Two trucks lose brakes with no choice but to use the same escape ramp

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Pitiful-MobileGamer@reddit

Thank God you called 911, there's a good chance it sounds like those drivers may not have been able to.

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They didn’t collide the noise you heard is from the undercarriage being torn up. Those ramps will stop you, in a split second and you will definitely feel it !! Never used them but have seen others, it definitely hurts, but better then going off a mountain or killing other people.

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Responsible_CDN_Duck@reddit

When two trucks are the same speed and weight they need the same distance to stop, so the second would be a truck length short of the needed distance even before considering issues like pack down which reduces the braking benefit of the fill material for the second vehicle.

If the vehicle is going faster or is heavier the need for additional run out room is more pronounced.

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bob696988@reddit

Slow the video and you see the flatbed stops right behind the other truck

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Fit_Hospital2423@reddit

Yeah, that’s a nice theory. The facts are that the second truck sideswiped the first truck ….so I don’t know what drugs you’re on there, buddy, but try again.

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radiationblessing@reddit

Why are you and others insisting they made contact when trees are obscuring every last detail?

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Sharp_Requirement_50@reddit

Your out of your damn kind of you think that wasn’t the sound of a collision.

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Fit_Hospital2423@reddit

Because there’s an article from the event in the thread here that describes the accident reported by the state police.

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BouncingSphinx@reddit

That absolutely was the sound of a collision.

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AngryTrucker@reddit

Before or after they crashed?

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robs104@reddit

Let’s hope the second driver was able to angle a bit away from the other truck. Probably wishful thinking but still.

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Fit_Hospital2423@reddit

And you’re just sure of that are you?

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bob696988@reddit

Absolutely you can hear it If there was a collision more likely there would be an explosion of some sort. But you hear the twisting metal, which is the undercarriage.

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GroundbreakingEar450@reddit

News article linked below says they sideswiped...so you're wrong bro. Hahahahhaha

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bob696988@reddit

Sideswiping isn’t the same as colliding but ok if it makes you feel better here is your reward 🍪

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SeaRow556@reddit

What world do you live in? You got way too much pot in ur cookies and i recommend you coming back down to earth.

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BouncingSphinx@reddit

This isn’t the movies. Collision does not equal immediate explosion.

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Fit_Hospital2423@reddit

You’re definitely a truck driver. You’ll pop off with bullshit when you don’t even know what you’re talking about.

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xDoomKitty@reddit

Lol

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2skin4skintim@reddit

Bro, you need some new ears or the confidence to be wrong. It's okay we make mistakes

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Fit_Hospital2423@reddit

Yeah, I don’t agree with you but, whatever.

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SeaRow556@reddit

The second truck will arguably need more stopping distance, these ramps have been designed for 1 runaway before needing to be redone. Redone could be as simple as a disk or just an inspection. But generally, they will close it until they can get maintenance to it, so even though these probably can sustain multiple runaway at a time, their effectiveness can drop exponentially. So if an 80k lb truck took say 250 ft to stop the second could take even more or not at all.

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EVOChi@reddit

That ramp didn’t stop the truck in a split second. Are we watching different videos or something?

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EscapeWestern9057@reddit

In truck terms it was a split second

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bob696988@reddit

When it stops you it only takes a split second !! It’s not going to happen immediately but when that gravel gets deep you’re being stopped immediately. Have you ever actually seen a runaway ramp up close ?

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EVOChi@reddit

Reread your comment you replied to me. You contradicted yourself.

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Over9000Zeros@reddit

Watch a video of how the ramps actually work. There's a run up then a dirt/gravel pit to catch the truck and stop it.

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Fit_Hospital2423@reddit

That sure is an interesting article that says the second truck hit the first truck. Imagine that.

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lobo2r2dtu@reddit

How about the load on the flatbed? I hope it didn't shave the guy in half.

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Laffenor@reddit

Pretty den sure they collided, yes.

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Q7017@reddit

Probably had to wait a good 20 mins too, because there's no reception there. Still a good thing to do even if you have to drive on to get reception though.

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confusedbystupidity@reddit

We're just going around in circles...

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Fit_Hospital2423@reddit

Imagine that! Both from the same company and both with international drivers license ……speaking Spanish. What a coincidence!

