r/Infuriating • u/MdTooDevilish Valued Contributor • 4d ago

Trucker crashes after falling asleep driving 40ton deathmachine

This piece of shit driving all over the road putting other peoples lives at risk

213 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

143 comments sorted by

38

u/nBenit 4d ago

I don't get it. Why do truck drivers drive like this? Is there a quota they have to hit or something? Like a time limit on delivery or whatever?

36

u/1wrx2subarus 4d ago

You nailed it, if Trucking Companies had to pay $100M every time one of their drivers falls asleep.. They’d insist on hours of service being more stringent.

The best way to fix this is to go after the deep pockets. Make Trucking companies pay and beyond that, their customers expediting them. Hint: Big Box Stores that we all shop at.

2

u/GlazzKitsune 3d ago

Honestly yes, if you had to pay a massive tax it would help. But it would also really hurt smaller stores or ma-pa shops that also need truck delivery

2

u/JoyousMadhat 3d ago

You can make exceptions for businesses that earn less than a certain threshold. But actually, they should just require truck companies to hire more people have them tag team after driving for a certain hours and not rush.

1

u/GlazzKitsune 3d ago

I feel like there are other options now, like maybe a system that sees one is swerving across lanes and beeps for 10-30secs. Or a system that reminds drivers to touch certain points on the wheel every 2-3 minutes or beeps annoyingly. Almost like in flying where you get a stick shaker when stalling or a "sink rate" warning.

2 drivers per load would double any shipping price and again for big companies I would love to see them eat it but are you ready to see price increases for products across the board, I am not.

1

u/desperateelephants 3d ago

As a comparison in the US military. Any kind of aviation mishap warrants several full blown investigations whether it be for safety or criminal negligence. Boards would review everything leading up to a mishap and much further down the line would SOPs be rewritten. A commander, pilot, or crewmember may be kicked out of their position regardless of whether they were charged for the failure.

For exactly the reason like this driver, all aircrew are mandated a max number of working hours and minimum number of rest hours. It's just a world of difference when there's a genuine desire to protect human lives over the profit margin.

1

u/DeletedUsernameHere 3d ago

Drivers have mandated hour restrictions. 14 hour max on duty time and 11 hours max drive time, with a 34 hour reset per 60hr/7day or 70hr/8 day week.

They're also required a 30m break for 8 hours of cumulative driving.

-1

u/aggiedigger 4d ago

This isn’t America. Would be a great idea, but hard to enforce American will globally despite how hard we try to

2

u/whatisdreampunk 4d ago

The comment sounds pretty general to me. Describing the problem illustrated here and proposing solutions, not specific to America. Nobody really cares about this one particular instance, more the general problem.

0

u/aggiedigger 4d ago

Perhaps I should have stated 1st world and not just America . Where this driver works without the need for a seatbelt nor shoes, big box stores and regulations likely don’t exist as it would pertaining to the statement that I responded to.

9

u/The-King-of-Cartoons 4d ago

Yeah it’s absolutely a case of being overworked and hitting time deadlines. Which is why stimulants like meth, Adderall, caffeine pills, etc. are so common.

I’m sure this ain’t true with 100% of the industry, but it’s absolutely super common. And of course, pushing 20 hour days of driving, you’re gonna crash out.

It’s awful.

3

u/dustyg013 3d ago

If the wheels aren't moving, they arent making money.

6

u/PantySausage 4d ago

If the delivery is late, they do not get paid. This is what truck drivers have told me over the years.

3

u/nBenit 4d ago

Oof rough

2

u/PantySausage 4d ago

It’s more than that, though. The self-employed drivers make a lot of money. In 2006, one of them told me that he made $3k each way going from NY to CA. He would sometimes skip sleep for three days at a time to make more trips to feed his gambling addiction.

1

u/unknownSubscriber 4d ago

Is that even possible now with electronic logging?

1

u/PantySausage 4d ago

This was a long time ago. If electronic logging isn’t the law, then I suspect that whatever you write in a book is still your proof.

0

u/unknownSubscriber 4d ago edited 4d ago

ELDs are connected directly into the truck's engine and track drive time. You can't really fake it.

Edit: AI says these work to enforce drive time restrictions, but as a result drivers are more reckless to fit more miles in the hours that they have, so accidents have no decreased.

Makes me think they should incorporate more data into these ELDs than just drive time.

1

u/Sandalwood-Lakers 3d ago

They have large overhead but it's common for owner operators to net 100k-200k depending on what they haul and how far they're willing to go.

