Drivers' Corner - Caring in Action

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Have you ever applied your brakes to stop and have them pull either to the left or right? A driver in Ottawa, Canada was approaching a stop light in the center lane on a main thoroughfare. Traffic in both directions was bumper to bumper and moving at a fast pace.

As he applied his brakes, to his surprise his tractor was slightly pulled to the left placing him in the path of oncoming traffic. A car ran head-on into him before he could adjust. A father and his twelve-year-old son in the four-wheeler were killed in the accident. The driver of the 18-wheeler was not injured, however, he was emotionally distraught. He had a twelve-year-old son of his own at home.

Anyone who has taken the CDL written and skills test is aware that special importance is placed on air brakes. Taking the time to inspect your brakes before driving should be a priority. Equipment malfunctions can occur at anytime, yet we can take preventive actions to eliminate their occurrence as much as possible. Some points to observe:

1. Perform the brake test before moving to insure all of your warning devices are working. Failure of the service brake low air indicator or the spring brake low air application are signs of problems. The loss of air pressure greater than 3 to 4 psi during the timed minute, indicates air leaks beyond the recommended limits.

2. If you are a company driver, check your slack adjusters. Most tractors and trailers are equipped with automatic slack adjusters, but anyone with knowledge of anything automatic means that it is going to need monitoring.

• Do not assume that the automatic slack adjusters work perfectly. Have the maintenance shop look at them if travel is greater than 1-1/2 inches. Travel is determined by pulling on them when they are not engaged.
• Lastly, look at your drums from the inside. I know that it is easy to glance quickly, but remember, what you are looking at is the first and last asset that is going to stop your truck when it needs stopping.

3. If you are an owner-operator, check your brake shoes on all drums (steer axle, drivers, and trailers).

• A general procedure used to adjust regular brakes, is to tighten snug and then back off half a turn on the trailer brakes. Check with a mechanic before attempting this procedure.
• Set regular tractor brakes by turning snug and then backing off one turn. This allows the trailer brakes to grab first and the tractor brakes second as more pressure is applied.
• • If you have automatic slack adjusters, and most of you will on the new equipment, check the travel and if over 1-1/2 inches, take it to a mechanic to have them adjusted.

Bottom line, a tractor and trailer must do two things on the highway: go forward with a load and stop when it gets there. To do anything less, creates havoc on the road.

Bob Hataway is president of TransAlive USA, an organization of 100,000 volunteers across America dedicated to serving drivers and their families in the transportation industry through their Caring in Action=Safety Program. They cover every zip code in the United States and move quickly to meet the needs of the drivers and their families when they experience an accident, illness, heart attack or even death on the highway. Call 800-USA-HURT for assistance.