Hey y'all. I have a question about pulling over on the shoulder. Last night, I was driving down a two lane road in AL to get this load delivered when I hear a loud pop come from under the truck. It was loud enough to cause me some concern. So, I pulled over on the shoulder so I could get out and look under around and on the truck to see if something was wrong or broken or getting ready to break. Evidently, it was a false alarm as I could not find anything broken or out of sort. All I can think of is a rock or some other piece of road debris got picked up by a tire and thrown against the truck some where. Then, I got back in the truck to get back going and I was stuck. I had to get a tow truck to come pull me out. I was out of hours by then and had to use PC to get to the nearest safe haven or rest area which was 20 miles away but the speed limit varied between 35 and 55 mph. In addition, I had to drive 25 to 30 miles in the wrong direction to safely turn around as I was only 47 miles from the receiver on a two lane road in Alabama. I kept in contact with dispatch about everything and told them that by the time the tow truck got to where I was, I would either be out of hours or just about out of hours to the point of not being able to deliver the load on time. I was told by them that I should go find the nearest safe haven to park and get my time back then deliver this load. So, my questions are these and they probably sound stupid. Did I do the correct thing last night keeping dispatch informed? The other question is could I have done anything better with regards to the false alarm popping sound? I want to know as it will prevent me from repeating this same thing. I am getting out and looking around the truck in daylight to make double sure nothing is wrong.
Newbie question about pulling over on the shoulder
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by dtj12231989, Dec 7, 2019.
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As long as your safety dept is not calling you in, and operations is not fussing at you for the late delivery I would not be overly concerned. (redacted) happens, most carriers know it. Just don't make a habit of this. I do have one small thing though. In the future try to be more careful where you pull over. Some shoulders are not made to hold that weight and as you said you can get major stuck. The same thing happened to me many years ago on hwy 94 between Lufkin Texas and Groveton, Texas. I did not get stuck, but I stopped right in the road got my flashlight out and quickly looked under the truck. Most Texas two-lane roads have wide shoulders, this area at that time did not.
BigDog Trucker, Lepton1, misterG and 2 others Thank this. -
Don't like something that's going on with the truck, hit the 4 ways slow down and find a "good" place to pull over. Pulling over and getting stuck is a rookie move. But you already knew that. It could of been worse alot worse. Like a truck on its lid.
AModelCat, Mototom and dtj12231989 Thank this. -
Lepton1 Thanks this.
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okiedokie Thanks this.
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Good on ya driver. Did you know experience is just mistakes you learn from.
Lepton1, misterG, Cattleman84 and 2 others Thank this. -
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I think, if you felt nothing in the steering wheel, or vibrations in the seat, I'd have kept going. Slowed maybe, but you should be able to tell if a tire went down or a driveshaft is coming apart. Sorry to hear you got stuck, you did the right thing, just in the wrong place. As far as the deer, demand a deer guard, and schmuck them into next week, G-D things, they breed like rats and in Colorado they have very little hunting, (aw, look at the pretty deer,) until they hit one, not so pretty now eh?
gentleroger and dtj12231989 Thank this. -
My boss's dad once told me that once you stop making mistakes, the lid goes shut.
He said that to me the last time we spoke, and the lid went shut for him in February.
It's a mistake, it happens. The question is 'What did we learn from this?'D.Tibbitt and dtj12231989 Thank this. -
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