Trucker’s dash-cam video gets driver fired

For Ash, 57, a driver and instructor with more than 3.7 million safe miles under his belt, the response vindicated his hobby of posting dash cam videos of bad driving online. Ash also sends videos to transport authorities and carriers. This marked the first time that Ash knows of another driver being fired as a result of his videos. 

Ash drives long-haul routes for Evolution Environmental based out of Brooks, Alberta. He started posting dashcam videos on Twitter over the past six months in response to what he sees as an “epidemic” of bad driving. 

“When you get a semi crossing a double line, around a blind corner, on a hill, you shouldn’t be driving a semi,” Ash said. 

“It wasn’t even the worst one,” he added.

“When you get a semi crossing a double line, around a blind corner, on a hill, you shouldn’t be driving a semi.”

– Larry Ash, truck driver

But he doesn’t report every incident of bad driving he sees. “I’m not going to turn in every idiot,” he said.  

On August 10, Ash was driving his Volvo about 25 miles per hour uphill, weighing in at over 130,000 pounds with a load of glass bound for Alberta. He estimates that the other driver gained about 60 seconds by passing him. 

The incident, he said, reflects an overemphasis of speedy deliveries over safety. 

“It’s absolutely getting worse. Everyone wants stuff now,” Ash said. “It’s not like the olden days. Everything is now, now, now, now.”

Ash’s videos have gotten some negative comments from people identifying themselves as drivers. Ash plans to upgrade his truck’s video setup by adding two-rear facing cameras. 

He is unapologetic. “I’m saving lives ultimately,” Ash said. “I hope this catches on.”

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