Scariest Moment

I read some post that I know were of the old school of which I graduated. Things sure have changed.


Scariest moment of my life was on one trip coming back from California, loaded with lettuce front to back top to bottom. Coming down the hill on I-10 going through Cruces it happened. It was probably about 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I was running hard as we al did in those days. In the left lane passing a car On my CB radio I heard someone say, "Truck driver, that car close to the bottom of the hill in the left lane is setting still, there's an old man & woman setting in it."


At the moment I'm thinking are they talking to me, I had only a moment to think, for the next moment I was upon them. A car to my right, them right in front of me, what do I do. there's not enough space to stop, so I hit the shoulder of the road while applying my brakes going about 75. My truck leans to the left, I think I'm going over, them I notice I'm pass them. I get off the brakes, steer back towards the road, thankfully I make it.


I'm now thinking I've got to stop, get our walk around so I go to the right lane & before I could stop the car that was stopped comes around me going at a fast rate of speed. I'm thinking how crazy that man is while pulling off on the shoulder of the road. As my feet hit the ground I shut the truck door, & I about to fall to the ground, my knees are weak, & I grab the grab bar on the cab of my truck.


Early one morning coming though El Paso I see all kinds of blinking lights ahead of me, so of course I slow down. When I get to the lights the only thing that's open is the left shoulder. there was several police cars spaced out for several hundred yards. It looked like a mustang & some other sports car, can't be sure, they were tore to pieces, spread out over 4 lanes for several hundred yards. They had to be racing at a very high speed. As they let me pass on the left shoulder of the road I counted what looked like 8 white sheets spread over dead bodies spread throughout the scene. a very sad scene to look at, & I was just thankful I did not come along as this was taking place getting caught up in it.


After dark one evening another hand & I were headed to California. We had decided to stop at Shady Grove truck stop close the the NM state line. I was in the lead & prior to exiting a pretty brand new shiny red Pete when past me as I turned on my right turn signal. he holler at me on the CB & we talked until I had gotten off interstate & was about to turn into the truck stop.


About an hour or so we pulled back on the road. Not far up the road from there you go though a few hills. We see many blinking lights, quickly knowing there's several police cars. Of course we slow down to a turtle pace looking to see what's in the median burning. It's the pretty red Pete. We pull over get out & walk out close as we can to it & I talked with one of the trooper telling him I had just talked to him on the CB. It seems while the man was talking to me on his CB he ran off into the median, turned every which way but loose, the truck caught on fire, & he burned up in it.


I've always wounded, if only we had stayed on the big road that evening maybe that would not have happened. Never did know what caused it, only that it surely was a sad sight to behold that evening.


That's some of the incidents that stands out to me. No doubt if you drive OTR long enough, & enough miles, you will have several events that will scare the daylights out of you. And usually its because someone is completely dumb & does something stupid. I'm just thankful that I made it though those days with my life & never taking no one else's life. For we drove far, & hard, by yourself, hauling just about anything to the west side even many chickens & produce back.

 

It'll have to be driving through elk mountain wy empty with 60mph gusts I tapped the first brakes my tractor jack knifed and right as I was about to get pushed off the road my streets caught traction whipped me back straight, it happen so slow I debated on jumping out lol
My 2Nd scariest was being light in Cheyenne Wyoming, came around a turn and I got rocked hard my trailer came off the ground I steered the same way I was tipping ended up on the left shoulder with some adrenalin then kept driving.

 

One more recent

Blowing snow in Wyoming visibility 0% I was fallowing a flat bed withn 3 feet he disappeared all of a sudden, I was like crap crap crap visibility cleared up I was next to him side by side

 

That'd probably do it ^

Reminds me of coming down I-65 out of Chi-Town in a Blizzard. I followed another trucker until he disappeared then follow the white lines until THEY disappeared. Then I parked that sucker well off the road to the right!

 

ONE of my scariest was my first day with my permit , my coworker pulled over the 48' we were in, right after getting off the bay bridge in SF on a friday evening (530pm) and said "here its all yours, if you can drive here in downtown in rush hour traffic, you can drive anywhere" after my threats to him werent working (i was scared to death, and didnt wanna drive) i got in the driver's seat and got us to our destination, and never looked back.

The other i think was when i went OTR for the first time by myself (im a local company guy, that tought myself how to drive)..... I believe thats the one area where people that have gone to a school like prime/swift/etc etc has a distinct advantage over me: they were taught things like how to log, and already have that OTR experience.

