Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Lets see, January 1992. Another typical winters day driving across I-80 in Wyoming. I fought ice, snow, high winds and whiteouts over Elk Mtn. All I wanted to do was get to Laramie and shut down. I was at the 308 mm on ice covered roads. It was me and a school bus about a quarter mile in front of me. All of a sudden the bus hits a deep rut in the Ice, does a 180 and is now facing me going backwards. I was getting closer and closer, trying to get my truck slowed down without hitting the bus, or jackknifing. All I saw was the woman and kids in the bus with nothing but panic written all over their faces. The last thing I saw as I drove to the left of the bus was a flat smooth median about 25 yards wide. I took it, drove straight across the median and across the westbound side to the shoulder and came to a stop. Thank God no one was coming west, I never hit the bus and the woman driving the bus slid backwards into the median and came to a stop. I jumped out of my truck, ran over to the bus and saw about 10 kids all crying and the bus driver with a death grip on the wheel. The police got there in record time, shut the road down at the Laramie exit and transferred the kids to another bus, then after taking the statements escorted me off the interstate going the wrong way. No tickets were given, just a thank you from all involved for doing everything in my power to avoid a crash. I carry that scene in my memory bank every day I start my truck. Just writing about it right now has me a little uneasy.

This is something on another thread that I wrote in another section of TTR about a year and a half ago. This is what gets me through every winter, reliving this event in my life 23 years ago. Couple this with something I truly believe in, namely 2 words, speed and distance. Watch my speed, and always have a good following distance. There's not one thing I do, just a bunch of little things. But I will say this, in the winter I always weather plan, especially across 80/70. Once I am dispatched, like this particular load, I am constantly watching the weather and road conditions on a few apps that I have on my phone. I always tell my wife that I get my best sleep in the winter, if I don't feel right, I'll park it.

I am also a true believer of taking care of the truck so it will take care of you. As much as I dislike the cold weather, I always tilt my hood at every fuel stop. I carry everything the truck would need to get throught snow, ice and cold. And I carry enough food and clothes to wait out any weather situation. Planning and common sense goes a long way.

 

We have our main terminal in Richmond. We have a small terminal in Wytheville. We now have a drop yard in West Memphis. We are a 48 state carrier, plus all of Canada. If you have a passport thats a plus. You have northeast experience, that's a plus. I can sit here all night and tell you whats good about the company, but it's been mentioned, by myself and others here, the good and the not so good. I cannot, nor will not tell you anything that I haven't experienced. I can only speak for myself. They treat me very well, I have no problems running miles, or getting home on a schedule for good quality hometime. The equipement is top shelf. We have both truckload and LTL freight. I prefer the LTL segment over the truckload, but that's my preference. If you need anymore questions or are interested in applying, call the 800 #. ask for Sally in recruiting and ask away, she is the most honest and truthful person to speak with.