Accident - jackknife on black ice, who is to blame?

You jackknifed so it'll be you that gets blamed

 

It's your fault for not maintaining control of the vehicle for the jack knife. Assuming you didn't hit anyone, it'll be their fault for following too closely or driving too fast for conditions.

 

So a car hit you and then you jackknife.Or you jackknife first?

 

Clear interpretation. This person jackknifed on black ice blocking both lanes. This person was stopping on black ice. Cars, also on black ice hit said jackknifed person on black ice because it was black ice. Domino effect does apply. First domino...black ice. Preventable? Yes. Don't drive on black ice, period.

 

When it comes to black ice, I wait it out or shutdown....I may piss off a few people but the safety dept loves me...moisture/precipitation, freezing temps, no sun hitting the surface of the road, all factors to consider...on another note I will put chains on in snow to get over a mountain pass. Keep in mind they don't treat roads like they used to...ie reduced salt, reduced sand, alternative chemical road treatments...you get the idea...reduction reductions reductions ...therefore we have to be smarter than they are....lol

 

Chains to me are like crosses to a vampire. It's only because I'm too stupid to figure them out. This from multiple real world attempts. I've watched videos, but I've never been able to replicate those videos in my chaining attempt...not for lack of trying.

My last attempt happened in Washington when they had a fresh snow storm, just a few weeks ago. I thought I had them on perfectly, bungee chords and all, but one chain snapped and the other got tangled. Every experience preceding that experience have been similar. I've either lost the chains or got them tangled on the tire. I've about given up on chaining.

 

It's YOU that gets blamed.

YOU jackknifed. Therefore you broke a commandment in trucking, thou shalt not jackknife.

It's actually preventable.

I hate to be so difficult with this and have a hard opinion about this. I hope that no one got hurt and everyone can move on minus the damage costs.

Jackknifes come in two forms, tractor and trailer. If the tractor gets away from you it's somewhat harder to get it back. The trailer is easier to get back provided you have enough pavement and time to do it before she comes all the way around.

There is a third jackknife and that is usually caused by idiot drivers stuck near low bridges and tries to turn around. In some situations they are only destroying the tractor. Parts will fall out or are ripped out as they tear into it more and more.

There is no point in trying to teach you how to understand the risk of ice before you get there. Keeping an eye on the weather along your trips that are being planned is a important part of trucking today. We are going into spring time and tornados are expected. If you are watch ful you will not have any problems with these.

 

In a situation like this it's the one at the front of the pile up that's to blame.

@kanidana not having the chains tight and speed are the two things that will kill a set of chains fast. You want the cross links to stay as close to the tire tread as you can get them. This cuts down on how bad the "slap" the pavement as the tire goes around. If you have a long chaining area, like on 90 in WA, I try and park as far back as I can to install the chains. Then I will pull out and run up to the end of the chaining area and pull back over and tighten everything down good. Even just a few revolutions of the tire will get some slack out so you can tighten them down better.

 

I go home for the winter.Freight is slow and its easy to get into trouble. Quickly.