I always have some caution when passing trucks. Some of the tales in this wire story would be mildly amusing, if they haven’t been so tragic for innocent people.

Now, who should be responsible, say, if a diabetic truck driver blacks out while hauling ass on a freeway and takes out several other people when he wrecks out his truck. His employer (if he has one, could be an independent, so he would be his own employer) would have obvious responsibility. How about the driver? If the driver drives while knowing he has a condition that could present a danger to himself and others, should he be responsible? According to the courts, probably not.

Lack of judgment regardless of illness kills people too. There was a case in the local area where a trucker pulled over on the side of a freeway offramp, and failed to set the parking brake. The truck rolled backward onto the freeway and killed some people when they ran into it. There’s some responsibility there according to the courts. So what about the case of chronic diseases or afflictions. The truckers need to make a living somehow and will hang onto their job while they can.  The trucking companies, going by the want ads, are constantly hiring truckers. If there is such a shortage of drivers, they’re going to hire who they can get.

 Ripped from the headlines from my local news today:

About a half-dozen truck drivers are protesting high fuel prices by driving their rigs slower than normal this morning on Interstate 77 in York County.

The drivers are accompanied by troopers from the S.C. Highway Patrol, who reportedly are trying to prevent the truckers from blocking traffic.

The truck caravan began about 7 a.m. from a truck stop at Exit 65. The truckers are going northbound. Reporters at the scene say the drivers are averaging about 40 mph, but traffic is moving. At 8 a.m., the drivers were near Rock Hill.

It is unclear how far north they plan to drive on I-77.

http://www.charlotte.com/breaking_news/story/566323.html

An attempt to recreate what other truckers have done else where in the US:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23903144/

Now, let the Europeans show you how to do a trucking protest:

http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/archives/news/world/20071212-Italy-truckers-strike-price-fuel-diesel-romano-prodi.php

http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9711/07/france.strike.over/index.html