So... I got in a 'el stupido' situation today.

Well; I take that back. I did have one give me grief one time, but there are jerks in all lines of work.

 

You are a liar LOL! There isn't one trucker on planet earth that hasn't been lost or on a wrong road at some point. However, there are lots of steering wheel holders that are too arrogant to admit when they screw up.

IROC, you learned a valuable lesson. GPS is just one of many tools we have at our disposal. It isn't the be-all end-all that we ALL wish it was, and ultimately it is our responsibility to double check a paper map or ask. The most important thing is you accepted the blame, and learned from the lesson.

 

It comes from experience lol. I've screwed up a couple times myself and there's probably no worse feeling in the world than taking 70+ feet of vehicle that's 13'6 high down a road made for something just a little smaller!

When using gps just remember that signs always trump gps! I posted my worst screw up a while back somewhere on here where I came to a dead end road and "thought" I could whip it around but NOOOOOOOO! I had to get stuck and have a wrecker come straighten me up lol.

Now THAT wasn't gps's fault one iota!

I called the cops once after missing the turn to stay on a truck route lol. It caught me by surprise and it was too late to stop and the traffic was too much and I ended up in a neighborhood on a cul-de-sac.

Turned out the house on my left was actually city property and the cop just told me to use their driveway to get er' done. It all worked out fine and no ticket was issued. S&^t happens!

I don't think most of em' are out there to bust your chops and they should at least appreciate you care enough to want to do it right. Besides a ticket is better than an accident. Just pay the "I are stupid fee" if you have to and try not to make the same mistake twice.

I don't think there are any drivers that have been out there a while that haven't done somethin' stupid in their time behind the wheel lol. Maybe they just didn't get caught.

 

as i said to an ignorant driver passing me in PA sometime back in March who said, "...typical swift driver watching movies on his laptop...", I told him if he had 2 oz. of brain and the ability to process logically what his eyes see, he'd notice it was my GPS, and not a movie.

"Work smarter not harder", isnt that what they say? Why do roofers use pnumatic air guns rather than an old hammer? GPS is a TOOL. and as with all TOOLS, you should never rely 100% on anything. Rand McNally has exits where there arent any, as well as not showing exits where there are.

GPS is a TOOL, and should you choose to not use one, so be it. Don't bash other drivers who use one. And why? Because ignorant drivers who open their mouths do so without getting all the information. Maybe the driver using the GPS is in fact using it and trusing it 100%. But then again, maybe said driver has directions from the company written on his/her window, wrote them down on paper, and double checked the route with previously mentioned rand mcnally map?? (like me) and uses GPS to know how far s/he has to drive till the next exit or the ability to know what the next street is to turn on at night when most street signs are not easily visible.

go figure. i dont expect much help or advise from ignorant drivers who claim they are professional.

 

I think the problem is too many drivers use standard gps in stead of truck specific gps. I can honestly say, even though I used co-pilot truck, it occasionally tries to put you on a goat trail. It never put me on a route with a bridge lower than 13'6 though (although I have been on a few roads with low weight limit bridges and you won't find those in the MCRA either lol because they're on surface streets usually very close to the shipper) and if you're on a restricted route it usually knows it and alerts you to it. Of course, I didn't run NYC, but I did go to Chicago several times and we all know that's the low bridge capitol of the lower 48.

I've still learned to always follow signs as opposed to the gps though and I like it for the same reasons you do. There are a lot of drivers that seem to rely on gps 100% and it will eventually get them into trouble if they don't learn to use the road signs and atlas as well as shippers/receivers, other drivers etc.

I had a driver say the same thing to me on the cb and I told him to shut up I was watching my porno and it was just gettin' to the good part lol.

 

Oh, I have certainly made wrong turns before and have gotten lost looking for a place where I've never been but I've never gotten into a situation where I was like...Oh, No! I'm gonna have to call a wrecker to get turned around.

I have NEVER hit anything with the top of my trailer...Period!
But It seem there's always someone saying "I was following the route that my GPS gave me and I hit a low bridge" or "I waound up on a one lane dirt road to nowhere".


As for calling the cops....No way , No how....Not EVER would I invite those idiots to anything! They never do anything but make a situation worse!

 

That was a cheap shot! At least I'm man enough to admit my mistake.

 

I have never been lost... just temporarily misplaced.

 

Churches don't usually have much money for repairs after a big truck tears up their lot. It gets old when we take advantage of them... repeatedly.

GPS is a tool, and only that. If you trust it completely... you deserve what is waiting for you around the next bend in the road. The only way to use it is in conjuction with a good map, and one of the computer based programs. Never trust just one reference source - and always do your homework before you're on the way into a shipper or receiver. That's the difference between a professional driver and just another dang wheel-grippin' fool.