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LiberalTroll1976@reddit

They’re Mexican drivers. From Mexico. Were you going somewhere with that? Like some kind of racist connotation?

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Fit_Hospital2423@reddit

Sure that’s how people like you would take it. I’m saying that the license and training requirements suck from Mexico. Like in many other ways, they aren’t vetted properly. It’s hard to imagine that their licensing requirements are less stringent than ours, but I think it’s pretty clear that they must be from this and other examples.

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LiberalTroll1976@reddit

I’ve seen white people not understand how to come down mountains too.

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Fit_Hospital2423@reddit

Yea. No shit.

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OldBrokeGrouch@reddit

First of all, that was some pretty solid camera work.

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confusedbystupidity@reddit

Engine breaks are your friend, people... I see too many going down the hill on the 5 grape vine and yall smelling like burnt metal AND/OR about to catch fire...

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Linfords_lunchbox@reddit

Piss poor training. Don't even need to touch the service brakes if you're doing it right.

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confusedbystupidity@reddit

Negative... depends on grade of the slope and how much the truck and trailer weighs... if your over 40k going down a 6 degree slop... your touching the breaks... engine breaks won't be strong enough...

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TheCanadianJD@reddit

If you’re touching your service brakes at all you’re in too high of a gear. You’re playing with fire and could eventually end up just like these idiots at best or dead at worst. Lower your gear and your engine brakes will hold; quit gambling with other people’s lives by trying to go too fast.

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confusedbystupidity@reddit

Physics works that way when you ignore it and burn out your brakes... respect math, live longer...

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TheCanadianJD@reddit

You can’t burn out your brakes if you don’t use them, hence lower your gear until your engine brake holds you.

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HashnaFennec@reddit

Bruh, just slow down.

I’ve gone down both the grapevine and cabbage hill at 80k lbs without touching my service brakes. It’s all about being at the right speed in the right gear.

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Ornery_Ads@reddit

You really think in 1st gear at max on the Jakes you wouldn't be able to putter down a hill?

Now, if your engine breaks... well...

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confusedbystupidity@reddit

No i dont...

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EastSideFlo@reddit

The speed limit is 50 doesn’t mean you have to go 50 down hill with a loaded semi, downshift/slow down put fourways on and let the engine brake do its thing, try to touch service brakes as less as possible.

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Ornery_Ads@reddit

You think the engine can't hold the truck back even in 1st gear, so your answer is to go flying past?

Let's do some quick math on this. Let's assume you meant a 6% grade (average on the grapevine), and a 100,000lb truck with no rolling resistance, no air resistance, etc.
Let's also assume you have a Volvo D13 which has a max engine retarding force of 372kw.

Potential energy is U=mgh where U is energy in joules, m is mass in kg, g is acceleration of gravity, and h is height in meters.

372kw is 1339200000 joules/hr.
100k lbs is 45,359kg.
Gravity is 9.81 m/s.
1 meter is 3.28 feet.

So start filling in what we have:
1339200000 j/hr=45,359kg9.81(x/3.28)

Now simplify:
1339200000=x((45,3599.81)/3.28)

Simplify again:
9,871=x

X is vertical drop per hour.

On a 6 percent slope, your vertical speed is 6% of your horizontal speed, so if you were traveling 100.5mph, you would be doing 100 miles horizontally and 6 miles vertically every hour.

To drop 9,871 feet on a 6% slope, you would travel 164,526 feet horizontally, or about 31mph.

At 65mph, the air and rolling resistance requires about 150kw to overcome. At 30-40mph, it would certainly be less, likely around 75kw, so an extra 20% of slowing force without using the service brakes. All in maybe a driving speed of 35-40mph in order to not need to touch the service brakes at all. Just a few extra minutes would save drivers from spewing rancid smell, being at risk of a brake fire, extra equipment wear, etc...never mind a potential run away truck.

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HowlingWolven@reddit

Bullshit. I can be at gross going down 11% on jake alone. I’m not going very fast doing it, but I’m doing it without air.

