Suicide By Truck

Today's Thoughts by Jeff Head 3/28/14 Suicide By Truck

 Many times, I have talked about this subject finding myself scoffed at by others. However, it does happen and never is it considered by the FMCSA as a problem for truckers. Never have I seen it listed anywhere as the cause of an accident. You have heard of suicide by cop I am sure. Well, let me introduce you to suicide by truck. I am going to do this by sharing a few stories told to me as I found myself talking about the subject over the last few days. Why I have decided to do it is because as truckers, we need to know and understand what we are seeing on the highway and how best to defend ourselves from being used to end one's life. Also we as truckers need help in dealing with it after the deed is done and we are miles and days in the future but still living the events over and over in our minds

In 1999, in British Columbia Canada, a young man in a Volkswagen made the decision to end his life. He chose suicide by truck and drove head on into a Peterbuilt eighteen-wheeler, the first truck to come along. The husband and wife team left trucking after the accident.

A lady hit a truck head on with her car and survived. Then with the police on site, she ran out in front of another trucker on foot as the officer watched thus completing her task. Another person states; the one part of the Pennsylvania Pike going on in Clark Summit, there's a long bridge that was named suicide bridge. People would go up stop their cars and wait for trucks heading up RT6 and jump off. They installed fencing and other things to stop it now.

On Hwy 30 that runs north and south near St. Helens, Or on 6/14/02. The driver of the '97 Honda Accord crossed the double yellow line into oncoming traffic into the far lane directly into the path of an oncoming semi with a trailer. The driver of the Accord was traveling about 65 mph and according to witnesses and police reports, he turned the wheel into oncoming traffic in an act of suicide. I myself remember a story like this involving a custody battle and two young children sitting in the back seat.

I was following a Perdue truck on Blossburg Mountain on RT 15 in Pennsylvania. A young troubled man who had just been jilted by his girlfriend less that 5 miles, committed suicide by truck right into the Perdue truck while we were talking on the radio of where we were going to stop for a cup of java and a piece of pie.

Enough already, do you not think. Many truckers as the stories above show I am sure not only can tell you their own personal stories but can also tell you the devastating effects that they are left do deal with on their own. Even if the driver is not physically damaged in the accident, living with the fact that someone chose unexpected to use you to end his or her life can be extremely difficult to deal with. The image left in one's mind can cause a driver to walk away from a lucrative career leaving that driver to suffer symptoms known as Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

So one might ask what is being done about all this. The answer is simply nothing. Nothing is being done to train drivers that this even exists or how to recognize when it is happening. Nothing is being done by the FMCSA to distinguish this type of accident and thereby drivers are having their driving records ruined by the intentional act of another. Nothing is being done to help the drivers left with PTSD when they find themselves in this situation. They are left to leave the industry are drive for years dealing with what their minds have in store for them.

The answer to all of this I am not sure of at this time, but I am looking for one. The one thing I do know is maybe it is time to bring this subject into to mix of things. Bring it out into the open so we can start the conversation at least. If we want safer highways then we must address all the issues, no matter how unpleasant they are to deal with

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 God Bless America

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