The most dangerous work yet

Matias

Matias

Been here much more than a while
Location
Silicon Valley
A lot of my family thought that my life would be way less dangerous since I started this gig, as it's mostly consulting and some sales, but I was quick to point out that it might actually be more dangerous than up close tree work. I drive in some of the craziest traffic and along some of the busiest highways anywhere and I am constantly seeing crashes on the map that I have to take a different route to avoid. Last week I had just gotten off the highway and this kid slammed into me, I think speeding and on her cellphone. I walked away with my second concussion ever, and a laceration on my head, the muscle torn enough that the ER doc had to consult with another as to whether they should put some stiches in the muscle before stapling my head shut.

Watchout out there. Shit comes at you from all kinds of unexpected places.
 
Matias said:
A lot of my family thought that my life would be way less dangerous since I started this gig, as it's mostly consulting and some sales, but I was quick to point out that it might actually be more dangerous than up close tree work. I drive in some of the craziest traffic and along some of the busiest highways anywhere and I am constantly seeing crashes on the map that I have to take a different route to avoid. Last week I had just gotten off the highway and this kid slammed into me, I think speeding and on her cellphone. I walked away with my second concussion ever, and a laceration on my head, the muscle torn enough that the ER doc had to consult with another as to whether they should put some stiches in the muscle before stapling my head shut.

Watchout out there. Shit comes at you from all kinds of unexpected places.
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Sheesh! Glad you made it. That’s both astonishing and appallingly frustrating to hear.
 
Bendroctanus said:
Sheesh! Glad you made it. That’s both astonishing and appallingly frustrating to hear.
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For real. Frustrating doesn't even begin to describe how I felt in that moment. It was right after work too, so I was actually with my wife and daughter, who are now seriously traumatized and can't get through a car ride without jumping out of their seat at every bump in the road. My '98 Rav is basically wrecked, but the little tank drove away from the scene. I will post a pic later; gotta do it from the other phone for some reason, but I need it until the insurance/legal debacle is over, so I am relieved that it is still legally operable.
 
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It is such an annoying fact of life that much of the damage that occurs in this world is due to stupid and irresponsible people who are increasing in number and endless in supply. Tree work can be dangerous, but you are right: the most dangerous part is driving there and back, and the part in the middle is much more predictable and controllable. In my old age, I am getting to the point where I look for alternate routes that avoid the crazy drivers on the interstate. It feels wrong to feel grateful that you got ONLY a concussion, torn muscle, and head laceration when you should not have had an accident or injury at all, but I am definitely glad you survived this. Life is fragile, and it's scary out there.
 
Wow. That's crazy, but sadly not surprising. I heard a statistic the other day that said one of every 55 drivers is in an accident every year in the US. I'm glad that you were not injured worse than what you were, and I do wonder as well if driving isn't the most dangerous part of the work that we do. We can mitigate all of the other hazards in our industry if we know what we are doing, but there's nothing we can do about the fool behind the wheel that crashes into us.

There's a saying in the aviation world, "the most dangerous part of flying is the drive to the airport". You read about plane crashes on the news because they happen so rarely, you don't read about all the car accidents because they happen by the dozen every day.
 
Matias said:
For real. Frustrating doesn't even begin to describe how I felt in that moment. It was right after work too, so I was actually with my wife and daughter, who are now seriously traumatized and can't get through a car ride without jumping out of their seat at every bump in the road. My '98 Rav is basically wrecked, but the little tank drove away from the scene. I will post a pic later; gotta do it from the other phone for some reason, but I need it until the insurance/legal debacle is over, so I am relieved that it is still legally operable.
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Thank God y'all are okay. Driving is one of the most dangerous parts of the gig. Scary.
 
Get well.

Don't watch Captain Steeeve on youtube if you want to keep your confidence about flying. Most of his vids I have no recollection of seeing in the news. Under reporting? And if your commute to Walmart for a box of stuff was 2,000 miles per your accidents per trip/mile travelled would probably start to look statistically better too. Or maybe I'm wrong and just a worry wart.


Keep tabs of your long term full recovery too.

