Newbie question about pulling over on the shoulder

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.

 

Thanks. I was gonna mention that I did learn the lesson about being more selective on where I pull over but I forgot to mention it. I will say this though. If something like this happens again, I'm gonna drive a little ways to find a place to pull over without getting stuck, if it is safe to do so. I only did what I did based on a previous experience of having a brand new tire blow out on a car I had. I had literally just got the tires changed the day before. And I know that if a tire on these blow, you may have a fight on your hands.

 

Yep. I'm still a rookie but I did learn that lesson.

 

Yeah I kinda figured as much. One more I failed to mention is that after I got pulled out from being stuck and finding a place to turn around, three deer ran out in front of me. Not so close as to hit them but close enough to startle me real bad. At that point, I didn't care whether the load got there at all or not. My heart was racing and my head was pounding.

 

I have one on the truck. However, deer are the reason why I hate driving at night.