0

u/JackofAllVehicles 3d ago

Company drivers often make $100k. If thats all an owner op is netting then they arent taking home hardly anything

1

u/Sandalwood-Lakers 3d ago

Read my comment again.

-1

u/JackofAllVehicles 3d ago

No

2

u/Sandalwood-Lakers 3d ago

Bro has no idea what the term net means lmao

1

u/HalvdanTheHero 4d ago

There's also the pay structure itself: they are not generally paid per hour, they are paid per delivery. Taking more hours/days to deliver the goods means they earn less per hour overall, on top of getting hit with penalties or non-payment for late delivery. 

Its basically all contract based. If the trucker is with a company they'll take a big cut but line up the contracts to keep them moving. Independent truckers earn more but have more risk.

1

u/JackofAllVehicles 3d ago

We still get paid but it looks bad and those people may not be willing to give us another load. You also might have to wait around for hours or days if youre late. Some places run very tight schedules. You cant just refuse to pay someone because they were late.

1

u/PowerfulBar 4d ago

Exactly that. I don’t know where this video was from but many U.S. states have limits on how long drivers are supposed to be on the road, how often they should rest etc. Drivers are supposed to maintain logbooks by law as well. 

The problem is these rules are only sporadically enforced. The bigger problem is the whole shipping system and trucking industry is predicated on the assumption that all the drivers will be breaking these rules. Basically you can’t keep a job as a trucker if you followed these rules. If I had to guess this guy probably got punished, and rightfully so, but little if anything happened to his company that forced him to drive long hours on too little sleep.

2

u/ReasonableClock4542 3d ago

Just stop. I've been at this for a decade. Multiple jobs. Never had anyone try to get me to break the HOS rules. Have seen plenty of people get written up and/or fired for breaking them though

2

u/MasterpieceNo7105 3d ago

Lol you must have never picked up produce from farmers during harvest.

These dudes are making trips back and fourth to the food manufacturering plant for 17 hrs a day.

Now maybe that holds up for long trucking but these couple hour trips are often unregulated and on backroads from farm to plant

1

u/JackofAllVehicles 3d ago

Ive also been at this for a decade and its very common for companies to try and have you break HOS rules. Youve been very lucky if nobody has tried to push that on you. They dont even need to ask for that though. They push you to use up your entire clock every day. With how restrictive the hours are you know we often dont have time to pull over and take a nap

1

u/AintNoGodsUpHere 3d ago

It's more or less the same all around the world I guess.

Impossible to follow rules when they get you fired.

1

u/beautifulstardust 3d ago

yes 😂 exactly this

1

u/DeletedUsernameHere 3d ago

DOT mandates drivers work no more than 14 hours per day and no more than 11 hours driving before a period of 10 hours off duty, with 34 consecutive hours off each week.

Because capitalism, that means most drivers work right up against those limits.

36

u/FruitigerMilo 4d ago

he got very lucky considering he wasn't wearing his seat belt either

28

u/Gullible-Yam-8098 4d ago

Fuck him. The only thing lucky here is that he didn't hurt anyone other than himself.

6

u/FruitigerMilo 4d ago

seat belts protect other people on the road from your flying body too lol

3

u/sorestgore 4d ago

And they help you remain "in control " of the vehicle in the period of the accident, like still being able to have the brakes applied or steering a bit

11

u/Surtus86 4d ago

That guy is a special kind of dumb.

4

u/t-tekin 3d ago

Or forced to work long hours by trucking companies to meet a quota. ..

1

u/MonsterHunterRainy 4d ago

Ah I'm drowsy, lemme just sleep

3

u/Aggravating_Pain7116 Recognized Rage Reporter | 25k+ Subreddit Karma 4d ago

No seat belt

2

u/742963 Distinguished Contributor 4d ago

No shoes

1

u/MdTooDevilish Valued Contributor 4d ago

No awareness

1

u/Aggravating_Pain7116 Recognized Rage Reporter | 25k+ Subreddit Karma 4d ago

No consciousness

1

u/MdTooDevilish Valued Contributor 4d ago

No suspenders

1

u/3ndt1m3s 4d ago

No more job.

1

u/thegreatmattsby24 3d ago

Nah he had on his safety sandals which flew off when he flew out of the seat.

1

u/accidentalscientist_ 2d ago

If his shoes fell off during the crash, it means he died. But he got up!

Therefore, he must’ve had no shoes on during the crash.

1

u/TheJewPear 3d ago

No brain

3

u/Downtown-Flight-8372 4d ago

Why do people work as if they are in their living room?!? I'm watching this video and thinking, where is the TV and the bottle of beer?

