Blood period is bad, if some joker went ahead and tainted it, then that's just plain crazy!
If the driver was hauling chicken, that tends to bleed everywhere (slaughtered and non-packaged chicken) and it wouldn't suprise me that the trailer was gushing blood.

Anyway you look at it it's illegal for the truck to be dumping any material from it. You should have reported the spill to the police or highway patrol. I know you were trying to be nice by slowing down to let the truck in but you can get into trouble doing that and it would be your fault. You should maintain your speed and let the oncoming vehicle adjust to get on. That's why they have to yield. But there are some times common sense comes into play, just be careful.

chicken some times it gets packed on ice, than melts down to the floor and out the drains. ie: chicken juice. you do eat chicken dont cha?

I don't know if it changes from state to state or if it exists in the US at all, but here in Canada, in the case of a merge, both drivers are to adjust for a safe merge. In the event of a collision, fault is generally split evenly between the two drivers involved. Even if that's not the case, adjusting the speed in a truck for a merge is not that easy due to the size and weight, and anytime a 4 wheeler is willing to help out, take advantage, remembering to still be courteous.

It's definitely illegal for anything to be dumping out of the truck and should be reported whenever possible.

I don't believe it was a trick. Most truckers appreciate an act of kindness from 4 wheelers and will reciprocate in turn, if given the opportunity. As for the hose and red liquid, I would hazzard a guess and say its either some sort of hydraulic fluid or airline fluid antifreeze. It makes for a potential bad situation for the driver. Too bad ya couldn't have got his attention and get him to pull over and let him know about it. (CB's come in mighty handy in this situation) No way the driver did it on purpose.

I agree that the most logical explanation is that the boxed trailer had to be a refrigerated van. I disagree that its blood. If it is blood, this implies the product was meat or poultry, which is normally transported in a frozen state. Meat, poulty, and fish for human consumption must be frozen to prevent bacterial growth and contamination.

On the other hand, if it was in fact blood, the trailer may had been coming from a slaughter house, and was loaded with animal parts not fit for human consumption; such as skin, bones, intestines, etc... which, to the best of my knowledge, are processed into dog and/or cat food. Because its not for human consumption, it would not require it to be frozen, which may explain the blood spilling from the reefer's drainage ports.

However, I've witnessed a slautherhouse meat processing plant in Vernon (Los Angeles), and observed that non-edible meat parts were loaded onto a 45-foot, open-top, bulk trailer. This is the same type of trailer used to haul dirt or gravel. Its equipped with a telescopic hydraulic boom to raise the front end of the trailer, and facilitate quick unloading of the trailer's contents. Thus, it doesn't make sense to load animal waste parts on a reefer trailer, because it would require a dock, a forklift truck, and a forklift operator to unload the animal waste-by product; when a bulk dirt/gravel truck would be much more efficient and expeditious way of transporting waste by-product.

Assuming the trailers wasn't hauling waste by-product from a slauther house, the only remaining explanation I can conceive of, are chemical products. They're normally shipped in tight sealed containers. However, its not unheard of that a container would spill during transport, as a result of inadequate bracing/securement by the shipper. You did not mention seeing placards on the back of the trailer, which leaves to suggest (if it were in fact chemical products) it was not a hazmat load.

Sorry you had experienced this. I don't believe the driver had malice intent to do other motorist harm. Its likely a liquid product had spilled inside the reefer trailer, and as the driver moved to make a lane change, the spilled liquid shifted to the rear corner, resulting in a surge pressure which exited out the rear-corner drainage port. A reefer trailer has 4 drainage ports to allow water condensation to escape, thereby limiting mildew/bacterial growth. They are situated on each corner of the trailer.

I would have to agree with your explanation.

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Z-Lady's devoted hubby.

I hate following chicken haulers. That chicken juice will foul (pun intended) a clean windshield, quick.

Sure, I eat chickens. Taste just like cats.