A trucker who was missing for four days finally made it home after an ordeal that started when he plugged the wrong address into his GPS.
Jacob Cartwright, a 22-year-old driver for Little Trees Transportation, was last seen on Tuesday, April 24th. He was hauling a load of potato chips out of Portland, Oregon. Until Saturday, the last place anyone saw him was a truck stop in Troutdale.
Cartwright’s boss, Little Trees owner Roy Henry, explained that Cartwright had plugged the wrong address into his GPS. When he realized his mistake, he put in the correct address. He then followed the GPS’s directions as it took him up into the mountains on a U.S. Forest Service road, where he eventually became stuck.
“What it boils down to is a simple matter of human error,” said Henry. “He made the proper effort to correct his mistake. From that point on, it was out of his control. He had no reason to believe the GPS was wrong.”
Cartwright then apparently walked out of the woods until he reached I-84 near La Grande three days later. Oregon State Police estimate that he walked “in excess of 14 miles.”
“He said he didn’t stop, he walked 12-13 hours a day all three days,” Henry said. “He told me the last night, he wedged himself under a log and the ground to stay warm and stay out of the elements.”
Once on I-84, he was able to flag down a passing car who drove him home. His wife returned home from a meeting with local officials about the search for her husband only to find him inside their house. She took him to the local hospital where he was treated and released.
3 days to walk 14 miles? WTF? An average person should made that walk in 12 hours or less.
Yep. GPS driver. What happen to map? All truckers must have a map to read and have an idea where they are going even if using gps.
I’m wondering why he didn’t stop and call his dispatcher when he saw that he was about to turn onto a frikking forest service road. I mean, when did the red flags start popping up for him?
Glad the Driver made it Home!
A GPS is one of many tools to help Drivers. I know from experience that it is not foolproof.
As the young man learned the hard way.
GOD BLESS
Everyone saying never trust GPS or Google maps but the article clearly stated he put in the wrong address! Let’s place the blame where it belongs. Human error!
Did anyone bother to read t he it all happened because (HE) put in the wrong address. Don’t blame GPS for not being smart enough to read the right address and enter it the right way…..what an idiot!!!!!
The do still make paper maps & road atlases don’t they?? And turning on to a forest road, well that alone would have thrown up a red flag in my book!!
Wow , thats bad , & im being polite, i been running for 39 yrs , still plan my trip , i still own a road atlas , dont even have a gps , i rely on my professionalism & yrs of experience , thats modern technology & no experience for ya!!!! Big wheels!!!
Hey buddy hold your head up high don’t let anyone or anything get you down mistake happen the ones who put this negative stuff on here just see there self doing the same thing just no one heard about it
Should have learned how to read a map truck driver manual 101 number 2 call the customer get the correct directions to the customer that’s called pre-trip who trained this guy needs to be fired !!
It speaks for itself, I’m not going to say nothing, don’t think I need to 🚚💨💨💨💨☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️😤
Never rely on a GPS, it has useful information but is programmed by a desk jockey who’s only experience driving a truck is tapping on a keyboard.
Would you have a website for this Smart Routes thing???
It’s a app but you can’t always depend on a GPS you have too be very street smart no right from wrong I have two and a map always on hand I think at 22 it’s too young to be otr
glad he’s ok as a truck driver you should never use a gps to plan your route look at a map
I dont agree, I always use Google maps, not always to navigate with gps, but to see what’s ahead. The fact that you could zoom in on an area your working in , and able get a satellite view is very helpful.
I run loads of cars in and out of a busy tri-state area including New York, you don’t know how many times it helped me look ahead to avoid low bridges or rail systems, or really tight streets that not big rigg accessible. I cannot imagine how much stress truckers had before all this useful technology.
B.S., I’ve a friend he uses smart route and he complains about it too often for my approval of it, I use Garmin in combination with Google Maps. must use 2 sources cannot i repeat cannot use one source for accuracy all the time
Spot on
Thats correct ! But theres alot more to this story that driver is either the biggest idiot or theres more to it
if what it’s what i’m thinking its in the app store and called smart truck routes. i tried it and had a lot of “no route founds”. but that was a while ago.
I’m a driver for 26yrs.whatever happened to a good ol Atlas road map that’s what I used when I started
“He had no reason to believe the GPS was wrong.”
Other than opening his eyes and LOOKING where he is going? The moment he went onto dirt he should have had the sense to stop and think in Goofy’s voice “Somethin’ wrong here!”
And 12 hours to walk about a mile and a half per day? If it was clear enough to DRIVE A SEMI through, he should have been able to make more progress than 0.4mph. I am not a fit person, but even I had no trouble to keep up with my dad on a 12 mile hike in Sequoia National Park that was about 9 hours round trip.
GPS absolutely is fallible. Last week GPS tried to take me down a private land road to cut between highways instead of going to the junction town 5 miles away. But I had the sense to look at the map route and see it didn’t look right.
Glad he made it home safely to his family. That gps will get you loss. Are have you on a road were the truck bigger than the road. Before your trip look at your direction and look it up in your map book.
If you need a GPS to tell you where to go when to turn where to turn, you sir should not be driving anything. Scary thing knowing that drivers totally rely on those. When I see a tractor trailer coming through where I live I know Damn well they are following the GPS and not reading the sign that says Not a through highway.. scary thing knowing that uneducated none reading under qualified drivers out there.
“uneducated none reading”? It’s like the pot calling the kettle black, lol! Go back to school.
glad he made it but i lived in those mountains i use to walk and hike 10 to 12 miles a day dam 3 days 14 miles.van drivers.Glad he made alot of wild bear up there
Disoriented. No food. Not knowing where he was. Probably not an experienced hiker. No phone after a little bit bc the battery would have died. He probably didn’t expect it to take more than a few hours.
Uh oh, it’s “Super Trucker”!
My thought exactly it took you 3 days to walk 14 miles?
Sounds like he’s pretty much an idiot if he didn’t realize something was wrong long before getting far enough up a fire road to get stuck and have a 14 mile walk out.
I’ve read a couple different version of this story and it just don’t add up!
he is not a driver …
You can’t fix stupid. Learn how to read a map!
always have a phone number to contact the client and confirm the address
Woops.
What a moron
👍🏼
I drove 25 years.
I really admire someone that young that would take on such a huge responsibility.
Thank God he’s alright
Richard read what you put down. GPS is a tool. but then a lot of steering wheel holders would use the wrong tool the wrong way, hey brain dead get a map. plot your route, run the route.
Let me be honest-tree work for tree…
3 days to walk 14 miles. Looks like a moron
Look at his face this guy smoking weeds 🙂
Total ignorance on the part of the driver. What bonehead would even START driving his truck on a Forest Service road?
Maybe he’s not good at navigating. Do we REALLY need to belittle those who might have a harder time in life?
Then he has no business driving a truck!!!
Then he don’t need to be a truck driver if he can’t navigate….next he will be taking out a low bridge
DUDE! Why would he even be allowed to drive.?He took three days to walk 14 miles. He went bushwhacking
in unknown territory.
Gotta say glad he made it, but
Daniel Boone he ain’t!
Don’t blame the GPS for not carrying a back up map.l
Like you never made a mistake? Seriously. It could happen to anyone. Be thankful for him and his family he made it out.a live.
