The Minnesota State Patrol posted this video last week, but we didn’t want it to spoil the holiday weekend for fellow truckers: It’s disturbing and sad and, we hope, an extreme example of an issue that is much less a problem in the trucking industry than in the overall the driving public. But drunk driving happens among professionals, too—truckers are human, after all, and subject to the same temptations and weaknesses as everyone else.
So, with New Year’s Eve upon us, we present this cautionary tale. The trooper dash cam shows a tractor-trailer swerving on U.S. 10. The state trooper can be heard speculating that the trucker must be “working on an iPad, or something,” before the truck nearly runs off the road, the trooper turns on his siren, and the truck stops on the shoulder. When asked to step down from the cab, the truck driver falls out. He can barely stand—much less walk, or pass a field sobriety test.
Kudos to the trooper who recognizes the driver has a serious problem, and goes through the roadside routine patiently and professionally after pulling his patrol onto the right-hand lane to protect the trucker.
Sorry to be a buzzkill, but we here at the Dash Cam of the Week figured it's better you heard it from us. More details here.
