"Had a runaway," a driver later explained on the CB.

Reason #23,789 why trucking was named the most dangerous profession. Glad everyone is ok.

 

Hey @Troy_ , some one is stirring up controversary on your vid.

 

"If I woulda just stayed at the table for one more piece of toast, I wouldn't've even BEEN here!"

I'm glad it all worked out.....

 

Driver: "WTF was that?"

Me: "Your life coming to an end."

Glad he was able to escape on the shoulder.

 

Waiting for Troy to clarify. As I remember a different story when he posted it in the What If It Snows thread

 

I would consider it routine, but not certain if it's a true runaway. I don't know the whole story or terrain involved at that spot.

Its possible.

The reason I am somewhat contrarian is I have used the deep snow and cold as a thermal bank to be able to use the service brakes a little more if need be against a eventual overheat and fade.

 

Yep, that is my video. I was wondering if was going to make it on here, it's certainly making it's rounds on social media. The guy didn't have a runaway, he had a brain fart. Here is the whole story....

I was headed out to a logging cut block to recover a log truck that had ran loaded through a "T" intersection into the bush and was severely damaged. The location where the incident in the video took place was east of Peace River Alberta, 17 kilometers north of highway 986 on the radio controlled Mercer East Haul Road at a river crossing called the First Cadotte.

I called empty and asked if there were any loads close as I headed into the valley, I was about a half kilometer down when a loaded called that he was approaching the top of the other side. I let him know where I was, and that I would clear him coming up the other side after the one lane bridge at the bottom. I gave it some throttle to make sure I got through to meet the loaded coming down where the road was nice and wide, came up around the corner climbing the hill when the video starts. I saw the loaded, and another coming around him passing..."WTF!" I call on the VHF radio.

I'm not sure at this point if I'm going to have to take the ditch as I see the passing truck hard on the binders and he's edging toward my side almost out of control. I thought if he loses control he would have to go to his left into the ditch on my side and I would split in between the two trucks, but I see he's holding his line so I start drifting to my right. I got over as far as I could and kept watching his position, he stayed true so I hugged the ditch while scrubbing off speed and by a stroke of luck we all met without any carnage. I then not-so-politely asked WTF again, the driver replied "runaway!". I wished him luck as it's a pretty hairy corner and narrow bridge he's going to have to navigate or meet certain death dropping 30 feet down into the river. I was pretty certain it was no runaway, my thought was that buddy wasn't paying attention and came flying over the top of the hill, saw the other loaded that had slowed down for the hill, and had to crank it over to avoid ramming into the back of his load.

So at this point my truck's still upright, mirror still attached, crisis averted. I carry on and I hear on the two way radio "loaded truck going backwards down the hill!". Buddy somehow made it around the corner, across the bridge, and now was sliding backwards towards the bridge. I'm thinking "sucks to be you" and I keep on trucking to recover the wrecked log truck. The owner of the smashed truck and the main contractor boss are out at the accident location waiting for me, when I get close they call for me on the two way and tell me there is an emergency on the hill and they have to attend. I inform them the nature of the emergency, turns out that passing log truck is one of their trucks as well. Bad day for those guys. I get to the scene, winch on the smashed up Kenworth and head out.I get back out to the main haul road, and to the river crossing 4 hours after the incident where they have the road shut down to clear the scene. Buddy went backwards, jack knifed his loaded trailer into the ditch and had to be unloaded.

I find out (after more than a few calls from the company people wanting a statement) that the guy claims his truck quit and he had a runaway. If it did in fact quit, I think he stalled it when he slammed on his brakes going around the other truck and seeing me coming at him and locked up his drives, his trailer brake drums would have been snowed offering no braking until friction had a chance to melt away some of the snow so they could grab. He said he got it started again as he was going across the bridge but couldn't find a hole that wasn't busy in the gearbox and coasted to a stop going up the other side. He says his brakes weren't working (smoked them maybe?), and he started rolling backwards towards the bridge. They tell me that this was the guy's very first day on the job, and his very first load. He had spun out once in the cut block, managed to back it down the hill but was too shaken to try the hill again. Another driver had to drive his truck up the hill for him, and then he got back behind the wheel and an hour later had this mishap. This guy claimed he had 18 years experience hauling logs. He was fired and banned from Mercer's haul roads indefinitely.

That's my story.

 

I'm glad you made it through this harrowing experience without being harmed.

Keep it safe out there.

 

Inexperience rears its head very quickly. The experienced driver now has a true experience. Alas the lie caught him.