Truckers Boycott Colorado After A Driver Is Sentenced To 110 Years

Papageorgio

The Ultimate Winner
May 18, 2010
61,082
18,440
2,290
PNW
Truckers are boycotting Colorado after a driver has an accident and kills four people. The judge had little leeway but truck drivers have a choice and it could hurt Colorado.


Now, there is an online petition signed by six million people to reduce the sentence of the truck driver in this tragic story.


Let’s see what justice looks like.
 
It was an insane sentence. The driver is not blameless but for fucks sake, it was just an accident.

I wonder if the guy that ran over the people at the Christmas parade will even get that long of a sentence.
More than an accident...

He KNEW he had a brake problem WHILE HE WAS STOPPED at the brake inspection area at Berthoud Pass.

While stopped, the driver, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, called his boss and another driver, Rafael Perez Radrages,
to discuss the heated brakes.

NO truck driver is going to misdiagnose brake fade. I've experienced it myself... and stopped for hours waiting for hot brakes to cool.

He made a DECISION to continue from that stop KNOWING he had a problem with his braking...not a mechanical problem...a driver induced problem.

Had he responded in the prudent, appropriate, trained actions that are a part of the testing for airbrake endorsements for CDLs, no one would have died.

Then he ignored the runaway truck ramps.

He deserves a life sentence IMO... and the only truck drivers protesting this conviction are either ignorant of the facts due to relying on our garbage legacy media lying and omitting to get click and sell ad space...or they are as irresponsible as Rogel Aguilera-Mederos.

Because of our incompetent Legacy Media... More interested in fanning the flames of controversy than informing the public... these details are nearing impossible to locate unless you are already aware of their existence...so I blame no one for their anger or belief that this sentence was unjust.

But knowing that this driver killed innocent people to avoid the time it would take to allow his brakes to cool... and ignored runaway truck ramps so as not to damage the truck after calling his boss and informing the boss he had a brake problem.... after putting two and two together...I think everyone understands why Rogel Aguilera-Mederos belongs in prison... and that the precedent this conviction sets serves the interests of the driving public.


 
I wonder if the guy that ran over the people at the Christmas parade will even get that long of a sentence.

With great power comes great responsibility.

You get licenced to drive a 18 wheeled, 10 braked, 5 axled combination vehicle weighing 80,000 pounds... You're held to a higher standard than the rest of the driving public.

This is as it should be...no?

If a pilot crashes his plane into a house and kills four people and testimony proves he knew there was a problem with the engine but he figured he could handle it because he was in a hurry... and he bypassed two open fields because there was a chance he could glide to the airport and he didn't want to damage the aircraft (as he would be liable for the damage)... Shouldn't that person go to prison for a long, long time...if for no other reason than to deter other pilots from similar courses of action?
 
With great power comes great responsibility.

You get licenced to drive a 18 wheeled, 10 braked, 5 axled combination vehicle weighing 80,000 pounds... You're held to a higher standard than the rest of the driving public.

This is as it should be...no?

If a pilot crashes his plane into a house and kills four people and testimony proves he knew there was a problem with the engine but he figured he could handle it because he was in a hurry... and he bypassed two open fields because there was a chance he could glide to the airport and he didn't want to damage the aircraft (as he would be liable for the damage)... Shouldn't that person go to prison for a long, long time...if for no other reason than to deter other pilots from similar courses of action?

110 years seems a bit much, I would say cut it to 40, and by 40 I mean a minimum of 40, not 20+ parole.
 
Truckers are boycotting Colorado after a driver has an accident and kills four people. The judge had little leeway but truck drivers have a choice and it could hurt Colorado.


Now, there is an online petition signed by six million people to reduce the sentence of the truck driver in this tragic story.


Let’s see what justice looks like.
Reduce it to 70 years. That should have the same result
 
Truckers are boycotting Colorado after a driver has an accident and kills four people. The judge had little leeway but truck drivers have a choice and it could hurt Colorado.