Maybe someone that didn’t know it was a Forest Service or has never been in the area before. Even though the road was marked, 18 wheelers aren’t the easiest vehicles to stop or turn around
Check Rand McNally. It’s simple. Who’s training this new breed?
Lol
An old hand(experienced truck driver)taught never trust mechanical/ electrical devices such as all computers that wtll fail when you least expect it,to always have backup skills I.e./map reading.”Trust but Verify”was a President Reagan quote that holds true then,now and always.We got because older people got all of us here.
that may be true. but nothing to criticize. some folks just aren’t problem solvers. you wouldn’t condemn a short man who couldn’t stock the top shelf, you’d get him a step ladder. trucking companies need to recognize who needs “step ladders”.
Should have been screened at hiring time. The guy’s a dunce.
My thoughts exactly.
LOL i agee
These are sad days, I’m glad this driver is safe, however this does not excuse the fact that total reliance upon GPS devices and not being taught to read real maps and proper trip planning is causing true dis function. How many incidents have we seen in regards to GPS directions? A GPS is a tool to be used in conjunction with maps and route planning.
you are so right map first or call for directions would have been lost from the start before gps’s LOL I was Haulin before you were crawlin
Dennis Calling for directions isn’t always the best thing. I lived on Long Island and when I’d get a load heading there I would call up and ask for diections.Well you got to remember your talking to some one who DRIVES a FOUR WHEELER. I don’t know how many times someone told me to take some PARKWAY. Well being from there I would tell the person that I didn’t want to WIPE out the first bridge I came to so could they give me a different route. They just don’t know any better. Not their fault
I agree completely I was always the trip planned in my team. Don’t trust GPS by any means. Get a rand McNally and plan it out. God Bless
Exactly, 90% age and inexperienced. I use GPS and pre route with a atlas,.I’ve learned after 25years of trucking
trucking industry would be screwed if somehow Gps systems all crashed. i have a map and could use it. but i don’t carry it. i think my generation was the last to have to use maps. i’m 43 and can remember having to break out a map find your directions and write the turns down.
oddly enough these youngins still get lost even with gps.
I went to trucking school in late 2014, no com-units, no gps, no cell-phone apps etc and we had to use paper logs the whole time (even in the classroom). Just a few beat-up tractors for yard driving and a few slightly nicer ones for road driving.
I usually don’t reply to any comments and blogs.However, your analysis of the situation is spot on. Couldn’t have been said any better. Kudos, my friend. And fellow veteran trucker.(obviously)😎
I remember getting out the old “Rand Mac Nally” to get in the vicinity of a customer and getting on the CB to ask, “How ’bout some local for …” and getting, sometimes, several comebacks. I’ve been driving for 35 years and am really afraid for this industry when we old timers retire and this new crop has to get the groceries to the stores. Oh well, I’ve been meaning to lose a few pounds anyway.
I could find many things wrong with this story, and find fault, however after 26 years i’ve made a few air head decisions myself so no judgement from me. I will say this though, when you make a mistake and head down the wrong path, and you will, if you’re in trucking very long, at least know or have some idea as to where you are at…lol
I totally agree. We cannot blindly follow a GPS. We should always verify the route before driving.
The FACT IS people LIE to get employment, and if he/she gets hired, well, it’s up to him/her to know the ins and outs of the parts of the job he/she wasn’t trained for nor experienced in.
I’m happy to driver made it home safe but Common Sense tells you do not rely on a GPS obviously he’s a new driver and he probably didn’t know that son get an atlas and do your own foot work never ever rely on a GPS and if you see yourself going into a place that you may not feel safe yeah you might want to turn around thank God you made it home take it as a lesson learned it could have been a lot worse
As a former truck driver and long distance backpacker. I could do 14 miles over a few mountains before lunch time if I wanted. Glad he made it out alive
Sounds like after three days he ran out of money and couldn’t pay the lot lizard so she gave him the boot and sent him home.
Lol, ya, I think that’s a little closer to the truth…
So funny. My thoughts exactly…
You can’t make this stuff up.
You can’t fix stupid. At what point did his miles and miles up forest service roads feel like um…maybe WRONG?!
From your comment one can safely assume that you are not a truck driver.
Before bumping your gums, talking about “You can’t fix stupid,” why don’t you practice this little exercise: Stay quiet.
Not to stick up for “stupid”, he might not have been able to find a place to turn around. OR his backing skills might not have been up to snuff to back up to a place where he could turn around????.
I was acquainted with a guy who had to back down a mountain in the dark. Laying a lantern type light on the roadside and backing toward it. Get there and repeat. Took him hours to get off that hill.
I spent 1 1/2 hours at a customer one day helping another company’s driver get backed into a dock with a 60 foot straight stretch leading to it. I don’t think backing is even being taught at the license mills that call themselves “driving schools”. I know very few new drivers know how to shift since most now have automatic transmissions.
That’s pretty rugged land….bet he was happy to get one of those pork chop sandwiches at the Flying J. Most every driver has a good gps story….lol
I’m thinking he probably got his CDL by an acquaintance letting him use a rig to test in. Don’t think he would ever even make it out of one of our fine driving schools…
Congratulations Mr. Cartwright you’re the newest spokesperson for Automated Trucking!
Really come on stupid is as stupid does Man do us all A favor find a nother work carrier.
Big dog I don’t know how you got so big if you can’t even spell career.
Amazing how common sense are missing in us!
Typical moron from a pathetic generation…
10.4
That’s why NCO’s in the military are so important. They ride herd on all those youngsters.
What the hell do ncos in the military have to do with this situation here nothing
Amen!
Thanks ! You have the best comment left on here about this ignorant little boy that has no business driving!!
I’m glad to hear that the driver made it home but we as drivers are taught definitely not to be totally relying on a GPS , they show us clips of how drivers been steered in wrong directions depending solely on those devices . You have to pre trip, pre plan, use an atlas, call the customers and last not least first observe along with common sense. Ijbh 😊
When I say they I’m speaking of the truck companies during orientation
His boss sounds just as stupid. Driver should be fired and Oregon should confiscate is CDL. Can’t blame it on just human error. Anyone with any common sense would know a big truck shouldn’t be on that road. They need to start taking IQ test when issuing CDL’S.
Wow
Bruce Yeah he SCREWED UP but I made a delivery one time to a NEW warehouse that was not even finished. Well I had to go down this unpaved road for a few miles and believe me I was wondering if I was making a BIG MISTAKE but I made the last turn and THANK the trucking GODS the directions they gave me were correct.
This guy should have never been put behind a wheel of a truck, apparently he doesn’t know how to read much less use a phone or verify the route, probably didn’t even finish school, at what point does one stop and ask questions or call dispatch
Maybe, those trucking company need to do a better job in choosing their navigation system… if you can spend 100’s if thousands of dollars to purchase a truck, the best and the least of all things they should do is get better GPS’s. This will protect the drivers, the equipments and the company. Furthermore, this will save companies millions of dollars in long run
That’s what we are hiring nowadays in this country to drive. Any imbecile from every corner of the globe, and all walks of life. Two weeks in school, get an automatic restricted CDL, punch in an address to you GPS, and go. I bet his GPS wasn’t even configured correctly because if it was then it most certainly would not have put him on that road. And yes his boss is an even bigger imbecile as well. Yes he deserves every bit of criticism he gets. Stupid is as stupid does. He is from Oregon too which makes this even more troubling. I mean really, how in the hell are you gonna get lost 14 miles from home? You morons sticking up for him are just as ignorant as he is.
