Tanker Truck Falls Through Parking Garage Roof.

Looks like we had a truck or here make a boo-boo and didn't read the signs showing the weight limit of the garage. I wonder how much trouble he's going to be in.

Just needs a little more,

The news site also says the truck was there specifically to pump out the water from flooding in the underground garage. It's not like he was just roaming around in places where he shouldn't have been.

So it would appear there were probably several levels of people who have some responsibility for this: the contractor, the city, etc.

But ultimately, it's the driver who will most likely bear the full burden.

Precisely, the more experienced drivers at my company do the pump jobs. I know how but I do not qualify seniority wise yet. They'll send you anywhere they're called.

Look I understand what you're saying but if a sign states that the weight limit is 4400 pounds and your vehicle ways 16000 pounds plus then it's not a smart idea to go driving there even if your company told you to do it. I don't think you need to be an experienced driver to know this. Because it's not the company is going to take the fall is going to be you literally and figuratively.

The news site also says the truck was there specifically to pump out the water from flooding in the underground garage. It's not like he was just roaming around in places where he shouldn't have been.

So it would appear there were probably several levels of people who have some responsibility for this: the contractor, the city, etc.

But ultimately, it's the driver who will most likely bear the full burden.

Precisely, the more experienced drivers at my company do the pump jobs. I know how but I do not qualify seniority wise yet. They'll send you anywhere they're called.

Look I understand what you're saying but if a sign states that the weight limit is 4400 pounds and your vehicle ways 16000 pounds plus then it's not a smart idea to go driving there even if your company told you to do it. I don't think you need to be an experienced driver to know this. Because it's not the company is going to take the fall is going to be you literally and figuratively.

Alright man, I'll let my company know that I can no longer deliver to 75% of our stations because I'm too heavy. Not only will I be out of a good job, but I'll also struggle to find another one. Local trucking is a lot different my good friend, as weird as it may sound you sort of have to ignore signs for a lot of the work that you do.

Now I'm not telling anyone to ignore signs, I'm just stating that a lot of places local drivers go are truck restricted but it's simply the only way to get there so you must ignore the signs. Otherwise you'll never be able to get there.

Look I understand what you're saying but if a sign states that the weight limit is 4400 pounds and your vehicle ways 16000 pounds plus then it's not a smart idea to go driving there even if your company told you to do it. I don't think you need to be an experienced driver to know this. Because it's not the company is going to take the fall is going to be you literally and figuratively.

And Daniel just said that this is fairly typical, at least in his line of work. Where are the stations he delivers to supposed to get fuel, if not by a truck?

I don't run into these types of situations often since I'm OTR dry van , but you will find that not everything out here is as black and white as school makes it seem. There are grey areas. Maybe this driver had been on a hundred parking garages before, all of them with signs like that. Or maybe not. But it wasn't like he decided to take his break there, and damn the consequences.

I've been to customers where the only way to get in is past giant "no trucks" signs. I've been to places where I had to back across live traffic to get in. Yes, I've been across bridges (on customer property, no less!) that had ridiculously tiny weight limits. All this and more.

Daniel wrote:

I think you folks are jumping to conclusions far too quickly. I'm a local tanker driver and you wouldn't believe some of the places I go to and drive through. Everyday I'm on truck restricted roads, in the middle of downtown, on roads that are labeled 5 ton maximum weight capacity. Places a truck realistically shouldn't even be near. Not only that, but I'm never below 79,950lb, and I've gone as far as 84,000lb gross.

Totally agree. Although I am not delivering fuel to a gas station like Daniel is, I deliver to Walmart Stores and Sam's Clubs in urban areas that were designed and built-up long before we had 53' trailers in combination with a tractor over 70' in length and weighing up to 80,000 pounds. I regularly navigate through streets, intersections and parking lots that a huge truck should avoid. In order to deliver the groceries (literally) I have one of two choices; perform my job as a professional, accepting reality or quit and drive for Uber. The press release on this event is all that we currently have to go on. Is the press a trustworthy source when it comes to trucking? They leave out critical details constantly and focus on ratings, subscriptions, internet hits, and/or circulation and rarely the truth.

Michael C wrote:

Look I understand what you're saying but if a sign states that the weight limit is 4400 pounds and your vehicle ways 16000 pounds plus then it's not a smart idea to go driving there even if your company told you to do it. I don't think you need to be an experienced driver to know this. Because it's not the company is going to take the fall is going to be you literally and figuratively.

Once you are "out here", dealing with reality on a day to basis you may be less likely to rush to judgment. Yes, the driver is ultimately responsible for what happened and will likely lose his or her job. But you only are seeing the media's spin on this story, not the outcome of a pending investigation.