Operating heavy-duty commercial motor vehicle is not easy. There is a reason why professional truck drivers must go through a rigorous amount of training and stay current on industry trends. Making your way down the road and through mountain passes with 80,000 pounds behind you is a delicate task. Heavy duty commercial motor vehicles cannot be operated just like cars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We know this acutely. While most professional truck drivers operate\nsafely on our nation\u2019s roads day-in and day-out, unfortunate incidents do\nhappen. Most recently, it was the crash on I-70 near Denver that left four\npeople dead. While the incident is still under investigation, initial reports\npaint a picture of a truck losing control on a 5-mile stretch of a steep\nhighway downgrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The truck driver in question in this incident had been\ndriving commercially for just under three years and had only recently been\noperating a commercial motor vehicle. Furthermore, there are some questions\npertaining to the overall health and operational ability of the vehicle in\nquestion. Certainly, with the incident still under investigation, there is no\npoint in speculating. Still, something went wrong, and it is likely the\ntrucking company will find itself at the tail end of a long and expensive\nlitigation cycle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Colorado case, mountain truck driver training could\nhave equipped the operator with the skills needed to avoid the accident. The\ntruck driver in this case took his test in Houston, so it is likely he did not\npractice on any high mountain passes. In fact, if you were to examine the Texas\nCDL training manual, as well as others from different states, there is hardly\nany appreciable information related to operating a heavy-duty commercial motor\nvehicle over mountain passes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why? Mainly because there are few areas across North America\nthat have hills or mountains large enough for a truck driver to train on. Then,\nonce a new truck driver is out driving around Colorado or Pennsylvania, the\nfind themselves traversing terrain they were not trained for. Will they know\nhow to navigate a heavy downgrade in a heavy truck? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Training is Important<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem is that today\u2019s equipment and working\nenvironment provides a false sense of security. For many commercial motor\nvehicle drivers, engines with 600 horsepower or more offer the ability for\nengine-braking. But truck drivers who rely solely on engine braking may be\nlulled into a false sense of security. What if engine braking fails? What if a\ntruck driver is relying on engine braking alone and then they turn a corner and\ntraffic is at a standstill or there is a deer inside the road? Will there be a\nplan B?<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the FMCSA attempting to establish a cohesive training program that calls upon real-world examples, there also need to be a focus on advanced driving skills, which includes both winter and mountain truck driving. Advanced driving skills are required because truck drivers need to know how to use runaway truck ramps on long steep grades, especially during inclement weather or in other potentially dangerous circumstances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also called \u201carrestor beds,\u201d these offramps are often filled\nwith loose gravel. The gravel will grip the tire and slow down the truck. If a\ntruck needs to use a runaway ramp, they won\u2019t be cited for it, but they may\nneed to be towed out. So, what are trucking companies doing to address the\nproblem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key word here is training. Why not offer an employee or\napplicant tuition to learn how to navigate extreme driving conditions, such as\nextreme driving, mountain driving, winter weather driving, hazardous material\ndriving, and more? Enterprising fleet managers know that training is the key to\nensuring truck drivers know how to navigate windy roadways amid hazardous\nconditions. The best way to do it is to take students up and down hills and\nmountains in these conditions. Even technicians should get in on the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although many states don\u2019t have mountains, there are more\nthan a few fleets that run operations on the 48 states and Canada. You want to\ncover hills, mountains, brake inspection, adjustment, when to use a runaway\nramp, and so much more. A discussion around brake fade, inspection and\nadjustment should be on the training docket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Do students know how to shift and brake on steep inclines or\ndowngrades? What are the procedures they should follow at brake-check areas?\nMany mountain grades have brake check areas at the top of the mountain. But\noutside of what you train, you must consider geography. If you don\u2019t have mountains\nin your area, you may want to invest in web-based or VR training platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There should be some methods for teaching truck drivers how\nto traverse a steep mountain downgrade or incline. Furthermore, do your truck\ndrivers know how to read the appropriate signs? Not all grades have signs.\nTruck drivers need to know how to read the signs the road provides them. Only\nthrough effective coaching and training can truck drivers learn the terrain\nwhen there is no terrain for them to learn on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How do Truck Drivers Respond?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When most truck drivers are exposed to mountainous terrain\nfor the first time, they often face an intractable dilemma. If a truck driver\ndoesn\u2019t know what lies ahead, how will they know what speeds they should\ntravel. Some grades show the profile of a hill. Some may suggest whether a\ntruck driver should use a lower gear or slow down, the advisories are never\nspecific. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some companies have turned to technology as they work to\nensure their truck drivers are trained on difficult or mountainous terrain. As\ncompanies have developed these technologies, their own market research has\nfound that even truck drivers experienced in the terrain may find themselves\ndriving up to 20 miles an hour over the speed limit, even when they don\u2019t\nintend to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many truck drivers reduce their speed using a method called\nbrake \u201csnubbing.\u201d Yet, even through brake snubbing, the truck drivers may not\nbe reducing speed by enough. The problem is, as we mentioned before, truck\ndrivers allow themselves to be lulled into a false sense of security. Truck\ndrivers far too often underuse their engine brake or drag their service break\nto check their speed. No matter how many times that truck driver has responded\nto the conditions on that hill, they could find themselves in a tough situation\nif they are not careful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What truck drivers should be doing is descending at a speed\nthat allows them to use the engine brake, rather than the service brake. If the\nbrakes are smoking and the brake pedal feels squishy, you may already be in a\ndangerous situation. There are no second chances when brakes fail. There is a\nsystem to follow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How to Descend Safely<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Truck drivers should be able to use the engine brake to slow\nthe truck down at a higher RPM. You wan to keep the engine speed in the 1,800 \u2013\n2,000 RPM range. If you are going too slow at this point, rather than upshift,\nswitch the engine brake to position 1 or 2. If you need to apply a heavy\nservice brake, you are in too high a gear. On the flipside, if you are running\nbelow 1,800 RPMs, your gear position is too low. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While some training programs put a lot of emphasis on\nkeeping the engine RPM as ow as possible, it is important to note that when\nusing the engine brake, you are not using any fuel, at least not any more than\nyou would use when sitting at idle. Even if the engine sped is high, truck\ndrivers need to realize that the truck is not consuming fuel but is rather\nacting like a big air compressor driven by the momentum of the vehicle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some automated transmissions might also be auto programmed to upshift when engine speeds reach a certain level. In these situations, the truck driver may need to put the transmission in a manual or hold mode, which will prevent the upshift. No matter what you do, the transmission will shift to protect the engine if you are going too fast. You don\u2019t want to go faster than the engine brake can handle to maintain speed. If you find yourself in the wrong gear, you want to ensure you rectify the problem at the top of the hill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you can\u2019t remember the steps, remember this, use the same\ngear to descend the hill as you used to ascend it. This applies if you are\ncarrying a load or on your way back. The point is, even if your fleet or does\nnot normally operate in hilly or mountainous terrain, ensuring your truck\ndrivers are properly trained on the methods used to navigate them will serve\nyou better in the long run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"