Walmart hires mentally challenged persons as door greeters. I bet with that dumb grin he would do well there.
Walmart door greeting probably pays better than his scab company.
There is a very large shortage of drivers,so they can get any poor moron to work for pennies.
He was probably under so much pressure he had no time to stop and ask.
I think it just comes down to the fact that this guy is not very bright. Saying that at least he made it home. I think now he needs to work in another profession.
That GPS will screw you every time. They make them specifically for trucks and I bought one – $700 ffs – and it still tried to lead me under a low bridge. You cannot trust them at all. You have to read each and every sign and look at everything the same as if you didn’t have it.
Mega Dittos
These companies and schools isn’t giving these young driver’s the right tools to drive a semi. U gotta call for directions with the customer and u need to be able to go by atlas for ur route. I’m glad he’s safe, but needed a little more common sense. Guess he got lucky and didn’t end up in the middle of big city tearing down tree’s and power lines or topping his truck off. Lol
GOS is a TOOL. It does not replace common sense, of which apparently this driver has NONE.
What kind of IDIOT would follow a “US Forest Service Road” (which most likely was unpaved) with a load like that?
Let’s see. I have a load of potato chips. The GPS says I should turn here, and follow this road “up into the mountains” on a “US Forest Service Road”.
With a load of potato chips.
Into the mountains.
What a moron.
Morons are the kind of people that don’t check if their trailers are hooked, or if their spelling is correct..
LMAO
I’ve used GPS for getting to the distantationthat I’m going to but I would Call the company for I’m formation on way to dock Dock they wanted me in GPS is a good thing to have but it is not always write
Exactly how long has you been driving, did you get your cdl out of a cracker Jack box like these driver’s from Canada.
Some people need to get a truck route GPS- or learn to read before driving truck.
I can’t believe that his boss is defending him. Prime example of why we don’t need a 18 year oldso driving. If you don’t have enough sense to not take a truck on a Forest Service rd, then you have no business driving.
The most important thing to learn is what you CAN’T do in a truck
Why didn’t he call someone when he arrived home ?
Fishy………
Best response I’ve seen so far on this issue…..
and one more thing, the owner must be an idiot and never drove a truck in his life. Daddy must’ve handed it over to a spoiled son, because common sense wouldn’t say it was out of his control after he corrected the address. Morons
The boss should fire himself for saying that nonsense, “..he had no reason to believe the GPS was wrong”. That’s a lie, he’s hiding something. He knew that kid wasn’t bright, and he let him drive anyway.
No doubt I agree 100%
I agree
I never considered that angle…might be something there???
Maybe he’s one of those guys needs a dedicated route of some sort. I have a relative that’s afraid to drive JUST for that reason….he’s a security guard.
The Boss sounds like he’s never driven before himself???
Use a GPS for a week, you’ll quickly learn, like a teenage son, NEVER to trust what it says.
Hate to tell you this but the real mutha trucker was back in the 70s
An gps is not the most dependable thing at all
An you must work for swift if you are a driver at all o iam sorry I ment steering holder
Guess he had plenty of chips to eat on! That’s where he was at. He thought to himself, that he wasn’t delivering that load, he went someplace where he could eat em all then went home.. Lmao
At some point you have to be able to look at your surroundings and realize something’s not right that’s why a GPS is a good tool but I never trust them that’s why I keep a good old Rand McNally handy it’ll never steer you wrong
Concrete to asphalt…OK. Asphalt to gravel…time to take a really hard look around.
No kidding!!!
With a load of chips !
WTF?
When driving in the VERY rural South, with its abundance of narrow roads and many ditches, I’ve knocked on quite a few front doors to get directions before things got too bad.
I once found myself on a 5 ton road going into a residential area.
I HAD to turn my spread axle flatbed around in a car wash, hopefully before the local cop showed up. Luckily he was snoozing somewhere
at Zero dark thirty in the morning.
GPS is a great modern tool, and has made the job SO much easier but just a tool nevertheless.
100% Right.
I use GPS and google maps all the time, and as soon as it calculates a route, I check it on my Motor Carrier’s Atlas to make sure it’s a truckable route. Satelite view is awesome, because you can verify directions, and see exactly what you’ll be driving into. GPS is great, but ONLY when combined with verification and planning. Trust GPS at your peril.
And one other tip, never take a truck on a dirt road leading up into the mountains. (duh)
Yes best commenton here
GPS = getting people stupid
This steering wheel holder doesn’t know what a map is? These new age of drivers depend way to much on electronics. I have a GPS but use for information and eta. Route planning, I still use my trusted map book. The old way is still the trusted best way
Amazing that Trucking company lasted this long if that’s there best driver
that’s there best driver
Not a dang one of you that hasn’t made a mistake at one time or another. His was severe.
Very true.
Many, if not most, of my REAL mistakes happened decades before GPS was thought of.
None of them were very costly except time and pride….
Nope GOD gave me common sense and Verizon gave me a cell phone and in the old days a pay phone and a rand mcnalley.
Pay phones were everywhere but always had a pocket full of quarters too ! ! !
Yah..but this one is goofy enough to make worldwide headlines…daniel Boone
Is Rollin over in hisvgrave
He walked 13 hrs a day for three days and only went 14 miles???
My guess is the USMC wont be calling him any time soon.
It really goes to show what happens when the GPS is turned on and your mind is turned off.
Great post
They must be really hard up for drivers. What a jackass! I can see so many violations here it isn’t even newsworthy or funny. The driver And the dispatcher should be terminated. Most places would’ve fired them both Already. Most likely the driver is related to someone at the company so he will likely be promoted. Hahaha
You can’t be that stupid? I think there’s more to the story.
I just dont think Little Tree or Mr Henry will be getting any more Chips loads
How the hell did it take him 3 days to walk 14 miles?? I’m old and fat and I could still do it in a day.
And imagine they want 18 year olds driving…. At some point you gotta think I think I’m lost and going the wrong way
We once had a driver go missing for several days. He had been shot right thru the door and killed in East St. Louis.
Training in the trucking industry has always been a hit or miss sort of thing.
Some guys are suitable only for dedicated routes. The driving school might point them in that direction, IF they’re not too busy counting their money.
Trucking companies need to get serious about training and retention.
Good drivers are only going to get more and more scarce.
Called common sense for our generation I’m 46 younger folks to dependant on electronics they are good……. but man-made so mistakes happen always . keep a road atlas. but him not calling anyone in 3 days time is just illiterate.
He must have gotten his CDL from a cracker Jack box
His mistake was having too much trust in the GPS. I find it’s best to double check the GPS and then look on Google maps at the satellite image of your location. This also helps with entry to facilities
He was probably using a GPS made for cars. Big mistake for any truck driver.