Now, there is an online petition signed by six million people to reduce the sentence of the truck driver in this tragic story.


Let’s see what justice looks like.
His brakes failed. Yeah sure they did.
 
I agree. But 110 years sends the right message IMO.

Reduced quietly on appeal.

This guy is everything wrong with the new breed of truck driver.

The willful ignoring of hot brakes wasn't part of most of the mainstream stories. I guess that's why the sentence was so severe.

As an Engineer I am always fascinated by reports on failures, I have to get my hands on whatever accident report was used as evidence.
 
The willful ignoring of hot brakes wasn't part of most of the mainstream stories. I guess that's why the sentence was so severe.

As an Engineer I am always fascinated by reports on failures, I have to get my hands on whatever accident report was used as evidence.
Don't think there was a failure.

The brakes worked exactly as intended.

This was IMO completely the result of operator error and the laws of thermodynamics.

As the operator continuously actuates the air brakes the brake shoes (99.9% of tractors and trailers are equipped with shoe and drum brakes) the drums heat and the metal of the drums expand. As the drums expand the contact between the drum and the shoes diminish initially resulting in brake fade but inevitably proceeding to a point that the interior surface of the drum expands to a diameter that is beyond the mechanical limits of the shoes to remain in contact with the drum surface, reducing braking power to essentially zero.
 
Mandatory sentencing.

The judge's hands were tied.
On the one hand, mandatory minimums prevent selective justice and favoritism to the wealthy and influential. On the other hand, having zero discretion gives this result.

I am quite certain the legislature did not intend to send people to jail for life for a car accident not involving drug/alcohol induced cause. They should be allowed to modify minimums based on circumstances. All the legislature had to do was add judicial discretion in following the sentencing guidelines and require a specific finding by the court in deviating from those guidelines.

Legislatures suck at anticipating or foreseeing these unintended consequences and they likely give not one single fuck about the results of their clumsiness. That's why we should never trust a goddamn thing a legislature does and REQUIRE them to have page limits and public review of ALL legislation before ending debate and calling a vote.

I propose a constitutional amendment:
Any proposed bill, proposed ordinance, or other piece of proposed legislation or regulation in any legislature within the United States of America, including all State and local legislatures, shall be limited to 10-page, double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font. Any legislative or regulatory act requiring more than the prescribed limit shall only be proposed in separate bills requiring independent voting and must be signed into law as separate acts.

Each legislative body shall establish an independent, publicly available, designated legislative internet sight with the web address structured as follows: "[State].[Legislative Body].PublicReview.leg" Example 1: Texas.Senate.PublicReview.leg Example 2: UnitedStates.House.PublicReview.leg Example 3: CityofNewYork.CityCounsel.PublicReview.leg

Any proposed bill shall be posted on the Public Review web page for no less than 30 days. No vote for cloture or end of debate shall be held until the 40th day after a proposed bill has been posted on the legislative body's Public Review web page.

____________________________________________________

Now, I know this will never happen. How will congress critters get rich stuffing bridge-to-nowhere pork and other bullshit into defense or education bills?

It should not stop us for demanding it and fire anyone who does not propose it and vote for it.
 
Don't think there was a failure.

The brakes worked exactly as intended.

This was IMO completely the result of operator error and the laws of thermodynamics.

As the operator continuously actuates the air brakes the brake shoes (99.9% of tractors and trailers are equipped with shoe and drum brakes) the drums heat and the metal of the drums expand. As the drums expand the contact between the drum and the shoes diminish initially resulting in brake fade but inevitably proceeding to a point that the interior surface of the drum expands to a diameter that is beyond the mechanical limits of the shoes to remain in contact with the drum surface, reducing braking power to essentially zero.

Failure is inability to provide the required function.

Operator instigated failure of a system is still system failure. Pure operator failure would be the lack of applying a functioning brake system.

