Sad accident and taking people along in the deuce

Hi forum,

a very sad accident happened here on the weekend, which should bring deuce drivers and others to reflect a little on taking along people in the back of the trucks, expecially off the road.

While driving on an offroad-parcour (private property) during an event a 2.5 ton loaded with about 20 passengers in the back and 3 in the front cab as well as 2 standing on the steps got out of control and rolled over, killing one and seriously injuring many others.

It is saddening and horrifyng to see these pictures and I hope and wish the best for all those who are affected.

After that I think twice about taking anybody along in the back of the truck off-road. On the road it's forbidden here anyhow.

Regards,
Mark

And so goes life...unfortunately sometimes the dumb ones are not the ones to go first...they wind up taking out some innocent ones...Reflect on the 800 a week who are killed in traffic accidents in the USA... yes, over a hundred a day....half of whom are responsible for being irresponsible, drunk, drugged, young and invincible...and inexperienced...and the other half innocents who happened to be in the way....almost none of the deaths are equipment related just brain(less) acts of "humans" You don't blame the deer for hitting your car because you are outdriving your lights, etc etc etc... end of Rant...In our big parade today... no one was injured until the end when one of the participants fell of his tall stilts and tried to break the road...

First, my condolences to those affected. While it is true all sports have a death rate, I would like to know more details of the accident. I thought 2.5 tons were pretty safe and were hard to turn over. Only through understanding what went wrong can others perhaps prevent it from happening again.

I too think that deuces are pretty safe, but some mistakes which can be trivial under one circumstance can be fatal under the other.
I don't want to judge nor elaborate too much about the incidence since I was was not there when it happend.
The official saying is that the person which drove the deuce on the offroad-track had no experience driving a deuce at all before. The "instructor" stood on the drivers door-step while it happend. The truck, with the front wheel drive engaged, went up a steep hill in a slight left hand curve, and on the top of the hill the steering wheel turned farther left due to forces acting upon it. The inexperinced person could not hold it, left the track to the left and drove sideways up the hill and eventually overturned the vehicle- Of course, the intructor standing on the step was unable to cope with the situation. I won't comment on that.
This will probably have a big negative effect on our community here. I just don't understand how a experienced and responsible person could let someone drive a deuce with 20 pax in the back under offroad conditions....standing on the door step...

http://www.swr.de/nachrichten/rp/-/id=1682/nid=1682/did=2297022/1ft0ihy/index.html

Mark

The truck, with the front wheel drive engaged, went up a steep hill in a slight left hand curve, and on the top of the hill the steering wheel turned farther left due to forces acting upon it.

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Anybody care to comment on this? I really haven't off roaded with mine much. Is this common? I think the rest just violates common sense.

Yeah common sence, seems to not be common anymore. Sorry this incident had to happen. If an instructor is needed, nobody else should have been in the truck.

this is a translation, you have to read it as such.

The public prosecutor's office Trier determinations took up determinations after deadly truck accident after the accident on a training ground for trucks in the proximity of the Nuerburgrings. With the misfortune a man had died, 19 humans had been partially heavily hurt. Firefighters at the umgestuerzten truck The public prosecutor's office determines because of negligent toetung and negligent bodily injury. To driving training in Drees (district the volcanic Eifel) on Sunday 132 persons had come. They drove also American army transporters. Against noon the 48-jaehrige Fahrerin of a truck got after a crest off the way. The all wheeled vehicle drove up a slope, tilted and remained because of the foot of an embankment being. On the loading area of the truck and on the footboards of the leader house according to the data approximately 20 humans were. As the public prosecutor's office Trier reported, the tilted vehicle buried three humans under itself, the 26-Jaehrige thereby was killed. The hurt ones were distributed on surrounding hospitals. The Offroad park in such a way specified is in the proximity of the Nuerburgrings. There truck lovers can drive around off the roads in the hills of a shut down lava pit.

Can't say enough in defense of 'common sense'.
Know your vehicle, know your own abilities and limitations, know the terrain.
Don't be shy about stopping and walking a particular stretch before "conquering it"; more often than not you'll spot some trouble areas you wouldn't have seen from behind the wheel~ at operating speed. Often the guy who shoots by you while laughing to his friends about letting "grandmas" out on the trail can be found a few curves up, staring with a bewildered look at his two front wheels... each pointing in a different direction.
After spending thousands of hours and dollars on my truck, then to take it out and see how badly I can trash it-- isn't the image I hope to be known for.
I'd like to think I was lucky to have learned two invaluable lessons very early on:
Whatever I break, I fix.
&
It isn't the getting there, it's the getting home".

i don't know any german, but i think jaehrige is 'year old', what is Fahrerin??

'the 48-jaehrige Fahrerin of a truck '

it sounds like the driver was 48 years old, he and the so called instructor must be idiots. when climbing hills all kinds of problems can occur. the truck should have been empty.

Sad situation but I completely agree with the points being made regarding carelessness and acts of stupidity.

being just a little afraid when driving the truck is worth alot in safety.

Es tuit mir leid
The Army has really made progress in this area especially since we loose so many to crashes. They really are not accidents since they are preventable. Any such activity should have a safety officer that would have shut this down before the driver got the truck started. No matter what rank an individual is they have the right to halt an exercise if there is a safety issue. It is sad that it happened in a duece since that will send a message of fear to those who see one. Like our General said today be aware of your actions and take responsibility for the results. Driving over here is quite an adventure with little children running out in the road and vehicle cutting you off at almost every intersection. Safety should always be a top concern in any operation. We worked on and built a roll over trainer in South West Asia to let Soldiers experience in a controled environment what it is like to roll over in a HMMWV it is saving lives in Iraq since in combat sometimes safety bows to survival efforts. Keep our Soldiers in your prayers holidays are harder to take when away from home.

