Why those big rigs are parked on the side of I-8

On February 12, a wind advisory was made on I-8 from Willows Road in Alpine next to Viejas Casino & Resort to the Imperial County line a little past Jacumba, according to CA-17.com.

The wind advisory was in full effect until the morning of Valentine's Day — with good reason. Just over a couple of weeks ago, before noon on January 26, the California Highway Patrol assessed "multiple semi trucks that have been blown over," captioned the CHP El Cajon Instagram handler underneath a posted video. "There are heavy winds in San Diego county with gusts reported to be over 80 mph."

In the compelling video, taken on the I-8 in Jacumba by Officer T. Neibert's onboard camera, two semis were lying on their sides. By one of the toppled 18-wheelers, three firemen were shoveling gravel and dirt from the shoulder and covering a liquid, which spilled onto the freeway.

The CHP warned the drivers, "It will take a while to get these vehicles out of the road, so expect major delays on I-8 between E. Willows Rd. and the San Diego county line with Imperial County."

Lisa H., a seasoned second-generation Valley Center truck driver, saw the CHP video.

"The trucks you see toppling are more likely empty or loaded with a light load," she explained to me on February 13. "The company I work for shuts us down when the wind conditions are bad, and we are empty."

During highly windy days, the CHP, from miles away, warns incoming traffic via PCMSs, traffic control devices that display messages on a large dot matrix-type screen.

Lisa says that trucking companies would rather not risk the equipment and driver and have them shut down and park. This explains why the rest stops, the gas station with the helicopter on its roof, and Golden Acorn Casino — all in the Jacumba area more than 4000 feet above sea level — plenty of 18-wheelers are parked. "It costs less to shut us down and pay us to do so, then reschedule the load appointment rather than pay the cost to lose a truck, trailer, and a load."

But not all trucking company supervisors are as empathetic to their drivers.

Lisa continued, "Some [bosses] push their drivers to get the load delivered no matter what. But, in my opinion, no load is worth that risk. Even when I was loaded with 43,000 lbs. of product in the van, I was pulling. I could feel the crosswind push me with some of the high gusts I'd experienced. It's like having a big old sail behind your truck."

In 2020, about 440,000 large trucks around the U.S. were involved in police-reported traffic crashes and collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration site.

So Lisa monitors her phone apps — as Trucker Path, Google Maps, and Drivewyze — to see and hear what's ahead. She listens out for truckers' warnings on their old-school CB radios. "There are still drivers out here that will take the time to warn others of conditions," she said, "I appreciate them."

And if there are gusty winds ahead, she'll pull her big rig off the road and park somewhere safe. During downtime in their tractors, Lisa added that most truck drivers play video games and movies and cook. "When I shut down for weather, I will talk on the phone, listen to music, audiobooks .... rest is a huge thing most of us don't get enough of, so it's good to take advantage of it."