Personal military truck negligence causes major accident.

[TaylorTradingCo]

Anyone who knows me knows I run under the radar and push the limits a lot, but I try to be safe in general terms.

I got a call this morning from a fellow military vehicle lover, not a SS member, not well liked, but has been to a GA rally before. He said he was in a wreck last night in his M915 truck. I asked him what happened. He said he was hauling a trailer, a tank hauler flatbed, and that the lights on it weren't working. He was driving at night. Now correct me if I am wrong, but most semi's only have rear lights down by the mud flaps, which would be covered up by the trailer. We all know military vehicles have light absorbing paint and can't be seen at night, so it sounds to me like he was going down the interstate completely in the dark at night. A semi pulling tandems hit him full speed in the rear and totaled the civilian truck and caused who knows ow much damage. Fortunately, I don't think anyone was seriously hurt.

As well as lights, he also had no tags or insurance on the truck or trailer.

This could make things bad for all of us. The police in that area will probably start looking harder at any non-official military vehicles from now on. It happened in MS I think.

I hate it for him, and for us all, but having lights on the back of a long trailer AT NIGHT is a must. I have on more than one occasion stopped and bought flashlights and put them inside the tail lights of my trailers and other temporary fixes when I couldn't get home before dark.

I do bad stuff too, just went to a MVPA show in Chattanooga over the weekend and hauled 3 trailers up there with no lights or tags, but during the day time!

Anyway, just thought you guys would want to know.

Derek

 

[emmado22]

And stuff like this gives us all a bad name.....

 

[simp5782]

That is just dumb on his part and probably won't have much money from here on out.

If it happened in MS then that is a different category as a DOT officer has no authority to even ask ask a civilian for his license. Probable cause for a stop isnt just cause someone is in a military truck. Plus mississippi is 250/300 or so troopers short. They are swamped with crap.

But in the long run. Yeah him getting rear ended is his own fault. Regardless of if he had lights or not. No tags is a grave digger and no insurance will probably get him jail time. I wouldnt be surprised if they tried to charge him criminally for the accident.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[BEASTMASTER]

in an event like so .that's why it's a real good idea to have a beacon or two on top of you're wagon. people can see it 360 * and say what have we here ????

 

[Trailboss]

it doesn't matter whether it was an former military vehicle or an ex-Penske rental truck, it was a stupid move to run without registration, insurance and lights. I had taillights go out on me on the way to the GA Rally last year, but made an strong effort to arrive before dark, and then fix them before heading out again.

In an emergency, You can buy flashlights and red taillight repair tape at Walmart, as well as this https://www.walmart.com/ip/Perfect-Fitness-Safety-Light/27688810

 

[TaylorTradingCo]

I have come up with several temporary solutions to no lights before. My favorite was buying some cheap small LED flashlights and pulling the covers off my tail lights and sticking them in there and then replacing the covers, made great running lights in a jam. Many ways to rig something up just to be safe, but nothing at all is just plain asking for trouble.

 

[topo]

I took two pictures with out a flash and two with a flash . Military equipment is so hard to see in the dark $20 worth of tape may have helped stop this from happing .

 

[Karl kostman]

Wow That friends is one heck of a giant ARE YOU KIDDING ME story!!! I sure hope this fellows sheer ignorance and disregard for everybody around him (YES that includes all of us)results in some very serious fines and he looses his driving privileges for a long time and its done with! The other thing that could happen because of this very very stupid person is that it makes the news in a big way and we all get to pay for his acts of complete stupidity!!!!
What a frickin IDIOT!!!!
KK

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Fasten your seatbelts, boys and girls. The private ownership of formerly military vehicles is about to be targeted (righteously or not) due to one fool's indiscretion and the tragic effect that ensued.

Lawyers, LEO's, and Legislators will outperform hungry LIONS on this one.

Kevlar may offer minimal protection, and could be rendered useless.

Let us pray.....

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Anyone who knows me knows I run under the radar and push the limits a lot, but I try to be safe in general terms.

I got a call this morning from a fellow military vehicle lover, not a SS member, not well liked, but has been to a GA rally before. He said he was in a wreck last night in his M915 truck. I asked him what happened. He said he was hauling a trailer, a tank hauler flatbed, and that the lights on it weren't working. He was driving at night. Now correct me if I am wrong, but most semi's only have rear lights down by the mud flaps, which would be covered up by the trailer. We all know military vehicles have light absorbing paint and can't be seen at night, so it sounds to me like he was going down the interstate completely in the dark at night. A semi pulling tandems hit him full speed in the rear and totaled the civilian truck and caused who knows ow much damage. Fortunately, I don't think anyone was seriously hurt.

As well as lights, he also had no tags or insurance on the truck or trailer.

This could make things bad for all of us. The police in that area will probably start looking harder at any non-official military vehicles from now on. It happened in MS I think.

I hate it for him, and for us all, but having lights on the back of a long trailer AT NIGHT is a must. I have on more than one occasion stopped and bought flashlights and put them inside the tail lights of my trailers and other temporary fixes when I couldn't get home before dark.

