Is It Just Me?

[vision386]

Figuered i was overdue for a rant,was just wondering do they still teach people how to drive? or do trucking companies hire people,show them how to fill out a logbook and cut them loose on the world? was up in eastern new york state earlier this week,got off my exit on route 17,sucessfully navagated a right turn,made my delivery,and was returning to the highway towards my next stop......low and behold,here comes a werner truck,that had just made the same right turn i just did,with one noted exception,he had taken down the traffic light,had it hanging from the top of the trailer! headed right for my tractor/windshield! i stopped as hard as i could,jumped out of my truck,was pointing up at his trailer.........he did stop,but was oblivious to the fact he now had a traffic light in tow! did'nt see or hear anything? with drivers of this caliber on the road,i just hope i live long enough to retire!.........all done now,back to my padded room,where i will entertain myself by carving ducks out of bars of soap with a popsicle stick,mebbe eat a little paste..............Mark

[rhasler]

Figuered i was overdue for a rant,was just wondering do they still teach people how to drive? or do trucking companies hire people,show them how to fill out a logbook and cut them loose on the world? was up in eastern new york state earlier this week,got off my exit on route 17,sucessfully navagated a right turn,made my delivery,and was returning to the highway towards my next stop......low and behold,here comes a werner truck,that had just made the same right turn i just did,with one noted exception,he had taken down the traffic light,had it hanging from the top of the trailer! headed right for my tractor/windshield! i stopped as hard as i could,jumped out of my truck,was pointing up at his trailer.........he did stop,but was oblivious to the fact he now had a traffic light in tow! did'nt see or hear anything? with drivers of this caliber on the road,i just hope i live long enough to retire!.........all done now,back to my padded room,where i will entertain myself by carving ducks out of bars of soap with a popsickle stick,mebbe eat a little paste..............Mark

We had a company here that does some type of compressed air service work. They are/were based out of Canada, so they ran Western Stars. These trucks had Cummins V903s which were used as an air compressor deck mounted behind the cab of the trcuk. It was driven by a transfer case with a huge coil of tubing attached to it to deliver the air. The coils were probably at least 15 feet in diameter and stood a good distance over the top of the cab. The company's shop was situated on a busy road where new traffic lights had been installed recently. One day, coming back from my lunch break, the other recently installed traffic lights just down the road were out. A little further up the road one of these trucks is sitting off to the side of the road with a traffic light and assorted power lines trailing behind it. Apparently the coil had something hanging off of it that caught the traffic light and the rest came with it, the driver only went about half a block or so with the light dragging behind him, but it sure left a mess.

[vision386]

When i was a kid,we went on a school trip to the Philadelphia zoo,(i was busy looking for trucks)when here comes an old diamond reo dump truck up girard avenue,strangely enough with the body going up as he drove! gets to the railroad overpass, then WHAM!!!! off comes the dump body and about 5 ton of crushed stone!guy probly did'nt have a job for very long after that!.......Mark

[other dog]

Figuered i was overdue for a rant,was just wondering do they still teach people how to drive? or do trucking companies hire people,show them how to fill out a logbook and cut them loose on the world? was up in eastern new york state earlier this week,got off my exit on route 17,sucessfully navagated a right turn,made my delivery,and was returning to the highway towards my next stop......low and behold,here comes a werner truck,that had just made the same right turn i just did,with one noted exception,he had taken down the traffic light,had it hanging from the top of the trailer! headed right for my tractor/windshield! i stopped as hard as i could,jumped out of my truck,was pointing up at his trailer.........he did stop,but was oblivious to the fact he now had a traffic light in tow! did'nt see or hear anything? with drivers of this caliber on the road,i just hope i live long enough to retire!.........all done now,back to my padded room,where i will entertain myself by carving ducks out of bars of soap with a popsickle stick,mebbe eat a little paste..............Mark

what kind of soap do you find best to carve-you know,soft enough to use a popsicle stick but doesn't crumble?

By the way, the ATHS show in Colfax is Nov. 6!

