“When I realized I was still alive, I was grateful”

The delivery of aluminium products to our customers is sometimes overlooked by our industry. Some facilities believe their responsibilities towards safety ends as soon as the final product leaves their property. Here is an incident to remind us that safety ends when the final product is delivered to the customer, not when it leaves our plants. 

A truck driver suffered several cuts and bruises, but was otherwise unharmed after his tractor trailer truck overturned the week of August 11, 2013 in the Southeast United States. 

The truck was carrying 45,080 pounds of aluminium bars, according to it's driver.

The trucker said he's worked as a truck driver for a Midwest US based truckload carrier company, for 12 years and never had an accident until today. The truck landed on the driver's side, the trucker said he was driving around the arc of the exit, but overestimated the curve. 

"I must have overshot it. I tried to correct it and I couldn't," the trucker said. "It could have been a lot worse." 

The accident demolished the truck and the tractor.

"When I realized I was still alive, I was grateful," the trucker said. "I'm blessed."

The rig was cleared from the scene by 4 p.m. However, several men were still picking up the thousands of pounds of aluminum bars that fell off the truck and stacking them on a flatbed. A police officer said he was uncertain how long it would take to clean up the debris. 

The accident was still under investigation by the state police.

The US Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has some excellent information on safety. The information can be found here. 

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