Try and repair your car because integration of monitoring/phone home/black box/integration with insurance "reasons to raise rates" databasing (ie personal, not aggregate population) on new cars is not in your favour. There's even biometric interlocking going on. Guy had a vid where ironically he posited an example if he had cut himself with a chainsaw, needed medically to get himself to the hospital quick and his pickup interlocked him out(stationary wouldn't go into gear) because it thought his pupils condition meant he was DUI.
 
Bart_ said:
Get well.

Don't watch Captain Steeeve on youtube if you want to keep your confidence about flying. Most of his vids I have no recollection of seeing in the news. Under reporting? And if your commute to Walmart for a box of stuff was 2,000 miles per your accidents per trip/mile travelled would probably start to look statistically better too. Or maybe I'm wrong and just a worry wart.


Keep tabs of your long term full recovery too.

Try and repair your car because integration of monitoring/phone home/black box/integration with insurance "reasons to raise rates" databasing (ie personal, not aggregate population) on new cars is not in your favour. There's even biometric interlocking going on. Guy had a vid where ironically he posited an example if he had cut himself with a chainsaw, needed medically to get himself to the hospital quick and his pickup interlocked him out(stationary wouldn't go into gear) because it thought his pupils condition meant he was DUI.
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I was born in '86, the cusp year between the old gaurd and the new. I prefer older vehicles that I can potentially do most of the sevicing myself if need be. I don't struggle as much with new tech as those from before my time often do, but I was raised by the old gaurd and was able to glean a fair bit of that wisdom in my youth and make it a part of my personality.

We have started a journal to document all of the long term injuries as they become apparent.
 
My now-missed truck was an 87 B2600 4WD. I stopped at a garage with other tires to swap and the old mechanic looked at my popped hood and told the young mechanic You're looking at a piece of history, pointing to my 2 barrel Weber carb. :) The truck literally finally crumbled. Still ran great. Ign timing pickup and vaccum advance hose. :) One generation past points.
 
Oh man, I’m glad you are still with us Matias! Also glad your wife and daughter weren’t seriously injured. I’m praying for your speedy recovery. Please keep us updated on your condition.
 
Matias sorry to hear about this and wishing you a speedy and full recovery.
In time spent in Big Oil, it is a proven statistical fact that the most dangerous thing a worker does throughout their working lifetime is to drive to and from work, to field sites or to plants. Another statistical fact that came out of many many MVA investigations is that you won't see it coming. Defensive driving helps - for example when light turns green, don't start off right away but look left for oncoming traffic running the light and then right. Stuff like that helps but doesn't eliminate threat from dopes on a handheld phone while driving. Or up here, moose or deer or elk on the road.
Take care out there everybody.
 
ghostice said:
Matias sorry to hear about this and wishing you a speedy and full recovery.
In time spent in Big Oil, it is a proven statistical fact that the most dangerous thing a worker does throughout their working lifetime is to drive to and from work, to field sites or to plants. Another statistical fact that came out of many many MVA investigations is that you won't see it coming. Defensive driving helps - for example when light turns green, don't start off right away but look left for oncoming traffic running the light and then right. Stuff like that helps but doesn't eliminate threat from dopes on a handheld phone while driving. Or up here, moose or deer or elk on the road.
Take care out there everybody.
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You must change your location to Way west of Lake America on this American forum, suppose it’s alright on Canadian forums.
 
@Matias glad it wasn't worse. When I was in my early 30s I decided that whenever something bad happened to me, I would think about how much worse it could have been and then consider myself lucky, because truthfully you will never know. It is sort of like doing end weight reduction and cabling on a huge tree. The owner will never know if you prevented a giant catastrophe but I like to assume you have. As for the driving, I was up in a large Pussy Willow today with a codominant base and a 2' long crack that was getting bigger and smaller in the wind. I bolted it together first, then climbed it and put in a temporary textile cable, pulling the crack even more closed and having the groundie tighten the nut on the thru bolt as I pulled her more together. That was not stressful at all, but driving back home in rush hour with a full dump trailer and the mini loaded up was very stressful. In one scenario we have lots of control, in the other we have a very small amount!
 
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