Western Express strikes again

There is no freaking excuse for this Rubicon...tired, not an excuse, mad, not an excuse, hung over, not an excuse. This is just blatant stupidity. And no, we have not all hit something. I don't really know how you or anyone can justify this type of driving. I just don't get it....We have GPS, Google Maps, Truck Driving Apps, Rand atlas, Q- com directions, phone numbers to the shippers and consignees', and on and on. OH and let's not forget the huge sign that says 10' 6" overhead. Everyone knows a refer is roughly 13'6 and a dry high cube about 14'0. This just blows my mind.

 

We've ALL hit something. Few of us would put their 10 year on here. Give the guy a break. He f'd up. I wasn't making excuses for him, but we've all gotten mad and played bright light games or whatever, have driven tired and made errors. Yes, you're right it was stupid. Maybe not everyone is cut out to be an Olympic ice skater and give a gold medal performance everyday. A lot of people have driven all over the country before they got their class A, been on a dozer, been on class B stuff on private property. Some folks ain't been nowhere. It's too bad the equipment got damaged, people were delayed, etc. Don't like to see it. I don't feel the need to rub it in. After rereading my post I think you may have missed the points. In any case, Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Dude, I have never hit anything. I'm not Olympic ice skater level, either; I'm just really careful. I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but I am extremely careful when driving. I take it seriously. I don't make excuses for my own behavior when operating a vehicle that can easily kill people.

I make sure I get enough rest every night. If I get sleepy because I'm starting out extra early, I pull over and take a nap. (Did it just two days ago, in fact.) When I find myself getting mad at the idiots around me or because my wife is in a bad mood and decided to take it out me over the phone, I pull over and get out of the truck for a few minutes. When I make a mistake (like, say, a missed turn -- it happens), I slow down and figure out what to do before I do it.

Directly on point to this scenario, one time when I was a rookie I was leaving a receiver in Houston and followed the GPS even though it wasn't taking me out the way I came in. The road was big enough but I noticed there were just tons of school zones and cars. I thought, Man, I should've gone out the way I came in! Too late, of course. Then I came up on a bridge marked 13'0". I was pulling an empty flatbed but my full condo truck was 13'2" high (and I knew exactly how high it was, please note). I suddenly had visions of having to call the police to help me get out of the jam, but fortunately there was a legal and safe way of escape before I got to the bridge and I was able to get turned around and out of there.

But if that hadn't been available, I would have called the police to get help instead of driving under a low bridge.

And after that experience, I now carefully review the way into and out of every single place I'm driving to before I start driving. I haven't had a near miss like that since. If my GPS craps out, I still know where I'm going because I've studied it.

Stop trying to lower the bar because you feel sorry for this idiot. Is he a regular person who deserves to try to make a living and even a better life for himself and his family? Yes. Should he do that driving a truck? Nope. He was an idiot when he drove that truck under a bridge that is clearly marked 10'6". He doesn't deserve any sympathy for this particular act of stupidity. It makes me wonder what you hit and who you hurt that you feel so compelled to make excuses for this guy.

The standard needs to be high. Driving a truck isn't like spraying foam in an attic. If you screw up spraying foam, you're not likely to kill 20 kids in a school bus. If you think driving a truck is no big deal, a better career change would be heading over to Houston or the Panhandle and getting a job hanging drywall, not driving a truck.

 

I'm not making excuses for the guy. I'm not giving the guy sympathy. I said it's sad that equipment was destroyed and people were delayed. You yourself said you make mistakes and I said give the guy a break. You and the last guy sound new. You can't tell me you study your entire route. There are spur of the moment load assignments, accidents and construction that cause us to detour unexpectedly. I have moved more freight legally and otherwise than you ever will and I've done it faster than you ever will. I've seen everyone and been everywhere. When you get nearer to that point someday you will have hit something, scraped something, gotten stuck like an idiot, damaged equipment, been cited or whatever. It's obvious you're new because you you don't have that seasoned humility. No need to bash Western. They have some good people and make more money than you ever will. Yes, most people do not hit bridges and we should be held to high standards. I saw a truck in a ditch once. 3 guys were on the CB. Old truckers. One said nice parking spot. Another said you have to take your 10 somewhere. They had a sense of humor. The last thing they said was from the heart, "I hope he's okay". If you don't understand that then you need about 100,000 more miles preferably on the 70 or in NYC or DC. Post a thread here that says I've never hit or scraped anything because I'm excellent and who else supports that. You'll see some real ridicule, crticism, and wit then. All you can do is put the odds in your favor by driving safely, and those odds get thinner as time goes on. Then you'll see how big of a role luck plays if you're still alive and the humility that comes with that. If you were the kind of stud you claim to be, you would not be in a truck in the first place taking a 10 on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere for 40 or 46cpm. And thatsa fact.

 

And when you feel the urge to look better than others and flatter yourself it's obvious you're young and insecure.