Quibbling, I know, but Engineers are designed to quibble.
 
martybegan
Failure is inability to provide the required function.

Operator instigated failure of a system is still system failure. Pure operator failure would be the lack of applying a functioning brake system.

Quibbling, I know, but Engineers are designed to quibble.
No... you're right.

Should have said predictably failed due to operator exceeding known operational parameters.

Words have meanings and I should have used them more precisely.
 
Failure is inability to provide the required function.

Operator instigated failure of a system is still system failure. Pure operator failure would be the lack of applying a functioning brake system.

Quibbling, I know, but Engineers are designed to quibble.

The system didn't fail, the driver did. Every driver knows (or should know) that brakes will fail if you use them too much and they heat up. You can take a brand new truck and trailer and they will do exactly that.

100% driver error. Either this guy had no training or he came from another country with what they consider the equivalent of a US CDL, and they just handed him a license. My experience is that these foreigners had zero training as a driver, never even been behind the wheel of a truck until they got into the US, and we put them behind the wheel of a vehicle with the potential weight of 80,000 lbs.

He should not be going to jail, the bureaucrats that allowed him to be licensed should.
 
The willful ignoring of hot brakes wasn't part of most of the mainstream stories. I guess that's why the sentence was so severe.

As an Engineer I am always fascinated by reports on failures, I have to get my hands on whatever accident report was used as evidence.

When you do please share. I looked everywhere and can't find any statement by the driver of what he did.
 
The system didn't fail, the driver did. Every driver knows (or should know) that brakes will fail if you use them too much and they heat up. You can take a brand new truck and trailer and they will do exactly that.

100% driver error. Either this guy had no training or he came from another country with what they consider the equivalent of a US CDL, and they just handed him a license. My experience is that these foreigners had zero training as a driver, never even been behind the wheel of a truck until they got into the US, and we put them behind the wheel of a vehicle with the potential weight of 80,000 lbs.

He should not be going to jail, the bureaucrats that allowed him to be licensed should.
Apparently he told his company that he didn't feel qualified to do the trip and his choice was do it of get fired. Companies have no business putting that pressure on a driver.
 
More than an accident...

He KNEW he had a brake problem WHILE HE WAS STOPPED at the brake inspection area at Berthoud Pass.

While stopped, the driver, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, called his boss and another driver, Rafael Perez Radrages,
to discuss the heated brakes.

NO truck driver is going to misdiagnose brake fade. I've experienced it myself... and stopped for hours waiting for hot brakes to cool.

He made a DECISION to continue from that stop KNOWING he had a problem with his braking...not a mechanical problem...a driver induced problem.

Had he responded in the prudent, appropriate, trained actions that are a part of the testing for airbrake endorsements for CDLs, no one would have died.

Then he ignored the runaway truck ramps.

He deserves a life sentence IMO... and the only truck drivers protesting this conviction are either ignorant of the facts due to relying on our garbage legacy media lying and omitting to get click and sell ad space...or they are as irresponsible as Rogel Aguilera-Mederos.

Because of our incompetent Legacy Media... More interested in fanning the flames of controversy than informing the public... these details are nearing impossible to locate unless you are already aware of their existence...so I blame no one for their anger or belief that this sentence was unjust.

But knowing that this driver killed innocent people to avoid the time it would take to allow his brakes to cool... and ignored runaway truck ramps so as not to damage the truck after calling his boss and informing the boss he had a brake problem.... after putting two and two together...I think everyone understands why Rogel Aguilera-Mederos belongs in prison... and that the precedent this conviction sets serves the interests of the driving public.



In your article he made the statement that he thought his brakes were fine. Any driver who drove a truck with burning brakes will tell you it's a distinct smell. A couple of times I blew a brake chamber while driving and I could smell the brake burning all the way in the cab. Certainly you can smell it once out of the truck, especially if they were all heated up.
 

Forum List

Back
Top