I just don't get it!

2

u/Whatyoumaydiscover 4d ago

No brain, but lucky no heavy traffic in front and behind him

2

u/Right-Percentage3775 3d ago

I've sort of been in this position (though I pulled over and took a nap), and what's scary is that you get so tired that you legit think that holding the steering wheel and "resting your eyes" seems reasonable when you're that tired.

1

u/PupOben 2d ago

Yeah and it sneaks up on you also. You feel tired, and you know you're tired, but your brain checks out before your eyes even close. Next thing you know, your vehicle is destroyed and there's chaos. Wanna talk about waking up scared and confused.

I have fallen asleep at the wheel once(luckily I wasn't seriously injured, my car was easily repairable, and I didn't hit anything/anyone), and got pretty close a second time (pulled off to take a nap).

2

u/MoodVast9430 4d ago

Driverless trucks will stop this

2

u/RevolutionaryElk7446 4d ago

One day. We don't have driverless cars and trucks worth a damn yet though despite over a decades of Tesla promise.

1

u/MoodVast9430 3d ago

They are coming whether people like it or not. Burying your head like people did when the automobile was invented is pointless

2

u/RevolutionaryElk7446 3d ago

Who is burying their head? It would appear you meant that comment for someone else.

1

u/GlazzKitsune 3d ago

Maybe not Tesla's but waymo has been fully autonomous for a few years now, in select citys

1

u/RevolutionaryElk7446 3d ago

As level 4 autonomy which means within it's mapped, geofenced operating zones.

It's been 17 years Waymo started, since 2009, and 9 years since level 4 autonomy with prediction for level 5 autonomy at 2040+

Level 5 has a huge engineering gap. Basically the way they're doing it today can't work at scale and they haven't solved that issue. This is what trucking would require.

However they may not go for level 5, as they believe level 4 in select areas is commercially viable enough and that level 5 is not a necessity for profit.

2

u/Ill-Elephant-9583 4d ago

THIS is a driverless truck!

1

u/MoodVast9430 4d ago

You ate so tight

2

u/SeasonalBlackout 4d ago

Driverless trucks will crash the first time they encounter a construction zone. Have you driven across the country? Lots of construction zones.

1

u/PeaceAndLove420_69 4d ago

Lane keep assist is dangerous enough in a construction zone lol. My work uses it in the vans.

1

u/ContextPuzzleheaded7 3d ago

What country

2

u/SeasonalBlackout 3d ago

All of them! But in this case the USA.

1

u/MrExtravagant23 4d ago

What a thing to wish upon the world

1

u/VikingIsaiah 3d ago

we’ve had trains for ages. this still happens.

1

u/Corronchilejano 4d ago

How about an AI that just blows an airhorn over a driver falling asleep?

2

u/KamaliKamKam 4d ago

How about... a WELL MAINTAINED RAIL NETWORK spanning the US? Maybe even with a bonus passenger high speed rail going up and down east and west coast, with a cross continental one going from east coast to Texas to west coast if we're getting really frisky?

Load 300 to 400 trucks worth of stuff on one train and two people to take turns driving the train and really significantly reduce the amount of drive time for getting goods to where they need to be.

2

u/Corronchilejano 4d ago

The type to suggest AI fix everything will never suggest public infrastructure that solves issues, because the idea is to always own and be the middleman between others and a necessary service. Everything needs to be a private drip forever feeding the rich.

2

u/KamaliKamKam 4d ago

Not to meantime AI drivers don't fix shit; just look at the waymos yelling at each other in a parking lot at night and blocking the fire trucks and other emergency vehicles from getting to accidents and emergencies... or just causing the traffic jam to start with because waymo doesn't want to obey traffic laws or pull into parking spots correctly.

1

u/Too-Em 4d ago

Best we can do is poorly maintained railway duopoly and trains loaded with enough volatile material to level entire cities.

1

u/KamaliKamKam 4d ago

I cry in wasted tax dollars that are being siphoned to the ultra rich.

1

u/HegemonNYC 4d ago

The US has the most developed freight rail system in the world. 

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

1

u/HegemonNYC 3d ago

The US has a very underdeveloped passenger rail system. This is distinct from freight rail. The US moves literally 10x more freight by rail than Europe. 

1

u/KamaliKamKam 3d ago

and it could still be so much better, and should be better upkept, and maybe even not controlled by two monopolies that want to abuse their workers and cut corners to save pennies while rail upkeep is neglected to save share holder profits

1

u/HegemonNYC 3d ago

10x Europe and still insufficient.

