What have been your worst times on the road ??

Compared to a few of these, my issues have zero significance. Bad trips, sure. But listening to someone scream for help and being able to do nothing would haunt me forever.

 

Two other drivers, and myself, tried to get a guy out of his burning car up on top of Canyon Creek Pass. He had rear ended a curtain van that was parked on the shoulder. Considering how fast he was going when he passed me, he had to be doing 65-70 when he hit the truck. Two of us tried to get the door open while the third tried to contain the fire. He was unconscious, and on fire from the waist down, but I can still remember him jerking back and forth as we worked on the door. The fire dept showed up about 15 mins later and pronounced him dead immediately. He probably died on impact.

I kept thinking that maybe if we had opened the back door, dropped the seat, and pulled him out that way we could've gotten him out. I also think that there was a good possibility, since he was on fire from the waist down, we might have only gotten half of him. I coughed up fire extinguisher dust for the rest of the day. My dispatcher was more concerned about me having to go to the terminal to get my fire extinguishers replaced than anything else. No surprise from the Big Blue Screw.

 

I hate this, But, a rookie driver left Cold Springs MN, with a load of head stones for Babies that had died. He dropped 12 of them on the HI way. From MN to Atlanta, Ga. The State Patrol had them. My job, pick them up at the Cop Shop. Not a fun task.

 

This is 2 loads but trip out and back. Left out of Mountain City Ga to pick up a load in TN to take to Mass on a flatbed the company I just driving for, maiden voyage of the Flatbed business of a all Reefer company. Their other Driver asked to do it but I had experience and the other did not.

The Trip from HELL started off getting 15 miles and getting pulled over by a NC DMV Officer whom only can make up speeds, (Second time dealing with him) I was doing 55 in a 55 zone He gave me a ticket for doing 68 in a 55. First time he gave me one doing 77 in a 70 in a truck that only do 72 on flat bobtail but 45 going up a mountain with a loaded trailer which I was at the time.

Made it to the Shipper Got loaded and had to get Road service to come out and repair the Airbags on the trailer. Got loaded and had to go and take some off, Over Gross. Made it to Virginia and another driver passed me yelling over the CB my Trailer brakes was glowing red. Pulled over and had checked them out and had to run back and get the fire extinguisher, it was on fire. Got the fire out and limped it on into a the Truck stop at the ext 195 on I 81. Had to replace the seal and they had to order it in. plus replace the tire that blew due to the fire. 3 days later got out of there and made the delivery.

Went to pick up back haul Load of Glass. While getting loaded Had a kidney stone and they shipper had to run me to the Hospital. Pass the stone and the shipper come back and picked me back up. Took off and made it back into Virginia to Whites Truck stop and Heater hose busted going to the Sleeper. Delay. Left Whites and had to pull over due to pain in my side. Round 2 of a second Kidney Stone. Drove on and Boss Daughter said to come back to Mountain City and the other driver will take the load on. Made it back and admitted into the Hospital again for kidney stone, other driver hit some curves to fast and busted the load of Glass so they fired me.

 

Ooch I almost lost a foot stone once, Made a left hand turn and looked in my mirror and seen it hanging on by a corner. Stopped and picked it up by hand and moved it into the nose and retighten my strap till I could get to a safe place to redo a stack of other stones.

I did how ever gave my self a heart attack with a Stone I thought I lost. Looked and did not see it in my left mirror. It had shifted an inch to the right. Using a Pinch Bar pushed it back over. It was to heavy for my crane to move. I was bring it back to Elberton for repairs.

 

Oh man sorry to hear, Not a Trucking deal but I know how you feel. 94 I worked a case of 128 Illegal Chinese being smuggled onto the USA, 127 sent back to be killed. Not as bad as ur deal.
1995 we save 700 Cubans, but we found a mother and baby we did not save off of NC.

 

I had to come up with so many personas, I don't remember them all. A driver in the Lions Den, Asking for a tomb stone back/. I'm a Trucker.

 

Hi, You have a crate, I need to pick up here. I was hated everywhere I stopped. I will make sure it gets to the right place, I smiled. That's hard to do. The freight is no problem, staring down Cops is

 

CrossRoads-You can walk away "with pride that you tried". Nobody could ask for more. Mike-Z

 

I started driving when I was a very young age. My grandmother was dying and mom wanted to see her. Problem is, grandma lived 650 miles away. Mom is the absolute worst motorist that I know. The absolute worst. At 11 years old, running up the bigroad, I yelled at mom to pull over because she was going to get us all killed. She pulled over and I started driving. I love mom, think she is an amazing woman, but she can't drive.

mom retired from work. She had never been west of 75 in her life. She's deathly afraid of semis. I invited her to ride with me out to OtayMesa. She accepted. We stopped for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Flagstaff. Mom got out of the truck and walked to the front door, out of breath,"Wow, I am really out of shape...can't believe I am winded."

we delivered in OtayMesa and went north. Mom said, "Are we going to Los Angeles?" I said, sadly,"Yes we are going to Los Angeles. She said, "Great, I always wanted to see Los Angeles!." I said, "No you don't." A few hours later, mom asked, "What is that huge dirty fog up ahead?" I said, "Los Angeles. Don't breathe deep."

I had always told mom about how different running in the west was to the east. Mom would talk about the lake effect snows of the east, and I would tell mom that she had never seen snow before if she's talking about lake effect snow.

Took a load from Pueblo to Duffield,AB, oversized. Mom didn't bring any papers and so I had to leave Mom in Shelby, Montana and cross at Sweetgrass. There was a. Huge Comfort Inn overlooking the truckstop in Shelby. I was pulling in to Shelby and the sun was shining and the sky was absolutely gorgeous. Mom said, "I think I will walk around town." "No Mom. Stay in the motel....it's 25 below outside." "25 below? It can't be. You are exaggerating. Got mom checked into the motel and she checked the weather. Yep. Minus 25. "Here's $200. Order food or anything else you want....I will be back tomorrow afternoon."

I crossed the border, went to Edmonton and then to Duffield. No problem. HOWEVER, on the way back to Edmonton, the storm from hell blew in suddenly. Everyone in the Dakota's and above know what I am talking about. Temp dropped to minus57. Wind kicked up. Snow was dry and sandblasted everything. We got pounded. It was as if God was angry made it back to Sweetgrass. You know things are bad when the US Customs guys are nice to you.

"driver, how far are you going tonight?"

"need to get to Shelby and see about my mom."

" There's 2 trucks and a 4 that got tangled up 20 miles down the road. They got the road shut down."

"I guess I will go to the nearest rest area."

"smart driver. It's right there."

so, I went and parked. You know the feeling that you get after you've been in hell all day and all night, nerves are on fire, but you can finally lay down and close your eyes? Sleep is how you reward yourself for surviving hell.

woke up the next day, 25 below, perfect day, not a cloud in the sky. Everything calm once again. Spooky actually. Got back on the bigroad and a couple miles down, I see smokey in the median, "I can't believe he's running radar after that storm last night." Then I noticed the snow was almost over his hood. Smokey was almost buried. I got out of the truck and ran over to him. The engine was running and he was sitting there. He rolled down the window. "Smokey, are you okay? Do you need anything?" "No, just waiting on a wrecker. I am okay driver. Keep going. Thanks for stopping" I wonder how long he had been waiting on a hook.

made it to Shelby. Mom came running to hug me. " OMG! This storm came in and buried the town. The wind was howling so hard that I thought the motel was going to collapse! It was a nightmare...how do people live up here? It was so cold!" "You get used to it, Ma. No matter how bad the situation gets, you get used to it."