'fess up time for "old hands"!

Another time.... Rookie year!

Rolling south on the 5 in Oregon heading to San Diego on my weekend run. I wasn't far from the California border, somewhere near Medford, OR... Snowing pretty good & it looked like the road was starting to ice up a little. I was climbing in my under powered over loaded POS Mack CH 613.... I don't know, maybe 10-15 mph. Pretty windy out also.

A car went to pass me & he was moving at a pretty good clip... He was in the center lane & just as soon as he cleared me, the wind grabbed him! Thru him out of control on a icy road. I think there was a jersey wall (it's been years since I've been up in that part) & bounced off of that then came in my direction backwards and nailed the guard rail facing directly at me... I did stop to keep from hitting him & the lady in the car. We made eye contact & the SOB flipped me off. So I put it back in gear & said #### you!

Now in California.... The same car passed me like I was in reverse.... Flipping me off as I was driving 55 (rookie year, I was scared of California's split speed limit). About 10 miles down the road, there was that car sitting on the shoulder & a few hundred feet in front of it was it's occupants with their thumbs stuck out!

 

Years ago when I was leased on to a company out of Knoxville I was asked if I could go to the what is now the fast food and fuel in Wildwood, GA exit 169 and rescue trailer that a driver had to drop when his rearend came apart.

I was of course bob tailing and it was raining like crazy and when I got off on exit 169 which is a right hand cloverleaf. I "touched" my brakes and wound up swapping ends several times. I looked like an eight armed monkey at a banana picking contest my arms were working the steering wheel so hard trying to keep up with the truck! I got it straightened out but going the wrong direction and still going backwards! The guy I had been talking to on the CB was going insane. I had just dropped the mike and it was swinging all over the cab beating me in the head and as I 'touched" my brakes again the darn truck broke loose again and swapped ends again slowly and straightened up and I just barely made the curve and went on and made the stop sign at the end.

Needless to say when I made the turn into the truck stop and pulled in behind the trailer I was to pick up the other driver was still on the CB asking if I was ok.

I really couldn't answer him as I was too busy trying to find my small crowbar I usually keep next to the door to pry my arse off of the seat!

To say I put on a show is an understatement! Ever since that night back in '85 bob tailing in the rain still causes me to "clinch up" a tad! And I'm so glad ABS finally works!

 

I always love cresting a hill at 65mph and traffic is at a dead stop on the other side, not a word of it on the cb......

 

That's when you wake your co driver as he aint never seen a wreck the likes of which you're about to have!

 

Hey rollover! That's where I live! 1 mile to the left when you get off the exit!

 

Had that happen to me coming into D.C. on I66, it was pouring rain pretty hard an I was rolling about 65 in the middle lane. I start to crest this hill and get over it and look down and 4 lanes of traffic stopped. I hit the brakes trailer slid a little sideways, got it straightened out and stopped about 3 car lengths from the stopped traffic. Scared the living crap outta me, I was shaking for the next hour after that.

 

I did that coming into DFW on I35w.I was a student and topped a hill and the traffic was stopped in all lanes on the otehr side.Trainer was asleep in the sleeper,kinda angled with his feet towrds the passenger seat.I hit the brakes hard and truck starts slowing hard,next thinng i know the tainer comes sliding out of the bunk and lands on the floor next to me between the seats...PISSED!!He scrambles up with a bunch of cuss words and i just point at the back of the car right in front of us!!he just said alright then,good job!!LOL!I don't think he layed that way ontop of his slick topped sleeping bag anymore!!HEHE!

 

Then you know how much fun I had from just before going under the bridge to where the curve starts to break! ROFL!

 

I know that's right!

Last winter my first winter driving I did really #### good and wasn't even stressed or uptight driving on ice and snow everywhere out west and up north (most know how to drive in it.) until I got back down south making a multi stop drop around OKC and last drop down in Ft. Worth then it was on to the house from there. Everything seemed fine to me and didn't have any trouble running about 55-60 on the way down 35 out of OKC while everyone else was poking along at about 40-45. I just went around makinging sure I stayed on my side and slowed down some as I passed. Get to Denton, TX. and by that time it had done got dark. Well, I was watching the tire's for "spray" (I had learned in my younger years) and it was still there. All the slush had slowly disappeared as I made it further south but by the time I made it to Denton it was just wet and starting to ice. I don't remember the mile marker but there was a truck in front of me and we had pretty good distance. Trying to watch the road we kept seeing the sky light up a blue-ish green color from power station's and transformer's blowing up in the distance.

