The winds today.

I'm sitting on ten and couldn't sleep. Shaking this Freightshaker!

 

Company sent out a mass email to avoid Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan til the winds die down. Sixty mile per hour winds not a lot of fun

 

FedEx big truck on its side on the 20 bypass in South Bend. I'm sure the driver needed to change his pants after that ride!

 

Last night as Ray was on 29 heading north just past Council Bluffs he said it was real windy and he was empty.

 

Near buffalo,ny windy too. Loaded and I still have to hold the wheel! Can't u believe that? I'm jk but a windy day is annoying.

 

By the end of your shift your shoulders ache from holding the steering wheel and fighting the wind,did with me anyway.

 

This web site is pretty handy to save the link for. It will show current wind areas as well as forecasted winds if you click on some on the options above this current map

http://www.intellicast.com/National/Wind/Current.aspx

Last 4 or 5 days, drivers have largely been dealing with 40 MPH mostly westerly head winds all the way from about Bismarck to about near Bozeman on 94/90

I'm now enjoying the tail wind component the last day or so across Montana and North Dakota on way back east to Allentown however I ran out of 70/hrs mid day so will look forward hopefully to the same westerly winds when I resume work tomorrow morning.

 

Taken in Windsor - Detroit bridge

Image by terryg247 posted Feb 19, 2016 at 7:08 PM

 

I don't mess around with wind. That will shut me down faster than anything. I'm currently employed as a dry box driver for a major pallet company. No rocket science about my job. It's all drop and hook. When it's windy, I sure do miss car hauling and those heavy flatbed pipe and rebar loads. Only thing about car hauling is that the wind has a tendency to slow you down because of all the spaces for the wind to get through. I've seen a lot of trailers blown over through the years because drivers had a bad case of ####sureness.

My rule of thumb is that if it doesn't feel comfortable, pull it over and park. It will pass and it's just not worth the risk especially when it goes on your record, not your dispatcher's. And I have news for you. When it comes to dangerous winds, slowing down does absolutely no good at all. Strong winds will blow over a high profile vehicle that is parked just as easily as one that is traveling. And pay no attention to what the other drivers are doing or what your dispatcher tells you that the other drivers are doing. If you aren't comfortable with it, park it.
You, the driver have the final say so about what is safe!