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Annabanana2989@reddit

But had very little service braking if using engine break on 3

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quackdamnyou@reddit

I drive I5 in Southern Oregon most days. Sexton Pass southbound is not the grapevine, but it's nothing to sneeze at. I drive a fuel truck at 105k. Kenworth Cummins 18 speed, sometimes Mac automatic. I can easily drive down the hill without touching the service brake. It just requires starting the descent at about 40 mph, and then staying in a gear to descend at 50mph or so and 1900rpm, for our trucks. Depending on the gearing, usually 7th gear straight. In good conditions I actually tend to split one gear up and descend using the surge braking method between 55 and 62 mph. Which requires perhaps 5-6 short applications of the brake.

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confusedbystupidity@reddit

Yes I've driven it's multiple times north and south... have become proficient, passing all the noobs...

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fernblatt2@reddit

Well, if you don't brake things may break

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confusedbystupidity@reddit

True with ANYTHING man made...

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Robots_Never_Die@reddit

Woosh

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Robots_Never_Die@reddit

Brakes*

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supermarble94@reddit

If your engine brakes can't hold you back in 1st gear, then you either need to scrap the truck or you're trying to descend a 100% grade. There is a gear in which your engine brakes will hold you back without touching your brakes.

For me, at 45k lbs net, that was 9th on a 5%, 8th on a 6%, and 7th on a 7%. I usually just picked 9th anyway since I'd only have to touch my brakes around twice a minute on a 6%.

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silva579@reddit

Also depends on the truck but I do it all the time without needing service brakes even at 130k+ lbs.. Slow down before the grade and put your hazards on if need be, and put it in a higher gear. Engine torque multiplies with shorter gears, works for your jakes too

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confusedbystupidity@reddit

Im not a permit driver, so you do you... I just know from my years of van hauling...

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Rdtisgy1234@reddit

I feel like I am seeing more of this now. Every other grade I go down I see a semi truck just with the brake lights on full blast. Makes me hesitant to pass them because I would rather be behind him than in front when he burns those brakes out.

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strangehitman22@reddit

I just started CDL school(monday) and it's been drilled into our head to use it. Brake till 5 below then let it go back to up then brake again. Rinse and repeat. Keeps from becoming a runaway truck

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HowlingWolven@reddit

Fuck that five below and speed up noise, hazards on if necessary and find the speed and gear your jakes’ll hold and modulate from there. If you find yourself snubbing, snub enough to grab another gear.

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confusedbystupidity@reddit

That still all depends on physics... if your 40k+ going down a 6% hill you'll need to slow way past 5 below, until you know the route and how much breaking you'll need...

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strangehitman22@reddit

Fair. Still important to use your engine brake no matter what tho

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confusedbystupidity@reddit

Sure, it's what it's for... a breaks saver...

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Exotic_Macaron4288@reddit

The probably came flying down that road at a "manageable" speed. I.e. one they thought they could handle. Then came up on slow or stopped traffic. If this is the case, can't really blame them for stopped traffic. Then again, you kinda have to plan for that contingency if you're heavy coming down a hill.

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Q7017@reddit

I'm almost willing to bet money those are Medelez trucks. Willamette Pass is in their operating area and they drive like clowns.

They're part of the reason why I'm glad I don't have to fuel at Loves/Pilots anymore, I'd see them constantly hogging fuel lanes there for 40 mins at a time.

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Key_Law4834@reddit

Why is no one talking about how lucky the cam car is. If that ramp wasn't there they likely would have been smushed by the two trucks

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shamiro@reddit

Okay, I'm a trucker in Europe, we don't really have these ramps, but we do have a mountain breakes called "retarders", basically it's like a super strong engine break to prevent actual breakes from overheating.

Do you have anything similar in US?

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Legion_Paradise@reddit

Yeah I'm a driver here. We definitely have it. But im pretty confident we have much more steep legal limits on roads here. You guys have heavier gross gvwr limits but we have steeper roads. Ain't no retarder stopping 80klbs on these steeps

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basement_guy@reddit

I've spent plenty of hours running downhill at 100k+ and nothing short of a Jake failure would ever cause me to cook off my brakes. It makes me paranoid as hell seeing two trucks in the same clip need to take the escape ramp lol

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aimfulwandering@reddit

According to the article, trucks were from the same company, hauling the same load. So unlikely equipment failure, most likely poor/no training, drivers with no experience on the equipment / driving in hilly terrain. Seems like they came into the hill too fast and didn’t even try to engine brake.

