Saturday, May 13, 2023

Otto Trucking - Dangerous Driver - May 2023

 

Otto Trucking 

Safety Officer

4220 E. McDowell Rd. Ste 108
Mesa, AZ 85215

 

Sir / Madam:

The purpose of this correspondence is to file a formal complaint and to report the dangerous and potentially fatal operation of an Otto Trucking, Inc, truck.  I recorded this event and uploaded it as a publicly shared YouTube video: 

 REAR FACING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or9B0wmL4vU

FRONT FACING:  https://youtu.be/-45YA5nxptg   

                 

On May 12, 2023, at 2:15 PM, while riding a bicycle westbound on AZ 15 (Bagdad-Kirkland) road, west of mile post 22, the driver of belly dump truck # 7295, AZ license XAA OHE, USDOT 488160, VNGD322432, crowded, swerved, and almost pushed me off the road while passing.  After passing the driver leaned on the horn and swerved to the right, over the white fog line to force me off the road. 

 It was a bright sunny afternoon with no weather-related problems.  Line of sight distance was no less than one mile. 

I was wearing bright, Hi-Viz, iridescent white and yellow cycling clothes.  I wore bright white socks as my legs went up and down on the pedals.  The bicycle had four (4) bright, flashing white and red strobe lights rear-facing, and one bright white front-facing strobe light. 

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R72tmVY9dCc

I was traveling at approximately eight (8) miles per hour, to the right of the white / fog line. 

The driver of the Otto Trucking, Inc., truck veered toward me even though I was on the shoulder, right of the white / fog line.  It is a certainty that if I had been hit, I would have been killed. 

I am requesting that you investigate this incident.  It is my conclusion that the driver of this vehicle is responsible for an unlawful and potentially fatal act.  I will fully comply with any requests you make of me in this investigation.

These are links to recent local unsafe operation of commercial trucks:

https://psychling1.blogspot.com/2022/09/tri-city-towing-prescott-az-tow-truck.html

https://psychling1.blogspot.com/2021/02/dangerous-dsv-road-transport-truck.html

Sincerely,

 Daniel Fallon

psychling@gmail.com

DrFallonAZ@gmail.com

 

CC:

 

David Rhodes, Sheriff                                 

Yavapai County Sheriff's Office

255 E. Gurley Street

Prescott, Arizona 86301

 

Paul Penzone, Sheriff

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office

550 West Jackson

Phoenix, Arizona 85003

 

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Director, Office of Enforcement and Compliance

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20590

Sunday, September 11, 2022

Tri City Towing (Prescott, AZ) - Tow Truck Driver Almost Kills Me - Successful Outcome

September 12, 2022


Sheriff R.
Yavapai County Sheriff's Office
255 E. Gurley Street
Prescott, Arizona 86301

Sheriff R:

The purpose of this correspondence is to file a formal complaint and report the dangerous and potentially fatal operation of a Tri City Towing, Inc., tow truck.  I recorded this event and am enclosing a USB flash drive of the recording and relevant frame frieze jpg photos.  

I have uploaded a shortened video of this incident and it is available as a YouTube video: 

 

 

I was almost killed on Wednesday, September 7th, 2022, at 2:15 PM, while riding a bicycle eastbound on the AZ 15 (Bagdad-Kirkland) road. 

It was a bright sunny afternoon with no weather-related problems.  There was no traffic coming from either direction.  Line of sight distance was no less than one mile, east and west.  The driver’s speed was approximately fifty-five (55) miles per hour.  

I was wearing bright, Hi-Viz, iridescent white and yellow cycling clothes.  I wore bright white and yellow socks as my legs went up and down on the pedals.  

The bicycle had three (3) bright, flashing white and red strobe lights rear-facing, and one bright white front-facing strobe light.  

I was traveling at approximately ten (10) miles per hour, to the right of the white / fog line.  

The driver of the Tri City Towing, Inc., truck veered toward me (even though I was on the shoulder, right of the white / fog line) and at the last second straightened out.  The driver of the truck passed me at approximately fifty-five (55) miles per hour within barely two (2) or three (3) inches of hitting me.  It is a certainty that if I had been hit, I would have been killed.  

This is the recumbent bicycle I was riding (I am the rider of the bicycle in the picture): 

 




Below are two (2) freeze-frame jpg pictures of the incident:

 


 

I am requesting that you investigate this incident.  It is my conclusion that the driver of this vehicle is responsible for an unlawful and potentially fatal act.  I will fully comply with any requests you make of me in this investigation.

 Sincerely,

 

Daniel Fallon

psychling@gmail.com

DrFallonAZ@gmail.com

  =========================================

The video and jpeg pics of the incident were provided to the County Sheriff's Office. They contacted the management of the tow truck company.

Quote from the Sheriff's Sergeant reporting back to me the status:
"He told me that his driver was identified and he received a written reprimand for the incident. He wanted me to pass on his apologies for the incident. I explained to him how serious this is and how much worse it could have been. He was very apologetic and admitted that his driver was at fault.

Based on the video that I watched, it is clear that driver is on his cell phone either texting. My question for you is are do you want me to continue forward with a citation or are you satisfied with his supervisor disciplining him?"

I informed the Sergeant that it was critically important that the driver receive a citation (ticket).  The heaviest weight in this matter has to do with how my  death would have affected my wife, children, grandchildren, relatives, friends and patients.

I take no pleasure in causing the driver the possibility of losing his job.  But a `written reprimand' and an `apology' are insignificant compared to the gravity of this issue.