[Bobby Covert]

I got passed by a tanker last summer. He had the cap off the passenger side fuel tank. The fuel nozzle with about two feet of hose was sticking out of the open tank.Do you ever watch the news and see some bad truck wrecks? The public doesnt appreciate a safe well paid truck driver until a disaster hits their own family. These guys who drive and get paid the same as Mcdonalds employees arent doing anyone a favor.

[vision386]

what kind of soap do you find best to carve-you know,soft enough to use a popsicle stick but doesn't crumble?

By the way, the ATHS show in Colfax is Nov. 6!

I find safeguard has just the right "resistance" not too hard not too soft! does'nt taste all that bad either!....a few more weeks of therapy and they have told me they will give me back the keys to my truck!.......gonna try and be home the weekend of the 6th,but the way i been running i cant guarantee anything,been a rough last couple weeks,workin' me half to death! i'll leave out tomm. with 18 stops,starting in northern VA (my favorite!) up through PA,Jersey,end up in upstate NY,im really glad this deal pays as well as it does,its been REAL hard to find any backhauls out of new england (not that it was ever easy) just everthing i find is either 45-46,000 lbs,or pays next to nothing! i just loaded a load of scrap-paper out of conneticut,to winston/salem for $1.15 per mile,but it got me home,so i guess i should'nt bitch!............Mark

[RowdyRebel]

Figuered i was overdue for a rant,was just wondering do they still teach people how to drive? or do trucking companies hire people,show them how to fill out a logbook and cut them loose on the world? was up in eastern new york state earlier this week,got off my exit on route 17,sucessfully navagated a right turn,made my delivery,and was returning to the highway towards my next stop......low and behold,here comes a werner truck,that had just made the same right turn i just did,with one noted exception,he had taken down the traffic light,had it hanging from the top of the trailer! headed right for my tractor/windshield! i stopped as hard as i could,jumped out of my truck,was pointing up at his trailer.........he did stop,but was oblivious to the fact he now had a traffic light in tow! did'nt see or hear anything? with drivers of this caliber on the road,i just hope i live long enough to retire!.........all done now,back to my padded room,where i will entertain myself by carving ducks out of bars of soap with a popsickle stick,mebbe eat a little paste..............Mark

About 9 years ago, I was driving one of these:

International 4700 rollback...21' aluminum bed.

Anyway, as I was slowing down on the tollway to pick up an abandoned vehicle for the state police, a chevy cavalier slammed into the back of my truck. I didn't feel a thing. Only reason I heard it was because I had the radio off and the windows open. No doubt in my mind that a traffic signal 1/2 way back on the trailer wouldn't be felt or heard by a driver in an 80,000 pound truck...especially if he's on the phone or has the radio playing.

[vision386]

About 9 years ago, I was driving one of these:

International 4700 rollback...21' aluminum bed.

Anyway, as I was slowing down on the tollway to pick up an abandoned vehicle for the state police, a chevy cavalier slammed into the back of my truck. I didn't feel a thing. Only reason I heard it was because I had the radio off and the windows open. No doubt in my mind that a traffic signal 1/2 way back on the trailer wouldn't be felt or heard by a driver in an 80,000 pound truck...especially if he's on the phone or has the radio playing.

No doubt! my only problem was that there were 2 people in the truck,and it was the "trainer" that took down the lightpole!

[other dog]

No doubt! my only problem was that there were 2 people in the truck,and it was the "trainer" that took down the lightpole!

That reminds me of this true story, involving a good friend of mine- he's since passed away so I won't name any names. This was probably...about 20 years ago I think. We both drove for H.H.Moore Jr. in Appomattox, Va. This was a small mostly flatbed fleet, in binness since the '40s.

After this feller had been there a while, driving an older International with a 350 Cummins, H.H. got a new T800 and was going to give it to him as his regular truck. So he was at home celebrating his new ride with some friends on Sunday afternoon by drinking, then drinking more, then drinking some more. Problem was, he had to take a load of steel to Wilson,N.C. to deliver Monday morning in the International while the KW was being lettered. So he loaded up his cooler so he could continue to celebrate on the way to Wilson. Invited one of his friends to ride along.

