You know...we can talk about all the "margins of safety" that we want to, but when it comes right down to it..it was driver error (or as others have said, "lack of talent").

In this case, 9 out of 10 times, hitting black ice would have had the same result for this driver with the Toyota or a Freightliner. It is kind of like that guy that has 4 wheel drive, running 80 on snow and ice, passing everybody, thinks he's Superman. Five miles down the road, he is spun out and in the ditch. Give them a bigger truck and they think that automatically qualifies them to do more, faster.

I don't prescribe to telling everyone to get bigger. I believe in helping people learn how to properly load and haul. We are all much safer that way.

Size doesn't matter, speed barely does. If you hit black ice with no warning, it doesn't matter if you're driving a Honda or a Freightliner. With no braking effort or directional control, you're nothing more than an unguided missile headed towards what you last saw, sideways, backwards or front on.

Unless you're prepared for it with studded tires, you're at the mercy of mother nature, the laws of physics and the coefficient of friction that is quickly heading towards zero. A dually has less traction and more flotation than a SRW truck, just what you don't want on snow and ice. Most trailer tires have a smooth road thread design, not the M&S commonly found on trucks. They are more prone to lock up and sliding than the tow vehicle's tires.

There are many reasons for accidents, weather, traffic, the equipment, including tires and mechanicals. It is difficult to determine from a photograph taken after the fact, exactly what was the cause of the incident. To arbitrarily state that the driver is inexperienced or the equipment is not adequate, may be in error and not factual. There are people who die everyday, that were both talented and properly equipped.

Gard