1

u/KamaliKamKam 3d ago

Yeah, the US is also much larger than Europe and the items that come in on shipping ports have further to go when they need to go to inland locations vs an item that comes into a European port. We should have a better rail transport system, because more rail means trucks can be allotted for more localized shipping, which is more efficient and better for people/workers, the environment, and for traffic.

1

u/HegemonNYC 3d ago

The US has half the population of Europe and is slightly smaller in area. 

1

u/InvestigatorGrand205 4d ago

How... youll have some kid controlling 18 trucks.... if he falls asleep thats 18 truck crashes...

1

u/Alewerkz 3d ago

I'm curious, do you think driverless cars are all controlled remotely by someone behind a screen?

0

u/TeaDrinkingTrucker 4d ago

Nope. They won't. I would pay to see an AI driven truck try to travel I-70. On I-70, the AI would have a digital aneurysm. Or how about in the winter when roads are slick, and actual human judgement is needed to safely traverse snowy regions. Shoot, I'd give my left nut to see AI make a judgement call during a tornado warmed storm. Chances are that the truck would just drive itself into an EF-5 and add one more 80,000lb missle to the fray.

0

u/Dangerous_Sea_2592 4d ago

Not exploiting and overworking truckers could also fix this ya know

0

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/EquusMule 3d ago

1.9 million fatal car accients happen each year.

If we had 100k driverless car accidents happen each year people would be outraged.

Thats how insane of a species we are.

1

u/506640 2d ago

Where did you get that stat?

1

u/EquusMule 2d ago

Which one?

0

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/EquusMule 3d ago

Brother we have insurance companies who pay for damages.

Corporations already put out products knowing there will be a cost to human life as a result of faults that they dont want to do recalls on - and the people who make those calls: dont go to jail.

You don't need agency to hold people accountable if we're making service products that make things way more safe for people - we just put it in the cost of the service.

Like i literally said it would kill 1.8 million less people and your rebuttle was - "okay what about the 100k other people."

The tax from 1.8 million people would EASILY pay more reparations for the death of the 100k. Insurance expenses would go down which means more goes towards compensation for deaths.

Accidents are ACCIDENTS.

0

u/[deleted] 3d ago edited 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/EquusMule 3d ago

I never talked about companies.

I gave a hypothetical and you jumped right into the trap.

If we made a invention that reduced deaths by 20x you'd still be looking to blame fault.

If that technology existed - we wouldnt move to it because of the exact thing you're talking about.

We already have this as an example texting while driving inventions that lock the drivers phone - we've had it for more than a decade but if it bugged out and it prevented people from contacting emergency services it would cause lawsuits that phone companies dont want. 3200 distracted driving deaths in america happened and 300k injuries. How many lawsuits and how much money that insurance pays out just from damages.

It would be better for society if we just did it - even if we subsidized the telecom companies for the lawsuits. But we dont.

1

u/OldBayOnCheese 3d ago

He’s arguing in bad faith. Stop interacting with him. It’s a waste of your time.

0

u/[deleted] 3d ago edited 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/EquusMule 3d ago

You can also make the corporations pay into the insurance pool my guy.

Vehicles are already outsourced responsibility.

They ALREADY function like that.

1

u/OldBayOnCheese 3d ago

Why are you trying to force him to pick one of your actions? This is a false dichotomy. Your argument is in bad faith and invalid.

The logical path, and I’m sure you know this and purposely excluded it for whatever reason, is to hold the company liable.

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

What? Have you?

1

u/InnerArt3537 3d ago

Isn't the answer obviously the company that owns the truck?

0

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Rhawk187 3d ago

Owns the truck, then the owners they can sue the person who made the truck if they were at fault. It's lawsuits all the way down. The lawyers win in the end, as always.

1

u/Dry_Virus_8125 4d ago

pulls his pants up

1

u/sexual__velociraptor 4d ago

He's awake now

1

u/742963 Distinguished Contributor 4d ago

This guy woke up to himself swerving all over the road and just shut his eyes again

Like excuse me my guy?

1

u/Regularpersonofwar 4d ago

Pulls his pants up

1

u/Singvlars 4d ago

I hate these type of videos that narrate everything that goes on in the video.

1

u/Yellow_Snow_Cones 4d ago

i mean he was doing really good until the end.

1

u/Vic_000001 4d ago

At least he had his seatbelt on....

1

u/LeadershipAfter9526 4d ago

Not having shoes on saved his life. Bear feet save lives.

1

u/Blindbaldman 4d ago

Time to get me some bear feet.