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LiberalTroll1976@reddit

I saw this video last year. I’m gonna find the article again but everyone was ok, it was somewhere in Oregon as well. Scary stuff tho

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DANO8503@reddit

Typical these are owner operators, or 1099 contractors in older equipment. If you weren’t taught by a seasoned driver how to navigate big downhill stretches this is the result

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Otherwise-Print-6210@reddit

https://cdllife.com/2022/video-two-trucks-crash-after-using-runaway-ramp-moments-apart/

They lived, trucks sideswiped.

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Beneficial_Cloud5481@reddit

Thank you, glad to hear it!

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jmzstl@reddit

Both drivers had international drivers licenses and were Spanish speakers. Trooper spoke to manager of the company via phone while on-scene. Trooper was able to obtain statements from the drivers using translator.

That sounds about right...

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Dazac@reddit

Double Jeopardy

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TitsMcGee8854@reddit

Bruh this shit is why I noped out of trucking after only a few months. Between the weather and grades I'd rather have my feet on the ground and go home every night.

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Soberg1itch@reddit

I know exactly where this ramp is. I pass it at least twice a week. That hill is a tricky one. 6 mile sections of 6-8% grade with lots of 35 mph corners. Pretty easy to fade your brakes if you don’t slow down to 35 mph, Jake it all the way down.

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AndromedanPrince@reddit

why sint taking a grade woth jakes and low speed just standard thought for a trucker? ive never attempted brakes only

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Soberg1itch@reddit

I’m not sure. On this hill you’re still using your brakes plenty, even with grabbing 2 or 3 gears and using the Jake’s. Must have been a failure or poorly maintained truck. This is in Oregon and the truck is from Oregon or Washington so it’s not like the driver was a stranger to mountain passes

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Gonnahauntcha@reddit

How much to get the trucks out?

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Coompa@reddit

Truck out? $10k

Truck running again? $100k

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confusedbystupidity@reddit

For one, as I said on a previous permit driver... my van/refer, does not carry over 45k... the rest of what you dolled out was ignored... have a good rest of your day...

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Fit_Hospital2423@reddit

It’s so nice to see these professional drivers operating the big trucks out on our public highways.

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syncsynchalt@reddit

These are pros. They are destroying their trucks and making a major dent in their record to save the lives of the people on the road.

The shitty drivers try to drive it out and kill a minivan full of people at the bottom of I-70.

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homucifer666@reddit

I've always wondered how exactly you lose your brakes. I inspect my tires and brakes every day, and I mostly use the jakes to slow down or control speed on hills.

How do you use your brakes to the point that they fail like this?

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syncsynchalt@reddit

They don’t make brakes that can slow a 40 ton truck going down a 6% grade for ten miles.

The truck needs to use engine compression to descend and has to be in a low enough gear. The transmission also can’t shift down once you’ve started descending. The driver has to remember to downshift ahead of time, and have some knowledge of the descent to know what gear they need to be in.

If they get it wrong enough and have to brake through it the brakes will fade, even catch fire, and the driver can only steer at that point.

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onlyBotsdownvote-me@reddit

How do you use your brakes to the point that they fail like this?

It's called "brake fade." Your brakes can become so overheated that they're no longer effective at stopping the truck. So, even if you were to pull the brake knobs, it's just like 2 soft, red-hot pieces of metal, just sliding against each other. Google that term, "brake fade."

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HowlingWolven@reddit

Brake fade is a symptom particularly of drum brakes. As the drum heats up, it expands away from the shoes. Now, the shoes can compensate for this in some fashion because the brake pot uses air and will attempt to keep its force constant.

But eventually the drum grows so big that the pots can’t stroke out any further, all the brake force goes into pushing the service diaphragm against the inside of the pot, and the shoes do sweet fluff-all.

Disc brakes don’t fade until they melt and expansion actually makes the pads and the drum get closer together.

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Robots_Never_Die@reddit

Disc brakes absolutely fade before they melt. Disc brake pads have working heat ranges for the pad material. Under or over that temp range will result in reduced braking power as the friction goes down.

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HowlingWolven@reddit

I’m obviously exaggerating with that statement. Point is, they’re more forgiving than drums.