Glad he made it home safe but how long do it take to figure out you going the wrong way.. He need to be sat down with a road Atlas in front of him to look at his route to see if the gps taking him the same way.. Now days people depends on gps but really planning a trip is with your map
A GPS unit needs to be formatted properly before using it. If not it can give you many a bum steer. My guess is this guy didn’t take the time to do that. Or if he did he did not do it correctly. With a truck atlas, and a formatted GPS, you should be in the ballpark at any rate. Tho he should have known he was off course when he found himself on a gravel road heading into the mountains. That would’ve given me a sick feeling in itself…
My RM GPS sent me all over Portland trying to get back on I-5S. I had programed it that I was pulling a 53′ trailer when I first got it and this pos was turning me down streets that no way any truck with a trailer could hope to go down. Luckily I was bobtailing and was able to negotiate this insane route. The final draw was when it wanted me to go straight at a T intersection. I turned it off and by dead reckoning found I-5. Don’t hardly even use it anymore. If it’s too stupid to take me down narrow suburbs after I’ve told it I’m pulling a 53′ trailer then I have no use for it. Google maps to find the location. Trucker Path on the route. And a road atlas to plan the trip is all I use. The GPS sits in my bag.
This is a prime example that the future of this industry is going to hell in a handbasket .some people should stay away from trucks period,just because you pay a scool thousands to get you a cdl does not make you a truck driver .just reading this story i can imagine the danger this kid and many like him are to the motoring public. I know alot alot of people are gonna call me an asshole but honestly ask yourself,do you want a no brain driver riding beside your wife,your mom ,your daughter,son ,father ,ect ect…knowing he doesnt have the skill to avoid hazard .didnt think so..
Mistakes are made yes were human sure , But this is silly and stupid. Little trees is at much fault as anybody. No reason for this . Damn kid look at a REAL map once in a while .
NO COMMON SENSE!!!!! As an employer you have a duty to screen employees for intelligence and common sense. Our industry has gotten away from this in lew of putting bodies in the truck. This has got to stop. I’m glad this had not turned into a tragedy. It needs to be a lesson learned by everyone in our industry!
We all make mistakes
He made big one
It is good to learn from our past
Mistakes no to repeat.
Another reason I’m getting out of the industry after 22 years.Typical that most comments in this space are made from other truckers if not all.
There is no more compassion in this job.Truckers would rather make themselves feel good by denigrating another driver.If you don’t have a nice or understanding comment what’s the point of leaving one.Reason,because it makes them feel better about themselves.Spend time in truck stops and watch drivers spend time backing in with no help.Instead of helping new drivers others would rather sit in their cab and criticise.Take a look at Every truck stop in the states and see the garbage,the pee bottles and bags laying around 2 ft from a can.I could go on and on but I’ve fought the good fight long enough to no avail.EVERYONE starts out new.EVERYONE needs help once in awhile.Have compassion,try and be nice to one another.
You have to be just a little smarter than the GPS. They say anybody can be a trucker driver well really. I rest my case.
Trucking ain’t made for everybody. And everyone doesn’t have common sense. If you turn down a road go around a curve you behind you don’t your trailer, you might be on the wrong road.
These steering wheel holders need to learn the basics. How about reading a map, use your cell phone to call the customer. The new breed drivers couldn’t drive themselves out of a wet paper bag. He should be embarrassed to have his grinning mug plastered all over for being an idiot.
I drove 35 for years .An there was not anywhere I could not get to . All I used was a Rand
McNally an a pay phone
There are no real truck drivers
today .there robots who don’t know what a real driver is soppose to be . Maybe a few but very few
Throw that gps out the window get a real map an a cellphone that’s all you need
Pay attention an you. Will get where you need to go
Did he even consider that maybe he shouldn’t drive a rig a 53 ft dry van full of the customers shit down a dirt freaking Rd. REALLY! They should take his CDL.
You don’t need a GPS or Rand McNally trucker map to know your not on a truck route. Constantly look at the road and stay vigilant of road width, bridges low hangs, route/weight signs exc.
Hope this “BRAiN DEAD” individual goes back to flipping burgers before he kills someone! !
Trucking ain’t made for everybody. And everyone doesn’t have common sense. If you turn down a road go around a curve you don’t see your trailer behind you, most likely you’re on the wrong road. Don’t just keep going then you go so far an say this road don’t look right. Well DumDum it ain’t.
P.S. Trucking ain’t made for everybody.
why didn’t the goofball drop the trailer and bobtail for help before he got in that situation …..geez damn wheel holder ….and they want to give cdl to 18yr olds lol..3 day walk whew
This driver should have used a common $ 7.00 map. It would have helped a whole lot. Map first, then GPS!!!!!
Wow. And he actually drives a big rig on the highways. Ive been in trucking for 30 years. Hes a liar. Or really stupid. Or both
Yup, before I come to an unpaved road, especially in some heavy forested area, I double check the location to ensure that the location is right before I even attempt to enter. Old Pete is not meant to go off-roading. All GPS devices are not accurate at some point. Years ago, during the road test, they asked us the height of the bridges that we passed under while testing. If you didn’t have the correct answer, it was an automatic fail. They need to start teaching the new CDL school graduates the reality of the road and the scenarios that you may face. Most of all, they need to teach common sense!
Wow. Scary. That he actually drives on the highways. Been in trucking for 30 years. Hes lying or really stupid. Noway his story is true.
He’s got chip for brains.
People like him shouldn’t breed and shouldn’t be allowed to vote!! I have used GPS many of times and it has led me in the wrong direction before but at what point did he not realize his mistake?? I have never got stuck in a situation where I couldn’t get myself out of it. I always double check my work!!
I’m a trucker myself. I find this very hard to believe. very skeptical about this story. Facts have been left out… so the guy couldn’t call his customer
Just won Stupid of the year!
GPS is not reliable!! Use it but use it with COMMON SENSE!!!
Been at this for 40 years. Never let a gps lead me around the country by the nose. Phones are too easy to use as are a M-A-P, you know, one of those laminated paper things that is still sold in truck stops. Feel no pity for this boy, nor his brain dead boss for enabling the boy “from there on it wasn’t his fault”..Whose fault was it Bucko? Yours? Were you driving?… Sorry but stupid is as stupid does.
I’m glad I go terminal to terminal!!! I have a commercial GPS that I got off of crutch field.com … just a little Garmin dezl … and it’s never steered me wrong!!! I only paid like 150 bucks for it or something like that, and I see truckers going down the interstate with these TV s in their windows for gps”s !!! As well as a phone holder , a Sirius satellite receiver , maybe a cup holder…. well you get the picture…. WHAT IDIOTS!!! JUST DRIVE … IT’S NOT THAT HARD!!! A LITTLE COMMON SENSE PEOPLE!!!
Only walked 12 hours a day .. as a commercial driver he was allowed to walk for 14 hours a day allowing for a 30 minute rest…fed law allows for an extra 2 hours if adverse conditions exist. He was legally allowed to walk 16 hours a day
The title should not read trucker goes missing for 4 days.
It should read mentally challenged man working for mentally challenged company goes missing.
Haha😂😂 you are correct
Ummmm…Where is the truck????? And how u gonna get it out????
Set the GPS then look at the Rand McNally to get the layout of the route in your mind; which roads do you pass before you turn, what’s the last exit before your exit; do you change roads before or after the city, etc. Then check the red section; restricted routes, low clearances, etc.
