I feel stupid. Please help me not feel stupid.

Not to drag this out more, but @x1Heavy and @"semi" retired beat me to the punch.
I hope you never have to see anything like that as well. I saw it up close and personal one night, and I hope I don't again; I won't go into details.
After the fact, I was surprised by how I reacted to it. I stayed calm, but very sober. The vehicle in question was starting to smoke, so a couple of us had to do an extraction of a small child before help was on the scene, then we left the rest behind.
So be prepared to step in if needed, and be prepared for what you may see.
And don't sweat the brake issue, you'll get it.
Good luck...

 

The thought of that makes my stomach hurt.
Worst thing I've run into was a body in a dumpster. Walked up to throw trash away and didn't really register why there were a couple of drivers staring into the dumpster. They stopped me before tossing it in. One of them had just called the police after finding her a few mins before. Right out in the middle of the lot where I assume there were cameras. Crazy doesn't care.

 

Drove a Freightliner Cabover with a Wig Wag. Easy to see even if the dash lights go out lol.

 

You fellurs are great here,and its good to see all the help ya'll give to new drivers.
If a driver ask me for help,I have never refused.I have been low on hrs.fueling,and
asked to help slide tandems,or advice.Its not always convenient,but I know I would
appreciate it If I was in need.
I try to think about it,if it was me?
I still hate the fuel island hog,that wont move,but that's another thread!

 

My buddy had a hose burst on his rig near a truck stop in CO. He parked at the truck stop and popped his hood. A fella that was parked right next to him stepped out of this vehicle with a new hose in hand and helped install it. There are some great Drivers out there. I salute you.

 

Find an old hand at the truckstop that just backed into a back row spot and ask him to show you the brakes, air lines, engine, belts, etc. Be polite, respectful, and humble. Offer to buy his dinner at a real restaurant away from the truckstop.

 

I do, the very 1st "heavy duty" truck I drove in the mid-70's, was a 1963 IH 190 gas job, tandem axle dump truck, that had a wig-wag. Actually, if that "wig-wag" drops down, it's a pretty tense situation, as there were no maxi brakes on older trucks,( that apply with no pressure, like today) so if that dropped down, you have no air pressure, and hence, no brakes( and that "band emergency brake" only starts a fire), so you had to get that off to the side quick. That only happened once to me.

 

OP this will help explain alot of the components youll be looking at. Great guide. May help the dry book make sense.

 

There is a story if a older bus type vehicle in the Searcy Arkansas area from roughly the ww2 years. We have a road that goes towards Heber Springs which is a mountian town (I know it's around 1000 feet at most, here in the Ozarks which is very similar to the Appalachians.

Anyhow there is about a 3 mile run that comes off a ridge and it has a nice grade to it (Compared to what Ive seen around the USA, it's tame) but if you allowed a vehicle to go out of control it will be a problem at the bottom where there is not much of a run out before a curve.

Kids were aboard the bus and it had lost it's braking that morning. Off it went. It made the grade, to use a pun badly. Kids were fine bridge at the bottom was not. But it worked out well. It was a scary enough event that generations later I come along and the story persist in the telling.