BOZEMAN — Wednesday afternoon, an Amazon semi-truck slid off I-90 and was stuck on the side of a hill by Rouse Avenue for hours. It raises the question: how hard it is for semi-truck drivers to operate their vehicles in poor conditions? So let's go ask one.
“I’ve had my experience on snow and ice where I’ve come close. Really, really close” says Ken Murphy.
Murphy has been driving semi-trucks since 2011. He tells me he’s never been in an accident, but many of his buddies have.
“It’s terrifying for them, for sure. It would be for anybody. A lot of the trucks here are 80,000-plus pounds. Some of our trucks are well over 100,000 running around,” says Murphy.
Murphy tells me it’s not easy controlling all that machinery, whether they’re on the highway or just around town.
“It takes a special driver to get around locally here, for sure. A lot of extreme focus and caution,” says Murphy.
According to Murphy, the hardest part of driving semis during a Montana winter is other people on the road.
“This valley is growing. We have a lot of growth from people who have never had to drive in these conditions. So it can be terrifying, honestly, before you even have the wreck. And frustrating for a lot of the local delivery guys,” says Murphy.
Ted Jones, the Bozeman Division Maintenance Chief for the Montana Department of Transportation agrees. We see inexperienced drivers, but Jones says he thinks this can go for truck drivers as well.
“Drivers that aren't familiar with driving in heavy snow states like Montana? They're just not used to driving in these kind of conditions,” he says.
Because what Jones has been seeing?
“There’s been multiple accidents, slide-offs, 18-wheelers that jackknife and stuff like that,” he says.
Including the Amazon semi that slid off of I-90 in Bozeman Wednesday afternoon.
“I’ve even seen events where they must be scared enough, they park the units and walk away from them. The companies have to come in with a backup driver and take the units off,” says Jones.
But Jones tells me so far, this winter has been tame. MDT has been on top of road maintenance, working around the clock with their new snowplows over the last three weeks. But that doesn't always prevent accidents. Which is why if you see a semi slipping and sliding?
“Give them plenty of room. Don’t drive in their blind spots. Don’t cut them off if you’re passing them; they can’t stop very quickly,” Jones says.
And Murphy wants to remind all drivers:
“Being a commercial driver in Gallatin Valley is not an easy thing to do. It doesn't matter if you're hauling gravel, goods, or even the plow truck drivers going down the road. They got a big job to do and a lot of obstacles in front of them. It takes a lot of focus,” he says.