 

tought myself how to drive)..... I believe thats the one area where people that have gone to a school like prime/swift/etc etc has a distinct advantage over me: they were taught things like how to log, and already have that OTR experience.[/QUOTE]

don't discount yourself for figuring it out and teaching yourself. Now thats old school!lol.
many of us learned the hard way, and asked alot of questions.
What gets me today, is alot of inexperienced people think they know it all, or have been knighted 'driver trainer'and have no business teaching. I'm still learning, and have a lot more to learn.
Back in the day, when you saw an older guy, chances are he had a ton of experience, and you could ask questions.
With the way things are today, trucking is a second or third career for some, and now that old guy might just be a noob.
So, know who you are taking advice from.

 

I remember the day i got my "A" , and i was talking to a good friend/coworker (thats been driving for 20+ yrs) of mines in the break room and (in hindsight) i was being a little "####y" and said something to him (i forgot what it was lol) and he turned around and said "Look here D......... I have FORGOTTEN more about trucks and truck driving than you know or will ever know"... the look on my face must have been priceless because he started to apologize to me , and i told him "HEY...no problem at all, you're just telling the truth, thanks for putting me in my place" ... he still thought i was mad... so i went out and bought HIM a beer, when he wanted to buy ME beer for getting my license.

 

Mine was years ago, going up Petite Jean mountain here in Arkansas pulling a flat bed loaded with sack cement. That old KW had a 220 Cummins with a 13 speed road ranger with 433 rear gears. I got all the way down into grandma gear & I still had not got to the top. This was my 1st experience going up such a steep mountain in an 18 wheeler. Off to the right I could see the big drop off of the mountain & the valley beyond, & I was thinking, this is not good. Stories I had been told of truck rolling backwards off of mountains because their brakes would not hold were hitting my mind & here I was in grandma pulled down to 1600 RPM with out another gear & the top seem very far off.


In fact a story one of my uncles had told me come to mind. At the time he was driving a log truck on in the backwoods of Arkansas loaded down with all the logs they could stack on that old log truck that would only be own company roads. He encountered a mountain that he was unable to get to the top, his truck rolled backwards, he tried to jump but hung up on the door & was fortunate to get only a broken back being laid out on his back for more than 6 months, that was back in the early 40's, & here I was in the mid 70's in a situation that did not seem very good.


Previously I had driven a ready-mix truck & once gone up a hill so steep ready-mix was running out the back, this was an old Ford with a 390 & a four barrel. It had a 5 speed with a three speed brown-lite. Going up that hill side I had gotten all the way down to 1st gear in the main box & 1st gear in under in the brown-lite. The boss had told me if a u-join or anything went out to jump & the brakes did not hold to jump & let the truck go.


Of course that was going though my mind while I was trying to get up Petite Jean. As I said I was all the way down to grandma gear, the RPM dropped to 1600 RPM, I still had a ways to go. Them it was down to 1500 RPM, my right foot flat on the floor board & no more gears. I opened my door placing my left foot against it to hold it open, thinking, if I stop forwards progress I'll quickly pop the Emergency brake, pull the trailer brake handle down, & if it starts rolling backwards, I'll jump.


Was not but just a bit it had dropped to 1400 RPM, them to 1300 RPM, them to 1200 RPM, the tension in me was building up, I was not far from the peak but at the speed I was going it looked much like a mile. It continued to drop RPM's, down to 1100 RPM & could tell it was still pulling down but the peak of the mountain was only a very few short feet in front of me, them it hit 1000 RPM, I was really thinking I going to have to jump. Them the RPM needle seemed to be reaching for 900 RPM, & it seemed I had reached the peak of the mountain. As it reach 900 RPM I could tell I had reached the peak, & the RPM's were now starting to gain. Wow, I breathed a big sigh of relief.


I will never forget that day, I believe that was the scariest moment I have ever experienced in an 18 wheeler, & I do not care to ever have such an experience again.

 

don't discount yourself for figuring it out and teaching yourself. Now thats old school!lol.
many of us learned the hard way, and asked alot of questions.
What gets me today, is alot of inexperienced people think they know it all, or have been knighted 'driver trainer'and have no business teaching. I'm still learning, and have a lot more to learn.
Back in the day, when you saw an older guy, chances are he had a ton of experience, and you could ask questions.
With the way things are today, trucking is a second or third career for some, and now that old guy might just be a noob.
So, know who you are taking advice from.[/QUOTE]

Yes very true, but some of us old timers tries to make a legend out of our self. I recall one old truck driver years ago told his life history of trucking. Setting at the coffee table in an old truck stop he crammed 60 years of trucking into a 60 year old body.



I feel sure that many of you have heard such boasting too.

 

Those folks are called, "Legends in THEIR OWN MIND!"