If you had done that, you would have realized the GPS was taking you to the wrong place.
There’s a whole lot more to truck driving then just driving the truck. It takes skill, knowledge and GOOD OLD FASHION COMMON SENSE… Needless to say, not just anyone can do it!
He has no business being in a truck.when you take off .you have got to have a sense of direction.if not stop and call . check the address again and again.do not keep on going
3 days of walking I would rather have back the damn trailer up on that service road until I got back out on the main road
Well on the bright side he had plenty to eat! Not to mention fuel for fire ( chips burn well) 😊
But,why in the world did he not drop his trailer! Surly he could have turned his tractor around,and bob tailed to help!
Every one of you was a rookie at 1 time.
Glad he is safe ! But really ? No wonder we get picked on by the government with all this regulations. To the driver “KEEP ON TRUCKING !!!”
WHAT HAPPENED TO USING A MAP DON’T THEY ISSUE THOSE ANYMORE
That’s your new breed of driver for you.
They aren’t drivers anymore,they are just bodies behind the wheel.
No knowledge, no practical experience.
And what’s worse,,,, NO COMMON SENSE!!
It happens more often than people admit.
I’ve been out here for thirty years,I’ve made mistakes too.
Retirement is getting closer.
Gotta use your tools combined with common sense.
I agree with most of the posts. When I started driving in the early eightys we used a map and a pay phone to get where we were going mostly a map although I have a gps I still rely on the good old map and use the gps as an additional tool but the maps never done me wrong or has common sense
A 22 year old kid.
I’m glad he is safe!
If he lives in La Grande he should already know that there is 1 road from Portand to Ontario, and that’s I 84. Are people so stupid that they need a GPS to follow the same highway for 375 miles? I have no sympathy for him. If his wife has any brains she’ll dump him and find somebody that at least knows which way is up
Everyone thought the worst of things. But no. Come to find out, he’s just an idiot that has no business driving a truck.
If you have never driven a truck then you are clueless on what it takes to drive a truck and how difficult it is to Turtle truck around once you commit into a street or a road and there’s nowhere to turn around it’s very difficult use the GPS as a second tool always use another GPS to compare or go back to the old road maps like the old days.
He looks too young, underage.
He actually let his picture be displayed in this article now everybody knows what a fool he is good job kind of looks like that guy from Ice Road Truckers pork chop
I saw on the news that he couldn’t call for help because his phone was dead and had no good or water. My husband is a trucker and the things he always packs are water, food, and a cell phone charger. And also yes potatoes chips are probably not going up a forest service route. Common sense is a valuable asset.
Glad to hear a happy ending for a change!
But ya, always plan your route before leaving, if something doesn’t seem on the level with your GPS directions stop on the shoulder, throw on the flashers and get that dude on point.
Truck GPSs are great but they do make mistakes. Look at Google satellite view, that’s a good way to get eyes on the roads before you leave.
I swear before I got high when i looked at the GPS there was a building there. Also I didn’t walk 14 miles. Me and some friends went back there to check it out and the sign actually said 1.4 miles. Man that was some good stuff!
Side chick
Exactly
For whatever the reason was glad that he made it home safe. And thank God for that. I agree sometimes people make stupid mistakes and I truly can say that was a stupid mistake that he made. Life is about common sense and he didn’t use common sense and his actions. It don’t take a person to figure out whether he’s walking or driving to realize that he is going in the wrong direction. And I think when he made it home he should have contacted someone. People can always paint a picture. But no one knows the truth but the driver. Maybe will doing something he had no business but who knows.
Goofy bastard…
The guy is 22 years old. He is probably still in his rookie year. Give him a break. He learned the hard way not to rely on GPS.
Can’t you guys tell he is a new driver?Age 22, he doesn’t know any better, glad he made it home safe.
I don’t have a problem with him taking a wrong road and getting stuck. But this walking for 12-13 hrs a day for 4 days to go 14 mi is a problem. 14 mi averaging 3 mph shouldn’t have taken more than 5 hrs.
I grew up in Eugene Oregon, believe me there is a lot of weed on those fields
A lesson will learned when you put all your trust in electronic only you get burned . Everyone needs to learn from this drivers error and use a back up plan. Get a atlas and learn to use it , and not to put all your just in electronic .
Jacob trusted his GPS just as our orientation says but in truth it is totally fool proof! I never trust that thing. My GPS had me doing a u-turn into oblivion at one point. Also, it brought me four [4] miles away of my consignee, then to turn me around back toward it…I don’t trust that thing not one bit! That’s when I rely on Mc Nally and I eyeball every step in the GPS to see what it’s doing.
But in all I’m happy the young man is safe. It seems he had some minimum survival skills!
I’ve been a commercial truck driver for 30 years. this is what we’ve taught our new commercial truck drivers Is to not use a Macbook not to use their head. I’ve heard of many other stories where drivers have driven their trucks in two bodies of water in two areas where it says no trucks. Because they’re not using their head they’re not thinking they’re letting the GPS guide them where it says to go. GPS is are just computers and need to realize that they don’t always have the latest updates for maps especially the less expensive no name brand GPS for commercial truck drivers or if they’re using one design for a four-wheeler. This is not on the GPS this is on the driver himself And his Trainers for not teaching him to use his head. I as a commercial driver use both a map book and GPS or Google Map On my smartphone to see where I’m going. and the other thing is if he lives in the area he should know the roads a little bit. I have a feeling this story is a little fake or exaggerated. Especially since it took him 3 days to walk 14 miles. why would he walk through the forest instead of back the road he came on that would make more sense but again we’re not hiring people as commercial truck drivers that have common sense They’re not able to use their brain nowadays. most people seem to think that as a commercial truck driver all we do is sit behind a wheel and shift gears. as a commercial truck driver we have to use a lot of our common sense brains and the ability To know what we can and cannot do and where we can and cannot go. some of these things cannot be taught like common sense but if our trainers that are out there would teach these young men and women to think a little before just blindly following a GPS we would have a better breed we would have a better breed of commercial drivers.
Ever heard of a map? Oh yes the 3 and 4 week long trucking schools don’t teach that anymore. Put a gps on the dash and you are golden…haha. I’m glad he’s ok, but a little more common sense and training would have helped
He walked 12 – 13 hours a day…at one mph an hour that would be 12 -13 miles in one day. From point a to point b, didn’t anything look suspicious?
Has he ever learned how to read a map? Are these drivers drug tested? He looks like a real winner.
Millennials and marijuana; America has no chance.
I drove trucks for 17 plus years. Always have a paper back up to date Commercial Rand McNally.
People will never learn if not shown the way by experienced drivers. We all were in that seat at one time. Get off the high horse and help.
All you guys are missing the point. The Gps did nothing wrong. The guy put in the wrong address. He screwed up. The gps was trying to correct his mistakes. The problem probably was the gps probably could have got him out except maybe he couldn’t make some of the turns or losses of signal.
Wrong address in the GPS? Really? And just WHY did it not occur to him that he shouldn’t turn onto a forest service road? I have always driven by the adage “If it doesn’t look right, it isn’t.” Doesn’t this guy have any knowledge of where towns are? Before turning the key of the truck on you should know where you are delivering and have an idea of what route(s) to take. Just a glance in the Atlas will give you that. GPS is a good tool for the last few miles to your destination and giving you a fair ETA but reliance further than that is a bad idea.
