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So many more memes the last couple years. Trucks have navigated fine for decades, but the last couple years drivers keep hauling down the highways with their dump boxes UP and smashing into concrete overpasses. It’s nuts!

Someone told me it’s because the drivers licencing people rammed a bunch of new drivers through without thorough proper testing before rule changes came into effect so there’s a bunch of licenced pro drivers without adequate training. If true, that would explain it.

Trucks really need to be installed with safety devices that alert drives when their dump boxes are up or prevent the trucks from driving while they're up since drivers are too ret*d or drunk to figure it out. We really need all cars to be self driving. I highly doubt a computer would do a worse job managing traffic than human drivers.

Sometimes they gotta drive with them up, though.. like when they tip them up to dump them, then they drive forward a bit as they lift it higher to spread the dumped load out, depending on what they're dumping where for what application etc.

They're trained to do a walk around pre-check of their truck before they get in and drive away.. but if they do a dump, never get out of the cab and look at anything/double check that the tailgate is closed/hitched or whatever etc, then they might not realize the dump bed is up I guess. Laziness in the name of efficiency results in catastrophe.

I'm no pro driver, but I think they're Obligated to do that walk around and check of things.. and if they missed that, then they didn't do it, and since they cause hundreds of thousands if not $1M+ in damage every time they smash a concrete overpass (not to mention damage to/total loss of the truck if it twists the frame ?) then they should lose their licence and be banned from Any pro driving jobs for life, IMO. One mistake like that is too many.

Maybe there is somekind of recent intensified corporate competition to pressure drivers "keep it moving" thats forcing drivers to cut corners, and not do that walk around thing. But I would think that if you're driving down the highway with the dump thing up that the aerodynamics would change the truck's feel and handling so much that you would instantly know that something isnt right.

There is a bridge in Lansing, Michigan, on Pennsylvanian Avenue that gets struck more than once each year.

The clearance is clearly marked as 12'0".

Several truck-rental companies in the area have warnings in the contracts, which also include a "driver's fault" clause should anyone ignore the warnings, like this poor sap below:

(Same truck, different views.)

I think its the Chinese. Theyve sent a designer virus across the Pacific thats already infected North America with...dumbness!

This dump truck thing is just the beginning!

Before you know it...all of us Canadians and Americans will be...tucking our butterball turkeys into bed with pacifiers, and .... placing our babies into the oven!

A warning light or buzzer might be appropriate.

Good point. Cars have buzzers for the front seatbelts not being clicked in when people are sitting there; my mom sometimes has to click the front passenger seatbelt in when she puts something heavy on the seat because the buzzer is annoying very fast. Trucks having their beds up is a lot more dangerous than the driver & passenger not having their seatbelt blucklked in. There could be a restriction on the trucks speed when the bed is up to like 15 miles an hour. New cars have sensors that can stop the car to prevent collisions in case the drivers aren't paying attention but there's nothing that stops a big truck from driving on the highway & freeway with their bed raised I should be living in a literal cave because I seriously do not understand technology.

Last edited by nick007 on 19 Jul 2023, 9:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I was thinking the same things. There's a lot less truck drivers unions than there used to be. One of my girlfriend's brothers was a truck driver briefly; long trucks that don't have trailers. He only got paid for a certain amount of hours for each delivery regardless of how long it took. He quit because he's a fast driver who speeds a bit & he couldn't make those times; a couple hours each day were unpaid. He got into an accident at one point because he was driving too fast up a windy mountain road that had ice; everyone was fine. He works for a whisky brewery now(in the factory, not deliveries) & gets overtime pay, paid holidays, & some free whisky(he gave me a bottle & I don't want any more cuz it's too strong for me)

Warning lights and buzzers are too easily disabled by the drivers they were designed to annoy.

There's an underpass in Durham, NC that 18-wheelers try to drive under, despite being over the clearance, and a neon sign stating the clearance.

It's called the Can Opener.

Well . . . it may be safe to say that there are likely very few people in America with PhDs in Truck Driving.

I mean, just how much education is needed to read a traffic sign?  How much intelligence to understand what it says?

I think the problem is related to our extremely short attention spans. You seen our TV commercials. They focus on being entertaining & mostly show & talk about things unrelated to the products.

Knowing the routes must be really, really hard too.

They probably use their GPS a lot & perhaps relying on their GPS too much is the problem with missing signs & the truck clearance. This scene from The Simpsons comes to mind

I've never used GPS in my life. I don't know how. Still I've always managed to remember complex directions and routes because it's really not rocket science or anything. With GPS it's kids' play. No PhDs required either way no matter what type of oversized vehicle you're driving. I'm sure there are a lot of stupid people who can drive.