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Table of Contents » TLC Announces the Winners of the Inaugural 2007 C.A.R.E Awards » Bush Outlines Emissions-Reduction Plan » Trucks, Tired Drivers can be Deadly Mix » TLC Employees Celebrating Anniversaries in March, April, and May » Cost of diesel reverses trend, goes up 3 cents a gallon » Avoided a 60 Car Pile-Up Avoided a 60 Car Pile-Up 
A big tip of the hat goes to Larry Challender, who was driving for TLC at the time of the very close call! Larry was coming back from delivering a load to a client in Spokane WA. The weather was cold and snowy as Larry passed the Snoqualmie Pass (I-90). It then began to rain, which caused freezing on the road and a large cluster of cars did not realize what this weather combination could do to the road condition. Larry slowed down and created a safety zone in front of him, when it all happened. There was chain reaction that involved over 60 cars and trucks. The other drivers could not react fast enough due to the freezing weather conditions. The extra space that Larry created allowed him to control his truck and avoided all of the wrecked vehicles and enabled him to avoid the huge accident. Larry received some of his Safety training from TLC and this is just one of many positive outcomes from following the Smith System. Larry remembered to keep at least a four second space cushion and in this potentially dangerous situation, Larry built in an even larger space, due to the weather conditions. Larry followed Key #4, "Leave Yourself an Out." The buffer of space really paid off and gave Larry better visibility and provided the critical time to react to the situation and avoid the accident. Larry's actions clearly shows that "Space + Visibility = Time." Larry's quick assessment of the weather, enabled him to create a larger SPACE cushion and increased his VISIBILITY of the accident happening right before him, which gave him TIME to react and take control of his truck and the situation. The training really paid off for Larry because he took the initiative to exercise caution and put Safety first in his driving. Great job Larry! Return to table of contents |