Trip planning please,or at least take a look at a glance of the paper map,if you don’t know the route.point A and point B,are very important in truck driving business. Always compare the GPS route with the paper map.if you see a big difference between the two,call your dispatcher and ask for the better route.nothing wrong calling for help.but please do not rely on the GPS alone.
Steering wheel holder…
All these nasty negative comments are ridiculous I’m glad the man is okay he’s young he made a mistake I have been driving for 32 years I don’t point my finger Mock and make fun of people for making mistakes I’ve made my share in 32 years of driving
Glad to see him, safe and sound. But things just don’t add up. First off all , he lives in the area, how is it he didn’t know, not to take a road like that? Second, how did it take 3 days, to walk 14 miles? Third, the guy is totally off the grid for almost 4 days, he goes home, and doesn’t think to call someone, anyone, nothing. I’m a truck driver, I understand, mistakes happen, but this is ridiculous.
Right… Then no mention of the truck…
I totally agree with you Thomas Kilpatrick!! Hell, I walked 6 miles in about 3 hours! He wasn’t lost, he was doing other things for those days.
Maybe if the Trucking companies would pay good drivers what they’re worth, crap like this wouldn’t happen.
I’m NOT sorry that I am going to say this so here goes. This kid, yes kid, is a friggin moron. When I was 22, 30 years ago, I could go anywhere in this country with just my AAA road Atlas. On top of that at my current age 53 I walk 6 to 8 miles per DAY( 2-3 hrs) and have walked 15 miles in 4 hrs.
LEARN TO TRIP PLAN AND READ A MAP! Send this kid back to truck driving school !
Did he not even have a cell phone? A trucker map book should always be in the cab. Always check your bill papers delivery address before punching into your GPS.
if you don’t have a Trucker’s Atlas and know how to use it to trip plan you’ve no business being a truck driver
I never used a GPS and never will.I am old school,First I check to see if my Company has directions.Then I call customer to verify where I’m going and to see if there might be more detailed information I need to know,Such as roads not authorized for trucks.Getting hung up and having to maneuver out of a situation is a nightmare.
Yhis is just one of the problems that young people have. They depend on the electronic gadgets too much and dont rely on their common sense. A driver should alwasy check his atlas and make sure both the GPS and his knowledge agree on eachother. I was a driver for many years and did not rely on any one thing to get me to my destination, I used both the GPS and my computer for directions as well as the old fashioned atlas or road map.
35 years of driving and I still carry a road atlas gps are nice but rather have it in black and white
#1) The 13 hrs a day Walking thing….Ummmm Yeaaah.
Even in the woods on uneven ground the Avg Person can walk 2-4 miles an hr.
Even in poor condition he should of made it out by next afternoon.
Been Trucking 30 yrs , The first thing you learn is how to pre plan your trip….
Sit Down with an Atlas , a Note Book , and a pocket Truck stop Book.
Write your Directions Down Interstate , U.S. Hwy wise , where & Exits Truck Stops are for food , Fuel , Emergencies.
This Young Man like so many New to Trucking today , didnt Take the TIME to pre plan his trip….
Just punch in some info into a GPS and go.
A person above had mentioned , he was at his home when his wife come home and the kid didnt have the sense to even pick up the phone lol to let his Boss and wife and the local law enforcement he was alive and well.
Im glad hes ok , but id tell him you need more time running local before you climb back in as an OTR Driver.
I learned how to Drive with a 15 speed pete .
The problem today is they took nearly all the Skill away out of driving a truck.
You have Automatics now for people that cant Double Clutch or Float gears , or shift a 13 – 15 – 18 speed.
You have Navigation for people that cant read an Atlas , and know how to Read the Numbers for North south east west , dont know the difference between a Spur and a loop , dont know to stay off Parkways etc….Dont know how to look for low clearances in the Atlas.
Back in the day , id get a day out from customer , and call and say , hey , im coming off exit # whatever in your town how do i get to you from here?
Makes ya wonder huh?
I heard his backup card had expired…he had no choice….
First of all that’s not a real truck driver, that a steering wheel holder, if he worked for me I would firer him immediately, This country needs a truckers strike for about two weeks and let’s see how everyone likes that
Drivers age 22 . Enough said.
Not terribly bright, a forest service road? Seriously? I been ‘GPS’d’ to ESS than ideal routes more times than I can count, but common sense kept me out of trouble. First thing, what would a distribution center, or anything large enough, to accept a truckload, or even partial truckload?
You gotta be kidding , when the steer tires left the pavement he still thought he was on a good route . Ever heard of a map boys . SMH .
I use the truck GPS and Google Maps. No need for Garmin as it is useless. You follow the truck route on the truck and use Google Maps to find out where you are going and best route. You can change Google Maps to satelite and have to know basic use of the app. If you start going down a forest road, Stop. Use Google Maps as a secondary navigation device. One of these days, Google Maps will be truck friendly, but still it out performs eveything else for navigaton, but be careful using it. Truck Driver Schools need to train students on how to navigate with Truck GPS and Google Maps.
Any of these new drivers know how to read an atlas?
don’t even carry them.
This is what I’m wondering, an up to date Rand McNally has never failed me for years
Yes we do 😉
New drivers are better equipped than to have to rely on an old atlas. They have GPS that includes satellite images. That “driver” isn’t a driver. He needs to go back to Walmart and the stock room.
Hmmm. Let’s see. A truckload full of bags and bags of potato chips. And maybe 1 bag of weed. What could possibly go wrong?
Complete and total idiocy…SMH
And this is what happens when people don’t learn how to use a map.
Rand McNally…keep on trucking
What do they mean”plugged in the wrong address”?
Gpss rock and are extremely productive as long as driver is aware and alert. I have had 1 near miss regarding a bridge. It was a truck route but the first 2 bridges were 14 3 and 13 9. The last bridge was 12 11. Luckily the numbers 12 11 were large and clear. And I also was lucky enough to have the best training one could ask for.
What happened to the load of potato chips?
He probably eats some 😂
Is Story is JUST to damn
Funny..😂😂😂😂😅😅
😂😂😂😂👏🏽
Today’s driver.When I started driving this clown could not have gotten a job washing a truck much less driving one
First off, I’m glad the young man made it home ok. Could be and I’m sure it was a very scary thing. Second is to everyone commenting about GPS . Does anyone take the time to learn how to use an atlas anymore????? I do use GPS, but I also cross reference with an up to date atlas, different states have different types of roads too, come on guys get off your but, study and learn to use an atlas also. Has never ever failed me.
Recommendation: Pluck a hair out of his empty cranium and drug test it! Cuz it sounds like a three day, tweeked out binge run to me.
Paper maps are still being printed
. Stop relying on technology .
my point too. he should have been out of there walking a 15 minute mile in less than 1 day.
Ever herd of opening an Atlas and double checking you’re route? It’s called trip planning, takes a few minutes.
that would have been the thing to do, I didn’t have a GPS on my first road trip. just me and my RAnd McNally map book. and I still took a few wrong turns, but never on a mountain.
Thankyou😉!!