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Robots_Never_Die@reddit

My bad I read it too literal.

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LukeGreywolf@reddit

That's not how that works at all. Its heat buildup causes lubricity between the drum and shoe, the drum doesn't expand so much that the shoe can't reach it. whoever told you that is retarded or pulled a fast one on you like telling you to get blinker fluid.

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kscountryboy85@reddit

Well yall are both right. The drum expands and will over stroke the chamber and as the shoe friction material overheats and burns the resulting gasses create a lubricating effect.

The off gassing is what causes disk brake fade but the smaller pads can be forced against the disk with enough foece to overcome a lot of that but even still it eventually can't be and you will get fade, just at a much higher temp.

Can all be prevented by not running faster than your jakes can maintain without using the foundation brakes.

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HowlingWolven@reddit

Do you know how little the drum needs to expand to stroke out the brakes?

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strangehitman22@reddit

In a situation like this, it's because you dont using you the engine braking and instead ride the brakes down the hill

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InspectionSenior1@reddit

I meet a guy who uses engine brake but he said he also applying service brake continuously on 6% hills . What he should be doing ' apply and release ' i told him to use this technique , but he wasn't impressed . If he continous to doing so , his brake will fail someday .

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clapped-out-cammy@reddit

I think its because people are impatient when they climb the hill so they decide to go down faster and have to use their foot brake. I gear down until the jakes hold the truck with no petal brake, then when there are differences as I go down I cycle between level 1, 2, and 3. Rarely use my brakes on big downhill like parlays or cabbage. Don't care if im doing 35 down the hill or not. I like my job and my truck.

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Violet_Apathy@reddit

It's not even 15 minutes. On a 6 Mile downgrade, 45 mph takes 8 minutes and 60 mph is 6 minutes. We're in the cold brakes club 😎

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Mstrchf117@reddit

People are dumbasses. I was going down one of the mtns on I5 in Oregon few years ago, there was construction so only 1 lane. FedEx didn't like me going 20 because I was fully loaded and that was the speed limit. Had to laugh when I passed him a few miles later when he got pulled over.

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rumrunner9652@reddit

Reminds me of the time I was in a blizzard and climbing a steep hill in backwoods Maine. A four wheeler grew impatient with my 20 mph and whipped around me. I really didn’t blame him, but I was flat out. When I reached the top and was headed downhill, I looked to my left and there was my four wheeler buddy about 100 yards out in a field. I stopped as he was emerging from his car to check on him and he began screaming about it all being my fault. Still, I asked if he needed help and was told to F off. We were miles from civilization and this was before cell phones, but I left. My conscience made me get on the CB for Maine state police. I hope they found him, it was a nasty night.

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alphieboo@reddit

honestly i’ll never understand those that speed down that fast where the jakes cant reasonably hold the truck back.. im a new driver too, mentor taught me well

few weeks ago had some guy fly past me with smoking brakes on his trailer coming down that mountain pass on the i5 entering oregon

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Good_Sailor_7137@reddit

When going downhill, watch your gears. If drivers keep applying the AIR brakes, they may lose too much and too often, losing air pressure by not giving the air compressor time to keep up. This applies the brakes a bit, constantly building heat. At some point, brake fade, lost, or fire may occur. If you lose a gear, go high, use jakes, and 'Stab Braking' to slow enough to catch the next lower gear. Rinse and repeat until your pants stink. The ramp is for complete failure and burying the pants.

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Responsible_CDN_Duck@reddit

I've always wondered how exactly you lose your brakes. I inspect my tires and brakes every day, and I mostly use the jakes to slow down or control speed on hills.

If your equipment is well monitored and maintained, the most common cause is going down faster than you went up.

If not equipment fault tends to be top cause.

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PocketSizedRS@reddit

Kinetic energy increases exponentially with speed. A "small" speed increase that you'd avoid might seem totally fine until it isn't.

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Xiunte@reddit

They overheat from riding on them going down these steep grades. I always use jakes too but I've driven some real shitboxes where the jakes weren't strong enough fully loaded even on the highest they'd go (but, luckily, I've never had to deal with mountain roads like this in a truck like that). I have a co-worker who refuses to use them. When asked why, he can't really give a coherent answer so I have no clue why anyone would choose not to.

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