1

u/The-King-of-Cartoons 4d ago

Funny how he was a better driver asleep than awake apparently…..

1

u/ecw324 4d ago

Why do these videos always have the driver not wearing a seatbelt?

1

u/HipnotiK1 4d ago

No seat bell either yeesh

1

u/Vehicle-Money 4d ago

That sure woke his stupid ass up. When you're on the road with other people and their families, pull your tired ass over!

1

u/ProfessionalRun6826 4d ago

At least he didn't take anyone else out. Dude deserves it

1

u/rumbo211 4d ago

Driving a semi in flip flops,. For real

1

u/Unlucky_Reading_1671 3d ago

Flip flops, shorts, no seat belt. These guys shouldn't even be on the road.

1

u/5pooky5cary5keleton5 4d ago

I'm really glad they told us he pulled his pants up. Otherwise how would we have known?

1

u/Doer_of_Meth 4d ago

That man needs some meth!

1

u/lefwix43 4d ago

Woke up real quick

1

u/I_mourn_satire 4d ago

And no seatbelt. Classic

1

u/SELFINCRIMINAT1NG 4d ago

anybody else sick to death of this stupid song

1

u/Poil420 4d ago

Yeah... he's definitely not fighting sleeping.

1

u/Electronic_Echo_1121 4d ago

In Sweden you drive less and rest more: An American driver used to pulling 11-hour driving shifts will find Swedish shifts shorter (9 hours) and the daily rest periods longer (11 hours instead of 10).You must take an uninterrupted break of at least 45 minutes after a maximum of 4.5 hours of driving. • You can split this into two breaks within the 4.5-hour driving block. If you do, the first break must be at least 15 minutes, followed later by a break of at least 30 minutes (they must be taken in that exact order). • Restriction: During these breaks, you are strictly prohibited from performing any other work, including loading, unloading, or cleaning the vehicle.

1

u/VikingIsaiah 3d ago

the issue isn’t the driving shifts. it’s the pay incentivizing drivers to push their limits, and companies that don’t give you much time to complete trips.

1

u/dugdanger 4d ago

Watching this is pure anxiety

Thank God he didn't hit anyone else

1

u/sheepchaser90021 4d ago

Anyone who uses this song should be charged with war crimes and sentenced to hard labor

1

u/Weird_Albatross_9659 4d ago

Thank you for the captions, captain obvious

1

u/kaneda_z 3d ago

GOOD, now he cant kill anyone

1

u/Mushbeeguy 3d ago

An inattentive truck driver killed my wife.

1

u/Radio_Mediocre 3d ago

Shoes off? How did he live.

1

u/ShortListen6686 3d ago

Glad he was the only one who got hurt

1

u/TrainingTheory552 3d ago

some people need shit to happen to them to fully wake up.

1

u/eXeKoKoRo 3d ago

I can't be a truck driver because I would get fired for pulling over to take a nap.

2

u/PupOben 2d ago

Which is sad, honestly, because we would all much prefer you nap and be safe on the road than to put yourself or anyone else at risk for money. I would be fired for the same reason. I'm not operating 80,000 lbs of machinery if I'm tired.

1

u/SwankiestTank 3d ago

Deserved

1

u/Greenfire32 3d ago

If you're gonna sleep at the wheel, at least wear your seatbelt.

1

u/ImageAvailable7003 3d ago

I work in an emergency department. We see a decent amount of people who doze off while driving and get hurt. They are virtually always coming down after doing meth.

1

u/PandiBong 3d ago

Sleeping, no seat belt, no fucking shoes... hope that's him taking the ladder to heaven at the end...

1

u/PickledMessage 3d ago

Are you awake now barry

1

u/ldssggrdssgds 2d ago

Lots to unpack here. No shoes, probably was driving too long, doesn't give a crap, questionable license, etc, etc

1

u/Terrible-Virus-4875 1d ago

Party on Wayne.

1

u/AdImpossible9244 4d ago

Seems like alot of people are in AI denial. This is exactly why self driving vehicles will be the norm in the very near future. The present self driving software could have prevented this. Depending on the cargo this wreck could have cost millions. Let alone any human injuries.

1

u/WetboiWhiskey 4d ago

This is an industry that would 100% benefit from automation

0

u/ROOSTERyouDOWN 4d ago

With all the cameras now in trucks you think they would come up with something that would wake you up if your eyes closed and heart rate slows, like a seat that shocks your ass or something

0

u/Remarkable-Simple-62 3d ago

He got the look of a person who gets fired every where he works