Yep, that sounds familiar. My GPS took me to a remote area in the woods and said, “you are at your destination on the left.” My husband and I busted out laughing. We looked to the right and to the left, nothing, but woods and a run down house. We stopped in the middle of the road not fearing holding up the traffic. We were 58 miles north from our destination in Arkansas. Our GPS had it’s own mind that day. Later that day, after delivering our goods the GPS said again, I 30 was around the corner, but it wasn’t. We still had aways to go. That was our company’s GPS. Good thing we had back up our trusty old map and our Rand McNally GPS.
Somewhere common sense has to play a part in ones life. Unfortunately, it isn’t a flower that grows in everyone’s garden.
GPSIs only a tool. Nothing replaces a map. Every trucker should still carry a map as back up. Glad he is ok.
common sense common sense common sense, common sense plus GPS
I too am glad that the driver is ok and well, but it took him 3 days to walk 14 miles. I don’t understand that logic, like not being able to verify what type of equipment I’ve driven in the past 3 years so I can’t be a driver for your company. I mean shit it took me 5 years after I got my CDL to get my first driving job driving a garbage truck, but walking 12 to 13 hours a day for 3 days for 14miles. Sounds like a SWIFT driver to me.
That is great the driver made it home. I once had a GPS that directed me to go straight on a mountain road. If I had continued on it would have led me off a steep cliff! So much for that GPS.
When I was OTR, I used my Garmin, google maps, and my road atlas… There is no excuse for what he did… Must be a brand new driver. Well, now he knows… Lol
Why belittle the young lad. Y’all who belittle shouldn’t throw stones,if ya know what I mean.
God bless you I’m glad this story has a happy ending.
I blame the both of them, driver and owner. Hire experience and not a good o boy.
So he walked 12-13 hours a day for 3 days and only walked approx 14 miles? Give me a break, this story or his story is bogus!
A real driver should always have a road atlas map. That’s how we did it years ago. Never fails. I’ve been driving 25 years and just started using GPS a year ago. Bit I keep my map with me
if you’re gonna use a GPS…use it in conjunction with good old rand McNally’s map book looking at advanced up your own route also calling the customer for directions I’ve been doing that the whole 30 years I’ve been out here…
Make sure twice the destination address
When I was driving, I first had used the GPS, the route which was programmed, supposedly was to be the best route, it was a whole lot different than the best route. Not sure if it was the best for me to take .
And there it is.
This is a classic reason why new trained drivers need to run apprentice for at least 14 months.
Get all the seasons in and do ALL the work.most of the kids they give keys to today dont have the smarts to learn it on their own.
Not only all that, but how are they going to get the truck out of wherever it is ?
While reading this story I suspected it is not the whole truth and that this is a story he concocted to hide something from his wife. I just could not believe that someone put in charge of a tractor trailer, a load and safety of the public, can be that stupid. I still can’t believe it. After 22 years driving a big rig in America and Canada I thought I saw it all. I thought nobody can beat the stupidity of that driver a while back, who drove his rig for a mile on a wooden beach boardwalk, wrecking it and getting stuck. I thought at the time that the summit of stupidity has finally been reached. Boy, was I wrong. Whenever it seems that the summit of truck driver stupidity has been conquered, there comes another story that beats the former, and climbs to new, stratospheric hights of dumb.
What a crock. This “driver” needs to grow up fess up to whatever he was really doing. If he really did go up a forest road in a semi then he’s too stupid to be a trucker.
Glad he made it out. This just goes to show you can’t beat maps or an atlas. Some time old school is better
I’ve used GPS technology for years now, but I have always checked my routes first beforehand to ensure that all of the roads my GPS device will guide me on are 100 percent legal for big trucks first before I take off on my trips. As surprises lead to possible wrecks, tickets, or both. The last thing I want to do is end up youtube or like that kid ended up, stranded on a logging road.
Another thing I do is look up all of my shippers and consignees on google earth, find the driver entranceway and then place a pushpin where I want my truck to travel when entering my shippers and consignee locations. Once, I do that, I key in the GPS coordinates of that pushpin into my GPS device, that way my GPS device gives me turn by turn directions directly into the shipper and consignee driver entranceways.
In any event, anyone following GPS devices blindly without checking and confirming first that their routes are 100 percent legal for big trucks are accidents and tickets waiting to happen. I like my job, so I always make sure beforehand that I’m good to go and it doesn’t take long at all if you know how to do it quickly.
I’m glad the driver ok but being a driver from the old school I had to laugh please teach the old ways I’ve been there in CA but backed out of there and found a new way we didn’t have GPS
I think he got on some speed then freaked out. Then drove up this mountain road to escape the helicopters got stuck, and then screwed off for 3 days to get it out of his system.
Also, I am 25 yrs old and do not believe that lowering or raising the age will change anything. If your dumb enough to screw up that bad at 22 your probably gonna do it at 42. You can’t learn to do anything until you just do it. I own my own truck not some lease BS and my own authority I’m 25, some of you are 45 and still don’t have it figured out so don’t start on me about age.
So after he waited for help a day in his sleeper eating potted meat o rd candy then decided to walk 3 days and hitchhikered home never stopping for one second to call his wife….goes home sits on the couch whole while she’s forming a search party with police????
did they have to call a real truck driver to get the truck turned around?
Every body sing along….Off The Road Again….it’s good to be off the road
again… I can blame the GPS for gettin’ off the highway…I did it my way…
off the road again….
I like how all these morons commenting how they don’t trust a GPS this and that. Every one of us in here got one attached to the windshield. The guys that say I just call the shipper, yeah right I have some with shippers that don’t have a clue how they got to work. But you know truckers they are all experts on everything and never screwed up at anything. Look at the shape most are in and well tell you how much they did in their life. Oh and I’m not defending this guy but the guys making comments about him, I’m sure you have skeletons in flore closet as well we just haven’t found out about them.
We all have made mistakes with this is exceptional weapons-grade stupidity I bet you’ve done something similar by defending this guy
Nah. I don’t have any. Made a few rookie mistakes back in the day, but they were insignificant, small, and did not cause any drama. I guess I always thought things through before I acted.This is not a rookie mistake. This is a moron driving a truck. I realize one doesn’t have to be super intelligent to be a great truck driver, but some smarts are required and a bit of intelligence should also be also preferred during the hiring process.
All drivers should learn to read a map. New drivers today have no clue how to. Everyone realize on the GPS and it’s not always correct. Trucking schools need to go back to teaching map reading…
When I plan load set my GPS look at map get company routes fuel solutions on way even use maps on Google to location why did he keep going and get lost in his own neck of the woods maybe a drug test is in order
Certainly a lot of comments, I might be a bit more experienced than some, having driven off the paverd road in several states moving oil rigs oversize. But I remember being a rookie, you get nervous about loosing your job and think there might be a shortcut to fix it. I think I can understand how he talked himself into getting stuck. I have taken mud tanks on Forrest Service and BLM roads then been told to drive over the sage brush. Directions are always terrible. I think this driver just did a bit of growing on what his units are capable of. I’m not calling anyone dumb until they repeatedly do the same kinda thing. I think better knowlegde of the roads minus technology is needed by every driver. Seems like they call me a lot to know where to go. This driver needs an advisor who knows the ropes. Retired drivers could offer help lines on websites like Facebook.
