Is this video of a Amazon truck driver using a wheel chair real????

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by Trucks66, Oct 6, 2023.

  1. Ex-Trucker Alex

    Ex-Trucker Alex Road Train Member

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    So, I have an old friend who, like this guy in the video, has limited usage of his legs. He owns both leg braces and a (manual) wheelchair. His job is nowhere near as athletic as driving a truck would be, but he get around quite well, and even used to race cars in his younger days. So, I've got a pretty good idea of what this driver is going through.

    Knowing what would be expected for being only a line-haul driver, I guess it would be possible to do the job, although I assume he also carried leg braces and crutches. For things like pulling the 5th wheel and cranking the landing gear, as well as sliding tandems, for a guy his height a wheelchair would work nicely. The only problem might be in connecting the air and electrical lines, when I assume he either stands, or else has a grabber pole to help. The only real problem that I can see is getting the chair from the truck to the ground, and reverse. He's got significant upper-body strength, so as long as the chair is super-light and he can grab it from up in the cab, he's doing good.
     
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  3. Arctic_fox

    Arctic_fox Experienced mx13 execrator

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    Just because legs "work" doesnt mean the legs WORK if you catch my meaning. Good example is my mom. She CAN walk short distances very slowly and with a lot of pain. But what happens sometimes is the nerves just lock up and cause her to fall and/or go into a seizure due to a medical issue. Meanwhile if she stays in her wheelchair save when absolutely nessesary she can go weeks or months between incidents.

    Another good example is a guy i knew from one of my last jobs. He had a major spinal injury from a drunk driver hitting him on a sidewalk. He could walk with braces and crutches but moving his legs too much was in his own words "a bit like injecting magma into his viens while his legs are being chewed off by rabid dogs and standing in acid" apparently in the accident it damaged the spinal cord so moving his legs very much caused sharp spikes of pain that got progressivly worse and could last hours if he overdid it. Meanwhile sitting in a wheelchair allowed him a otherwise normal life and the pain was easily managed with OTC stuff unless he overdid it.

    Disabilitys are weird like that. Diffrent life events cause diffrent bits of the body to fail in diffrent ways and to diffrent extents.
     
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  4. Wargames

    Wargames Captain Crusty

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    I got nothing bad to say about that man I believe he’s doing his job probably better than anyone else out there with prime.
     
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  5. Moosetek13

    Moosetek13 Road Train Member

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    So how does he sweep out his trailer?
     
  6. mustang190

    mustang190 Road Train Member

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    I guess there’s a lot of driving jobs they can do and do well.
    Tankers would be tough. Climbing the ladders and catwalks, dragging hoses for example.
     
  7. Bud A.

    Bud A. Road Train Member

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    Half the drivers at my company drop dirty trailers at yards every day.
     
  8. Moosetek13

    Moosetek13 Road Train Member

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    Right. But what about when you show up at a shipper and they insist the trailer be swept out?

    It does not look like he would be capable of climbing into the trailer, unless much of what he is doing is only for show.
     
  9. Bud A.

    Bud A. Road Train Member

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    Probably the company lets him get a washout if it needs it. If he had a tiktok channel, then I would think it might be for show, but it looks like some looky-loo just took video for their own social media likes.
     
  10. Knightcrawler

    Knightcrawler Road Train Member

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    Im pretty much the same way. Walking from the plane to the car at the airport a few months back I had to stop and rest 3-4 times. Not because I was winded, but because my knees were just killing me. I could probably qualify for a handicapped parking tag but havent because I feel there are many others worse off than me that need them more. Stairs kill me, but getting in and out of the truck is no problem, I mostly use my arm strength.
     
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  11. Stringb8n

    Stringb8n Road Train Member

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    I realize not as many people think the way I do, but if I were the shipper and I saw someone wheelchair bound even try to come to sweep out the trailer, I would just sweep it for them. Same being just another driver even, if I see another driver in a wheelchair who needs his trailer swept out.
     
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