Too err on the side of caution...

Sometimes it is worth it to push through the storm... alot of guys get off at the first truckstop if it starts snowing , creating a huge cluster#### at said truckstop.... When 30 miles further it might be free and clear..... All depends on conditions and what ur comfortable driving in...

i tested my limits with the wind last month , when a gust that had to be 80mph almost threw me into the ditch... i felt a little more comfortable being a flatbed with a midroof truck and load low to the deck and 78k gross and spread axle......

That last gust took me for a ride to the left lane ... i was 1 mile away from the truckstop i was gonna stop at when it happened... the next morning is when i posted that thread

Dont fight the wind!!

All those wrecks were just past where i parked... a humbling experience it was ... made me think would it be worth it just to get a couple miles further ? No.

 

Smartest thing you could have done.

 

Does your truck have a trailer brake lever, handle, or whatever you may call it? Lots of newer trucks don't. That spike or lever can save your bacon if you know when and how to use it.

 

As most regulars on this site know, I work for the mega Swift. The number 1 thing I appreciate about working for them is that they have always given me the ability to stop if I do not feel it is safe, for me, to proceed. So far I have never gotten any push back or hint of a problem about doing that, even when it causes a late load. When the situation presents itself, I will drive outside my comfort zone. However, at some point my gut says NOPE and I pull I to the next safe haven and park it. Or, if I look at weather and road conditions and I don't even think it is safe, for me, to get out there to begin with, I stay parked.
Even though I have not been driving for years, I've had years of life's experiences that I brought with me into trucking. So it didn't take much for me to understand that, as the driver, I am 100% responsible for the safe and legal operation of my truck. I can not cede that authority to another even if I wanted. It is on me period! Regardless of what a dispatcher or my company is telling me, it is on me in the end. The fact that my company respects and supports that means the world to me. I give my best, although at times that might be pretty feeble, it is still my best.
It is also my responsibility to take care of myself. Ensure I do what I can to get adequate rest during my breaks and not stay up half the night reading or putzing on the internet and then only get 4 hours of sleep. It it unwise to get out on the road when you are fatigued, but it is completely foolish to have done that to yourself. I am accountable.
Anyway, I'm currently on the load from ...... well, not a nice place. I got stopped for a complete day in Iowa for a blizzard. Managed to make it 400 miles the next day, following day only got 80 miles due to snowy yucky roads in Nebraska, today only got another 50 miles. Once again yucky snowy roads and I'm still in Nebraska. Tomorrow I think I'll get into Wyoming finally, but may get stopped again for the winds. I'm feeling pretty dejected by the whole affair. But, I'm really doing my best. I've never had this much delay for weather on a single load. But, looking back on it so far and I don't think any of my decisions to stop were wrong. It simply is what can sometimes happen running a load across the North in the winter.

 

With poor conditions or roads, there shouldn't BE any heavy braking situations going on.

Back off yer speed, double or triple yer following distance, have that 1000 yard stare down, and treat yer pedals like they have an egg under them. Also, anytime I have to run bobtail, I have the jake on, on the lightest setting to help me better slow down/control the tractor (even on packed snow, but not on ice).

 

Why hasn't that thread been made a sticky?

 

Because @Hammer166 could not write it in 3 sentences or less.

 

Classics never are.