I was so glad to hear that he was found and not hurt 👍🏻 He’s lucky, I hope he still has his job.
All driver’s should have a Rand McNally Motor Carriers atlas & be taught how to read it. Visually seeing the route & the legal routes that you can run is far better than what a GPS, especially one not set for commercial vehicles. See & learn old school mapping, use your Brain. Quit relying on technology that is only as good as the person that enters the info. I’ve been doing this since 1974 & always use an Atlas 1st
Never….never…never trust a GPS…. maybe he learned his lesson
I think this guy just made a strong case for not wanting young, inexperienced drivers on the road. Get ready if the pass the law to allow CDL holders to drive intrastate before age 21! Hope they teach them how to read a map.
Correction…should say “Interstate”
Um couldn’t find his way with GPS and ended up lost. How did this moron even get a license?
Who thought it was a Swift, Warner,Pam, C.R.England, Schneider, J.B. Hunt, KLLM, ect?
All you drivers laughing at this drivers expense should be ashamed of yourselves. One. He’s 22 years old. What experience does he have on the open road. Very little you ask me. Two. GPS are known to give wrong directions from time to time but you don’t know it til you get to the wrong address. Three. Brave guy to wonder the woods for 3 days alone and with no protection of any kind….
garmin for trucks and trucker path but i always keep my atlas handy as well…
I can remember many times when my GPS was routing me down roads that where not for trucks, with the aid of my phone-apps and physical truck atlas I caught and corrected 99% of them. Not hard to fix but getting my fleet manager to understand that I can’t use the directions they sent me was a hassle sometimes. Twice I got routed down a city street that was closed for roadwork and had to call the local police to assist me with traffic so I could back out.
I also carry a nicely equipped emergency back-pac for the type of thing that happened to this young man. While highly unlikely something like this can happen to anyone.
All GPSs are also an electronic map of that 4×3 foot paper map so many old timers use. It’s not just a CPU that has colored lines on roads that tells you where to turn…. They also have satellite viewing which gives actual visuals of the areas. Some even have Street View so can see the streets in first person. Learn to use these tools and quit being a tool smh
Best GPS is a Atlas. I like my GPS, Goggle maps and directions from customer. But never fail to read your atlas. God bless he made it out ok.
Gotta go with ur instinct sometimes and know that the GPS isn’t quite so trucker friendly at times …The GPS had me routed to a location to take a ferry then the ferry back to land …ill view the routes before I drive them if going in uncharted territory
What happened to the days when all we had was a pay phone and road maps? I remember them well and, funny thing is, always made it to where I had to go.
The owner of Little Trees justified this Drivers ignorance. That’s a problem when fault cannot be assigned. Todays world. They both are morons. This Driver justified lower pay for our profession. I agree with limitations and abilities. Those people should NEVER be driving a truck. But they are. All in the name of cheap cheap cheap labor. You pay peanuts you get Monkeys. I too would like to think this guy was just dicking around the TS or bar or somewhere he shouldnt have beeen and this whole story is a farce. But who knows what is fake news and what is real.
Well, being an old retired truck driver for 10 years now, I know a lot has changed. Ignorance can be educated, crazy can be medicated, but stupid is forever. Forest treelogging roads in a semi, stuck in mud in a big truck, trailer full of potato chips? I can’t think of any company that could get a load of potato chips that didn’t have Comdata tracking in the truck, main reason is to make sure the load never goes over a certain high altitude that would cause the chip bags to explode. That’s a fact. So many red flags here in this story. I were in same impossible position? Stay put, break seal, and eat chips untill someone found me, or I died from cholesterol overdose.
I don’t use a GPS but my company does. They are installed in all of our trucks but they are one way . They let the company know where we are are other things. Other drivers I work with use them but I have no need for them . If I can’t find it on a map I call them and ask for directions .
All of the truck driver 20 years it took me at least 5 years to realize some people are truck drivers and some people are steering wheel holders I think this fella here was a steering wheel holder using a GPS is alright for some things but Common Sense should tell him what kind of Road he should be on or stay off of yeah I made my mistakes I learn something new everyday but just drive over here I don’t think he stands a chance he best find him a job pushing a pencil for some trucking company that will have him working for them sorry truck or turn wheel holder that’s just the way I see it there’s too many steering wheel holders and not enough truck drivers
Typical uneducated modern driver. Ever seen a paper map? The last two generations of humans are absolutely stupid and need their hand held daily. But this kids stupidity will be hailed heroically.
I drove a truck for more than 20 years and I never once used a GPS or relied on my GPS I use my map and my common sense yes I made mistakes first five years out it was a doozy but after that you started to take a note of what was around you learning from other people’s mistakes means a lot to a truck driver if he’s a real truck driver and not just a steering wheel holder which there is a lot of them out there just to be behind the wheel of a big truck not realizing what kind of damage can cause people and people could be killed because of a looky do rubbernecker he should check your mirrors every 4 seconds look down the road a mile and a half see what the man doing beside him see what the man doing in front of him and drive a truck all at the same time. It takes a lot of concentration it takes a lot of discipline to drive a truck there too many steering wheel holders on the road today it used to be a good job to have until they started hiring steering wheel holders just somebody to put in in the seat and that’s why it’s getting worse and worse every day you see big trucks and more and more accidents and doing more and more stupid things on the road like riding side-by-side when you know what truck cant start off like a four wheeler can I drove for a company for 15 years the number one rule was you never got in the left lane except to pass then you got back into the right lane this truck driver took too much for Grand with.his GPS he needs to ride with a real truck driver for at least 5 years just to see how things really are but the trucking companies won’t let that happen like I said they just want. A warm body in the seat hopes he will get to his next stop without killing some people there was just out for a ride
Couple of questions
Is that the before or after picture?
Why didn’t he hitchhike to closest town call company, maybe get hotel, until solution made instead of abandon truck on a road?
Why didn’t he call his family or the company?
Is this a bullshit trucker story? If not please provide location.
Who picks up hitchhikers and takes them the full way home?
Did he find enough magic mushrooms for 3 days in the woods or had to give the rest to the free ride home?
all I got to say is 35 yrs out here I’ve met some pretty smart truckers and some not so smart truckers. And then there’s the other catagory which I call the gomer trucker now this trucker here is definitely in the gomer class of truckers. And from what I’ve seeing and reading lately the gomer category of truckers are taking over the trucking industry more and more every day. Trucking isn’t rocket science but it does take some basic skills Like math and since of direction and the ability to know what to do and not to do and the smart truckers and not so smart truckers have these skills for the most part. But the gomer truckers don’t have the basic skills to be a truck driver and should probably find another line of work of some type.
May want to stop at Walmart and spend $12 for a road map. GPS is ok, but when I go anywhere I pretty much plot out my route with a road map, I also use my phone/tablet and gps.,and call the place of delivery… sometimes the locals know if I need to avoid something or a better way..,
DUDE!!!!!!
By his picture, he looks like his age is higher than his IQ
“From that point on, it was out of his control. He had no reason to believe the GPS was wrong.” I don’t want to live on this planet anymore. There is so much stupid in this whole thing. At least his boss is cool, or also dumb…. Not sure.