The spray had just disappeared and it was as smooth and clear as glass. About 1/2 a mile up the road was an over pass. No light's couldn't see what was there. I had backed off and was about a 1/4 behind the truck that I was behind. He topped the bridge but lost sight of his lights. Kinda strange his light's disappeared. Another truck and car had collided and the truck jack knifed just over the top of the bridge. The truck was up againest the steel gaurd wire in the middle leaned up with his trailer across both lanes and the tail on the white line. Roughly about 30 feet before getting to the truck the car was demolished on the shoulder. Because of the angle of the truck it pulled his pig tail loose and the back of the tractor was covered with mud so there were NO light's. The truck ahead of me couldn't see it and I couldn't either. Trying to get slowed down because it instantly went from a mist to solid ice we both barely got out of it and have no idea how we ended up gaining the control just before hitting the car and was able to slip through that small opening between te car and the truck. We both ran off the road and plowed up mud and with the truck ahead of me already creating the rut I don't see how I didn't roll my truck down the embankment but we both made it past and was trying to keep control. I was cussing my full ### off when I looked in the mirror and saw the driver of the truck and the three people from that car standing just up on the other side of the truck in the middle of the road!

Stop at that closed down truck stop on the south bound side of the interstate across from the TA to pull myself together. Head on in and wait to get unloaded in Ft. Worth. Sit up all night (Target) and finally get unloaded around 5am then head for Justin to the drop yard to drop my trailer. Get there and by the time everything is handled and paperwork is caught up it's daylight. Let dispatch know I'm headed home. Was tired, cranky, had a rough night and enough BS during that trip out that I was ready to go home. Bobtailing out not to bad on the way back into Ft. Worth sense the sun was up. Get up to the 35W-20 interchange to head for Shreveport. Had a couple of slip and slides on the way to that point but wasn't bad. Get over to the exit lane for 20 and a car cut's in front of me. Start to hit the ramp up the bridge and the car slam's on his brake's Didn't know I had a DOT on my ### either! Car start to loose it and we have just made it up the ramp far enough that if anything happened I would roll over back onto 35 into traffic. Start sliding sideway's and my drive's leave the pavement. Trying to regain control, here comes this huge ### green sign that say's I-20 Dallas/Shreveport headed for my driver side window or more like I'm headed for it. I got really close and I don't see how the hell I missed it but I powered through missed the sign and #### near hit the concrete wall. Finally get it straightend out, look out my mirror, low and behold, a Texas DOT on my ###. I have no clue where he came from but after making it over the bridge I wipe the sweat from my face and leave the seat cushion where it currently is for the moment with a sigh.

Get off the bridge and start the desend trying to keep from slidding into the dumb ### infront of me because he hit the brakes again. Hit 20 and it seemed pretty good until you got a visual past the other bridge blocking the view of what was next. Bobtailing under the bridge it had been blocking the sunlight it was still solid. Get a view ahead and another "OH ####!" came out. A truck had stalled on the hill on the other side of the bridge and caused chaos. Down shifting, j-braking, anything to slow down. Car's and truck's all over that #### hill sliding around and down the ill backward's. I slip between an opening in traffic and grab the shoulder because hitting the foot brake would just make it all over for me. I crused through that spot slowed to about 30mph. Finally it got better after that then another hill. Shut down, traffic backed up. Finally made it through after two hours and it finally started drying up and was nice for the rest of the trip home to Shreveport. Called up my dispatcher and told him what happened and took off for a whole 7 day week.

If there is anyone place you don't want to be, it's down here in the south during an ice storm. Avoid it like the plague!

Sorry for this being so long. Just sharing a story from the road.

 

Happened to me last year just east of Portland (Troutdale). That was some serious smoke from my tires....