I do bad stuff too, just went to a MVPA show in Chattanooga over the weekend and hauled 3 trailers up there with no lights or tags, but during the day time!

Anyway, just thought you guys would want to know.

Derek

Do you have any additional information - Who, What, Where, When - that may help us harvest any news articles, televised reports, or internet chatter on this incident????

Inquiring MIMES want to know.

 

[quickfarms]

The red and silver (white) reflective tape does wonders to make a military vehicle visible.

It can be mounted on 2" wide magnetic strips to make it removable

Towing a trailer without lights is not safe day or night. I have two sets of magnetic lights. You can easily make a cheap set using a pair of old trailer lights some wire, I know a trucker that is using orange extension cords, and a trailer plug

This accident may be the catalyst for a nationwide enforcement of having former military vehicles comply with current lighting and reflector requirements

 

[JDToumanian]

Fortunately nobody was killed. The negative press would be much more negative and possibly make national news if there was a fatality. As it is I'd be surprised if it made any waves outside the local region, so hopefully we can be thankful for that. Such stupidity can also be an effective wake up call for others and thus prevent similar mistakes, so thanks to Derek for posting.

It's probably a safe guess the reason for no lights was a problem with the trailer's harness or plug as opposed to a problem with the tractor's socket... For those scenarios, as well as for towing a truck with a towbar, I made up a set of magnetic towing lights out of a set of Harbor Freight lights and the cable and plug cut off from a scrap military trailer harness. Just figure out which wires go where and make the connections, and swap out the 12v bulbs for 24v ones and you're in business. All the legal and financial trouble that guy is going to be in, could have been prevented for less than $40.

Jon

 

[gimpyrobb]

For anyone that might need it:

https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?37452-My-towing-light-setup-MV-s-Civi&highlight=

 

[M543A2]

Too often it is easy to fall into the reasoning like "I will only do it this time" or "I am only going a short distance" to justify not taking the time to do some rather small things that will prevent the crisis he is in. So thankful no one was seriously hurt or killed.
I know what it means that military trucks disappear in the dark. I have nearly walked into them in the dark when I forgot where I parked one.
It is good practice to prepare a set of temporary tail lights and have them ready for use if needed as well as having proper licensing and insurance. We have all worked hard for what we have so taking a moment to think of all we and our families could lose in an incident caused by neglect is time well spent. Having safety equipment like a light kit available and ready to use prevents the justification thinking leading you down the dangerous pathways. I know I have been guilty of that kind of thinking and luckily have not had that problem, but it served to make me re-think some of the things I have done that were risky.

 

[rustystud]

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This is the "Federal Standards" for a "LowBoy" trailer. Even though we bought our trucks and trailers from the military and would "assume" they are grandfathered in, most states require that the vehicle or trailer meets the Federal Standards.
I've added a ton of extra lights to my trucks just because I don't want to be in a situation where I could get sued because I didn't meet the Federal Standards. With litigation the way it is today, a good (meaning bad ! ) lawyer could go after you and bankrupt you in a heart beat !

 

[armytruck63]

This is very similar to the condition called "get-home-itis" with pilots.

The guy is lucky that he was rear ended by a semi and not by a bunch of kids in a Toyota Corolla going 80. This would be even worse if there were fatalities involved.

The guy deserves a huge fine and a lengthy loss of driving privileges. And yes, it gives our hobby another black eye.

I carry a pair of Harbor Freight magnetic tow lights behind the seat of my dually for situations just like this.

 

[rhurey]

Fasten your seatbelts, boys and girls. The private ownership of formerly military vehicles is about to be targeted (righteously or not) due to one fool's indiscretion and the tragic effect that ensued.

Lawyers, LEO's, and Legislators will outperform hungry LIONS on this one.

Kevlar may offer minimal protection, and could be rendered useless.

Let us pray.....

If all the grief the ducks causes with the bus accident in Seattle didn't do much besides close on company, temporarily... Made no changes in WA state, much less federal... This won't even be a blip.

 

[TrailLifeBill]

Thanks for the reminder to add conspicuity tape to the two trailers I haven't gotten around to yet. Lights work, but if something ever happened at night on a trip un-noticed it could be a lifesaver.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Conspicuity tape comes in black, if the red/white tape on camo paint bothers you. The tape I have is Mil-spec surplus but black is also available from most of the big manufacturers. First picture is how it looks in daylight. Second picture was just a quick shot with flash in a well lit garage, so not a fair representation of how well it really does work.

 

[rustystud]

If all the grief the ducks causes with the bus accident in Seattle didn't do much besides close on company, temporarily... Made no changes in WA state, much less federal... This won't even be a blip.

Actually Ryan we won't know the whole story for several years from now. The amount of "committees" and "special session" meetings will take years. I was involved with an accident involving a woman getting hit by one of our busses at Metro. As the mechanic on duty I was the first to see the bus and assess the busses reliability and braking abilities. Talk about a lot of talking with nothing getting done ! Lawyers and County Council members all talking and nothing getting resolved. It took years ! But when the dust finally does settle you just might see some regulations change that will be almost impossible to change back. Once the wheels of Justice get rolling they are impossible to stop.