 3 weeks earlier and then 2 days later another call that the check from 2 weeks earlier had bounced. So he called up his company and said "Ok here is the deal I have $2300 worth of bad checks and you will need to pay me for this before I go back to work". Well this is where the story really gets me pissed the most. He made the call on a Wednesday, on that Wednesday the company calls our local sheriff department and tell them that they had not seen or herd from in over 2 weeks. They also send a wrecker for his truck and tell him as the wrecker is taking the truck "I don't owe you a Dime". Then the next day he finds out no only did the company give him 2 bad checks they stopped payment on his Last 2 as well. And on his last paycheck that he was to get the day after they picked up the truck they just didn't send it or send any kind of excuse just didn't do it. So now this driver is holding over $5000 in Bad and stopped payment checks. He has looked and looked for work and always gets the same story "Due to the economy we are not hiring". After he used what he had in savings he still lost his car, and nearly his home. He is married and has 2 sweet kids and they are losing everything due to one Scamming POS company. After doing a little digging my self I found out the owner of the company is the president of many Pediatric charitys. How could someone like that be such a low life. I know the economy has alot of you drivers down but keep up the fight and it will all be Ok hopefully!