What was your worst rookie mistake?

Oops! Howd that end for ya?

 

Wait... OH THIS ON PRIME'S SUBFORUM. I feel like an idiot...

 

All posts are welcome here.. We focus on Prime's stuff and info, but there is a plethora of everything for all drivers as well. This is definitely one of those threads

While training I was followng the GPS (I hear the groans now) outside of Columbus Ohio. GPS said turn off the interstate, so I did. Took the US route through the center of Columbus, stopping at all of the 22 overpasses and train bridges that did not have height signs. Slow to a crawl, turn on the 4 ways, stick my head out and watch as I clear the obstacle with about 2 inches. After the 5th or 6th one, the trainer finally comes out asking what's up????? He didn't believe me at first, until his GPS tried to take him through another city the same way.

 

Give us 5 posts, well be on a completely different topic lol All respectful posts are welcome.

LOL Least youve learned lol Told my GPS many times "You go that way, Im taking the interstate." (Nice version)

 

Ah, then here's another.
I, like most of them back then. Know that if we pulled a certain cord we could go as fast we want, but no gauges. BIG MISTAKE. Had an air leak and didn't know it until the tractor brakes locked up. Good thing I only had a tarp on my trailer.

 

Oops!!! Wheres this cord? lol

 

It was on Boyd's Eagle's, up under the bed.

 

Well, mine actually happened today, on I290 in Chicago, supposed to hit 294 down to 80. My dyslexia must have kicked in, because I could love sworn the I90 sign said I294. So I'm driving as the Sears tower begins to grow larger, and I'm now having to merge onto the Kennedy expressway I realize I screwed up. So my logical thinking is to take the next exit and backtrack. Well, no on ramp, so I'm now on 2 lane roads smack dab in the middle of the Southside of Chicago(the ghetto). Oh yeah, forgot to mention I'm on a hival load, and I should have stopped miles ago to relieve my bladder. So I'm completely lost, GPS is screaming at me, and the streets and sidewalks are full of people giving me that look. Stopped at the first stop sign that had no-one around and a large tree nearby. When a guts gotta go a guy's gotta go. So after relieving part of my stress I continued on and came across I90 where I followed to I80. Moral of the story is this, if I would have looked at my atlas before I left this morning I would have realized that 90 runs into 80 and this could have all been avoided. Oh and carry an empty bottle for emergencies.

 

My other rookie blunder happend around the same time as the first. I was hauling line work between Portland and Salt Lake. For those that don't understand what line work is, I would start out with either two or three trailers and head down I-80N (Now I-84) and drop one trailer, pick up another at several stops along the way...Pendleton, Ontario, Twin Falls, SLC. Then turn around and come back doing the same thing in reverse.
The interstate wasn't complete thru Idaho and Utah in many stretches, so doing 350 miles per shift was considered a good day. (We drove teams)
Well I grabbed my trailers and headed out. Again, this was before cell phones, qualcoms, pagers. If they needed to reach you, they would leave messages at upline terminals or even truck stops they knew you would stop at.
I hooked up the wrong trailer. Mixed a couple numbers. Instead of #12345 I had #12354.
Got to Salt Lake and the terminal manager came out, pointed at the trailer and said, "see that one? Suppose to be in Seattle."
Whoops!
I ended up pulling it all the way back, and to impress me with my mistake (supidity?) the boss had me drag it up to Seattle. He paid me, but I lost my day off.
From that day forward, each time I got ready to leave the yard, a voice would come across the loud speaker, "Driver 68...do you have the right trailers?"
I have a buddy that got me into this business that drives for the same company as me. Every once in a while he sees me and invariably asks, "got the right trailer?"

 

Missed that stupid 25mph exit you take to follow I55 southbound in Memphis very late one night... here I am barrelling down a city street doing 55 wondering why there are stop lights in the middle of the interstate. Got slowed down... no traffic, no cops. Then to get my wagon turned around - but that's another story. For a year or so I wouldn't take I55 through Memphis at all!