Ever Seen Those 'Runaway Truck' Ramps on the Interstate? Watch One in Action
If you’ve ever done any traveling on our country’s interstate system, you’ve likely seen a runaway truck ramp.
The ramps are hard to miss: They’re steep, often filled with gravel, and can usually be seen jutting off the road in hilly or mountainous areas.
Although they look simple, these features can literally save lives.
The sheer amount of power these ramps are able to dissipate became crystal-clear as video surfaced in late April 2019 of an out-of-control semi hitting a Colorado ramp at a dangerously high speed.
Jesse Terrell, the man who shot the video, told KDVR that the 18-wheeler was in a bad spot when driving on I-70 near Silverthorne, Colorado.
“He was starting to get upwards of 80, 85 miles an hour,” Terrell said. “The smell was horrible, just that burning rubber, and that’s when I knew, oh, his brakes are now gone.”
Thankfully for the semi, the ramp was reached before catastrophe could unfold. Although it’s a steep climb, momentum from a truck likely full of cargo barreled the vehicle nearly to the top.
The trucker’s move likely saved his life, and may have prevented other deaths as well.
“I was pretty impressed with how he kept control,” Terrell said. “It definitely seemed like he had his head on his shoulders.”
Earlier in the month, the same could not be said for a different trucker.
An 18-wheeler lost control about 60 miles east of the Silverthorne ramp and slammed into traffic.
That crash was deadly. Four people lost their lives and more were injured.
According to Westword, that driver now faces 40 criminal charges, four of which are for vehicular homicide.
Because of high-profile accidents such as this one and advances in artificial intelligence, the sun may be beginning to set on the era of the trucker. Self-driving semi trucks, pioneered by cutting-edge tech companies such as Waymo and Kodiak Robotics, are becoming an increasingly attractive option for trucking companies.
The robotic trucks don’t need to stop for lunch, or to rest. They don’t get tired, sick or vindictive.
And by the data, these trucks are much safer than their human-operated relatives.
Critics point out that the tech to make these trucks 100 percent operable simply isn’t here. Questions about the AI’s decision-making remain unanswered and are a point of discussion in the ethical debate surrounding autonomous vehicles.
Human drivers are able to take into consideration things a robot may not even realize.
Needless to say, driving a truck is a difficult job that can turn deadly in an instant. It requires skill, a cool head, and years of practice to become proficient.
CORRECTION, May 12, 2019: When originally published, this article described an earlier crash in the Lakewood, Colorado, area as being “on the same stretch of road” as the truck ramp near Silverthorne. While the crash did take place on I-70, the same highway the truck ramp is located on, Lakewood and Silverthorne are over 60 miles distant. We apologize to our readers for the error.
We apologize for the error and any confusion we may have caused.
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