MASCOUTAH, Ill. — For the second consecutive day, snow fell over the St. Louis area, and that has a large number of truckers seeking shelter from the storm.
“If it’s just snow, it’s fine,” said William Ruprecht. “When you get that ice involved and the roads get slick it’s even hard for us being 80,000lbs trying to roll down the road.”
He was hauling a load from Nashville, Tennessee, to Cherokee, Iowa, when he decided to stop outside of Lebanon, Illinois, and let the storm pass.
“We had two accidents here earlier today on this ramp,” said Ruprecht. “One semi lost total control, and another one slid off to a ditch.”
Despite the conditions, there are still some truckers braving the storm and staying on the interstate
“I can do maybe 40 mph,” said Ruprecht. “If you start feeling it slip, I’ll get it down to 20 mph, and if it’s that bad you just need to pull it off.”
Though many people believe tractor-trailers are heavy enough to drive through the snow, Ruprecht said that’s not the case.
“There is no such thing as being heavy and getting traction,” Ruprecht. “Ice is ice. It doesn’t matter if we’re 80,000 pounds upfront or zero pounds in the back, we’re going to slide.”
In his 16 years on the road, Ruprecht said he always kept one thing on his mind no matter the conditions.
“Safety,” said Ruprecht. “That’s the most important thing. That’s our main job out here, all of us, is to protect the public.”
That’s why he’s asking everyone to take it slow if you have to leave the house.
“Being in a hurry doesn’t pay,” said Ruprecht. “Sometimes taking it easy you’ll get to where you’re going safer than sorry.”