Hit And Run Collision

Got to my 01 at 0900... they finished loading me at 1430. Gauges were overweight..I get scaled.. have to rework. By this time it's almost 1800... so go in sleeper till 2300. Get an hour out and BOOM!!!!

A freaking car hit my tandems on the left side, spun around a couple times and hit the barrier on interstate. He drove away. A nice couple stopped and called police.... told them I did nothing wrong and the guy was probably drunk. His bumper and headlamps were left behind... pity there was no license plate. Cops were great.... even came on my truck to play with my cat. Get rolling and my trailer tire light starts coming on. I stop a couple times and see nothing. 100 miles later I pull into flying j... hub cracked.. hose disconnected.

RA not responding. I have 450 miles left on my load.... my very full load. Now it's 0300 and I'm beat just from the events.

Gonna eat take shower and go to sleep and deal with this crap in the morning.

Thankful that you are ok Rainy!

Thankful that you are ok Rainy!

My nerves are shot. The couple who witnessed it were visibly shaking. Never been in a moving accident before haha. 3 drunk drivers hit my PARKED cars that I was not in. I hit a barrier at a fuel pump my first month out. But that is it... never involved moving with another vehicle.

Saw that car spinning in my mirrors and thought for sure they were dead. They drove the wrong way to head back to the last off ramp.. guess they were afraid to pass me or that I would get plate number. I'm just glad it wasn't my fault. I'd feel bad enough of someone got hurt and it wasn't my fault... I'd be uncontrollable if it was my fault.

I love cats!

Hey, like all of the other million things that happen out there - don't let this bother you. Some knucklehead did something dumb but no one was injured. That's great luck. Just be thankful things turned out well, get the truck repaired, and keep moving forward.

The reality with trucking is that there are going to be some close calls and minor incidents, which is what I would consider this.

I'll tell ya though - this is why you try to keep people away from you on all sides as much as possible. Yesterday I drove about 40 minutes to a friend's house in my pickup. Twice on the way I put my signal on and pulled onto the shoulder of a two lane road to let someone pass me because they were following two car lengths off my bumper at 60 mph. Twice! And a couple of times I slowed down for a little bit because someone wanted to ride right alongside me when we got onto the four lane.

People are idiots. You have to assume that and make sure they keep away from you as much as possible. Don't let people tailgate you or ride alongside you if you can help it. Some might think, "As long as I hold my lane and handle my vehicle that's all I can do." But that's not true at all. As a professional you have to compensate for the amateurs around you. You know they're going to make bad decisions. You know their mind isn't fully on driving. You know they're going to overreact or make poor choices in dangerous situations. So you have to try to keep a huge cushion around you at all times.

Listen, stuff happens. Like I said, no one was injured and everyone drove away. Excellent. That's the best you can hope for. You were lucky, they were lucky, and in the end it turned out great. Put it behind you and drive on. That's just trucking. Hopefully you'll get some good rest tonight, the sun comes up tomorrow, and you head out for another great day on the road.

Don't sweat it Rainy. Count your blessings and keep enjoying yourself out there.

The big thing is that your accident is not your fault. I assume you were parked safely in the first place, and the other driver didn't know that.

But, regardless, you had quite a shock, and it jangled your nerves. You may be spooked for a while about where you park, but you'll be able to move on. With no "marks" on your record.

Thanks brett and erroll.

I was on I64 with the hills at night so I was nowhere near speeding. He was tailgating me... I slowed and he got left to pass me. Then he literally made a right turn into my tandems. People suck lol

Trailers getting fixed now then I'm going to bed.. taking a shower and starting my day again.

Glad you were able to maintain control and were not injured.

The big thing is that your accident is not your fault. I assume you were parked safely in the first place, and the other driver didn't know that.

But, regardless, you had quite a shock, and it jangled your nerves. You may be spooked for a while about where you park, but you'll be able to move on. With no "marks" on your record.

Actually - she was rolling down the highway - not parked.

This has to be even scarier than being in the sleeper and getting nailed in a truck stop.

Glad there were no injuries (that required an ambulance), and if no vehicles were disabled and had to be towed from the scene, it's (technically) not a "DOT Reportable Incident". Also glad there was a witness that stopped and gave a statement on your behalf - though a hit-n-run usually indicates the driver that ran was at fault.

Sounds like you dealt with it in a calm & professional manner, and are taking it in stride. Which is why you are one of the more admired contributors here on TT.

Rick

even came on my truck to play with my cat.

I'll show you mine, if you show me yours.

How did kitty handle it? I'm concerned about bringing mine on the truck with me in the event of something like this happening.

Glad to hear your okay, even though it wrecked the remainder of the day. Hopefully they catch the idiot.