Re: RE: Sad accident and taking people along in the deuce

Michael said:

Anybody care to comment on this? I really haven't off roaded with mine much. Is this common? I think the rest just violates common sense.

Click to expand...

I drive mine offroad all the time and think (from what I know about it)that the driver and instructor should be charged with negligence. I take people with me all the time including kids and always go nice and easy with no tricky stuff. just a little ride.

@ m-35tom:

that's right, the driver was a 48 year old woman. Apparently the truck wasn't going too fast, she just couldn't act upon the steering wheel hard enough and lost control over it. Maybe the front tires got cought in a furrow or such and this initiated the mess.
I feel sorry for her, I think she's not entirely to blame, because the instructor gave her too much confidence by allowing her to drive the truck under these circumstances. I think to be morally responsible for something like that is a extremly heavy burden and I hope that the rest of the injured get well soon again.
The host of the event rents out the trucks (they have several, including a gama goat) for offroad-driving and trainings or ride-alongs, so for him this was not a first-time.

Mark

I rock crawl with my jeep. There have been several obstacles that I have gone around because they were bigger than my driving skills even though the crowd was booing me. Perhaps the crowd and even the people along for the ride pushed the situation. If the driver survived, she is carrying a heavy burden today for those hurt and the fatality.

It's impossible to point a finger and it wouldn't bring back the loss. It is important to remember that with the freedom we have with free will there are no lifegaurds on duty at the gene pool. Swim with life at your own risk but, don't close down the off road course.

Well, it was a tragedy, although it was an avoidable tragedy, which is of little solace to the family of the dead passenger and the families of the injured.
I can help a little with the translation because I lived in Germany for 22 years, coincidentally; I lived in the Eifel region and hung out in Trier every week.
“Umgestuerzten” means tipped over, usually upside down.
“Toetung” means death, normally manslaughter.
“Jaehrige” means years old, as in the age of a person.
“Fahrerin” means female driver. “Fahrer” means male driver.
Public prosecutor in Germany means District Attorney.
“Leader house” is a computer mistranslation of “Fuehrerhaus” meaning vehicle cab in English.
Nuerburgring is a one of Germany’s two Grand Prix racetracks, the other one being Hockenheimring.
The reference to a lava pit is because that area of the Eifel region is known as VolcanEifel (Volcano Eifel) because it has a couple of dozen dormant volcanoes.
I am available for free translations of phrases and paragraphs, but not manuals and books. I just don’t have the time. FREE! Because I also collect German vehicles, I just buy the TDv (Technische Vorscrift) (Technical Manuals) in German and don’t have to bother translating them. Aren’t I a clever boy.
-Sarge

Cool Sarge, Thanks for the input. I know that german(the language) says different things for male, feminine, and neuter, but thats about all I know.

Here's my rant and few cents worth. First, stupid things like this are done everyday. In the off road world they are probably more common than smart things. I've seen rednecks do unbelievable things to get a laugh or to show off, I've seen the "intelligent" high class guys and gals in their Rovers do the most asinine things that defy common sense as well as physics, and many other people do just plain foolish things.

Not that I am innocent by any means. I freely admit my worst, which was getting in my buddies TJ after a few beers on the trail and promptly busting the front axle housing on a rock. I knew better, I shouldn't have done it, it cost me $1k and I definitely learned my lesson. I got off easy. Only my wallet was injured and while that $1k set me back quite a bit (that is about a months pay to me) the young lady who was riding with me was not hurt in any way and neither was anyone or anything else. I was dumb, plain and simple.

We can all say what should or shouldn't have happened in this case but what matters most is not what we say, but what we do. I personally feel that those of us with intelligence, common sense, or maybe just the gift for a particular task have the obligation to help out those without these advantages. Now I know we can all think of at least a dozen people who "know it all" and frequently try to press their "knowledge" on everyone, but I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about helping others with your experience and knowledge and trying to keep as many people as safe as possible in whatever you do. Some people you just can't talk to or get through to but most will listen especially if you carry yourself in a friendly, helpful manner. Suggest a better line off road or a better way to hook up some rigging for a recovery or whatever it takes. For those that refuse your help or get irate about it, let them go. They have chosen their path in life and you tried your best. That may sound callous, but what are you going to do? Getting in a fist fight with a drunk over an accident that may not actually happen isn't a smart way to keep your teeth straight.

We see this stuff everyday, especially on an off road outing. Too many people doing too many crazy things. Sure it's fun sometimes, but when it goes wrong someone pays the price. I honestly got tired of seeing it and have semi-retired from the off road hobby. Around here safety is a little thought about issue and Tread Lightly might as well be something from a high school history book. Accidents like this aren't really accidents. They happen for a reason and are very preventable. Think about how many people that could have been killed if the circumstances had been just right. Looking in the pic in the link it looks like the cargo bows may have been all that saved the people in the back. Think about this the next time you or someone around you gets the notion to do something really dumb. If an individual wants to take a risk for fun, that's up to him but taking others along for a last ride is a completely different situation. Be safe, and do what you can to keep others safe as well.

Ok, end of rant...

Lanty, nice post. Says it all.

Mark

Well sarge, Since you are offering.... What is the correct German spelling of " DEVIL DOG "

Many Thanks,