They seem to be giving out CDLs to anybody...

mjmsprt40 · Dec 27, 2015

.....And it's getting scary. Christmas day, a 35-ton truck tried to navigate a one-lane bridge rated at 6 tons. The combination of being too heavy and too big (it never could have cleared the iron girders that make up the bridge's structure) made the end results all too predictable.

The driver said that (a) she had driven across the bridge before in her personal vehicle without problems and (b) she didn't know how much weight 6 tons is. (For those that don't know--- 12,000 lbs. Her truck, at 35 tons, was 70,000 lbs.)

I wish I could say this sort of thing is unusual, but there's a You-Tube channel about the misadventures that take place with frightening regularity at an 11' 8" clearance bridge in North Carolina. The inability to read posted warnings, or even apparently to slow down so you can check if it looks close, does not appear to be taught anymore at the truck-driving schools.

Historic Indiana bridge collapses under semi

Turtle · Dec 27, 2015

Semi-truck driver faces citations in Paoli bridge collapse

Opel2010 · Dec 27, 2015

Turtle said:
Semi-truck driver faces citations in Paoli bridge collapse

I thought she's a Swift driver...

LDB · Dec 27, 2015

You can thank Common Core and fundamental changes in large part.

Turtle · Dec 27, 2015

LDB said:
You can thank Common Core and fundamental changes in large part.

None of which were in place when this drivers was in middle or high school. Please note that this is not The Soapbox Forum, nor Channel 19.

mjmsprt40 · Dec 27, 2015

It bothers me a little that she didn't know her truck was heavy. The tractor alone looks to be about 15,000 lbs, probably more. A 53' trailer can't scale much less than 12,000 lbs empty--- probably more. Add 44,000 lbs of water---- come on, ya gotta know that's too heavy for that little bridge.

Moot · Dec 27, 2015

Turtle said:
Semi-truck driver faces citations in Paoli bridge collapse

I found a typo in the above linked article, at least I hope it was a typo.

She currently works for Louisville Logistics out of Louisville, Kentucky.

I believe it should read: She formerly worked for Louisville Logistics out of Louisville, Kentucky.

Turtle · Dec 27, 2015

Police Chief Randy Sanders says Lambright was an inexperienced driver and had just left the Amish order about a year ago.

Sanders says Lambright, an independent driver, was hauling more than 43,000 pounds of bottled water in a leased truck from Penske for Louisville Logistics. Police say she couldn't comprehend how much six tons was - the weight limit posted on the bridge. The tractor-trailer and load weighted more than 30 tons.

Driver Identified In Paoli Historical Bridge Collapse

danthewolf00 · Dec 27, 2015

How did she even have a solo position being so new?

Moot · Dec 27, 2015

Turtle said:
Police Chief Randy Sanders says Lambright was an inexperienced driver and had just left the Amish order about a year ago.

She should have stayed with the horse and buggy. It's a very steep learning curve from horse and buggy to tractor/trailer in one year.

Moot · Dec 27, 2015

danthewolf00 said:
How did she even have a solo position being so new?

Her 17 year old cousin was with her.

mjmsprt40 · Dec 27, 2015

The more I read of this, the more I wonder if she even went to school--- or was she trained by an uncle or something.
She flat-out didn't know how to handle the rig, was afraid to back it up, probably embarrassed to call for help when she was in too deep (but before the bridge) and so on. Now, this all happened in a town she was at least passably familiar with, so the bridge shouldn't have been a surprise. Give a driver a newly-minted CDL, the keys to a rig, point said driver in the general direction of the nearest Interstate and say "Have fun, don't forget to write (if you learn how)". That seems to be what's happening today.