Somewhere between Farmville, where he lived, and Lawrenceville,Va. the friend took over driving. I don't know if he had permission to drive while the other driver took a nap or he just decided to give it a try. Problem was, he'd never driven a truck before

and when he got to the stoplight in Lawrenceville where you make a left to get to rt.58 and follow the truck route to rt.46 south he instead made a right. The trailer wasn't even halfway around the turn when it hit the pole on the corner, knocking it down. The police pulled him over and the pole was still hung up under the trailer with wires dragging behind. The regular driver was passed out drunk in the sleeper.

They both went to jail, not only did my old friend not get a new truck, he lost his job. Somebody had to go get the truck and I bobtailed to Lawrenceville and got the load and delivered it in Wilson.

[41chevy]

I bet the "trainer" is related to the electrician we used to have at the shop. He was telling his new helper that you never grab these 2 wires when the power is on........Metal linesman pliers.........aluminum ladder........240 volts............knocked him on the floor. Took me a good week to stop snickering. Soap carving is good with Kirkermans soap.....growing up my mother gave me an "aquired" taste for it.

[RowdyRebel]

No doubt! my only problem was that there were 2 people in the truck,and it was the "trainer" that took down the lightpole!

That don't mean much...trainers at some of those companies are only 90 days or so out of school themselves.

[rhasler]

That reminds me of this true story, involving a good friend of mine- he's since passed away so I won't name any names. This was probably...about 20 years ago I think. We both drove for H.H.Moore Jr. in Appomattox, Va. This was a small mostly flatbed fleet, in binness since the '40s.

After this feller had been there a while, driving an older International with a 350 Cummins, H.H. got a new T800 and was going to give it to him as his regular truck. So he was at home celebrating his new ride with some friends on Sunday afternoon by drinking, then drinking more, then drinking some more. Problem was, he had to take a load of steel to Wilson,N.C. to deliver Monday morning in the International while the KW was being lettered. So he loaded up his cooler so he could continue to celebrate on the way to Wilson. Invited one of his friends to ride along.

Somewhere between Farmville, where he lived, and Lawrenceville,Va. the friend took over driving. I don't know if he had permission to drive while the other driver took a nap or he just decided to give it a try. Problem was, he'd never driven a truck before

and when he got to the stoplight in Lawrenceville where you make a left to get to rt.58 and follow the truck route to rt.46 south he instead made a right. The trailer wasn't even halfway around the turn when it hit the pole on the corner, knocking it down. The police pulled him over and the pole was still hung up under the trailer with wires dragging behind. The regular driver was passed out drunk in the sleeper.

They both went to jail, not only did my old friend not get a new truck, he lost his job. Somebody had to go get the truck and I bobtailed to Lawrenceville and got the load and delivered it in Wilson.

And that reminds me of an incident where a former mobile home transport turned farm truck was driving down the highway in a state of affairs that was far from legal. The driver had no CDL, no insurance, no license, no inspection, and no steering if I remember correctly. He went off the road just across the highway from our shop, headed down an embankment that ends at the river. No one was hurt, but I think it took two wreckers to get the truck back on the road. The police were writing him citations for around 2 hours and at one point had to come borrow more paper from us. The location of the accident is about a mile from where the truck's journey originated, which is where it still sits today.

[RowdyRebel]

And that reminds me of an incident where a former mobile home transport turned farm truck was driving down the highway in a state of affairs that was far from legal. The driver had no CDL, no insurance, no license, no inspection, and no steering if I remember correctly. He went off the road just across the highway from our shop, headed down an embankment that ends at the river. No one was hurt, but I think it took two wreckers to get the truck back on the road. The police were writing him citations for around 2 hours and at one point had to come borrow more paper from us. The location of the accident is about a mile from where the truck's journey originated, which is where it still sits today.

If it was a farm truck, being used for farm purposes, in MOST states a CDL isn't necessary. Hell, farm trucks are exempt from a LOT of regulations commercial trucks and truckers have to follow.

[rhasler]

If it was a farm truck, being used for farm purposes, in MOST states a CDL isn't necessary. Hell, farm trucks are exempt from a LOT of regulations commercial trucks and truckers have to follow.

If memory serves he was moving a mobile home with it at the time of the accident.

[JerryB]

I've been side swiped twice by drivers on the phone while driving so my pet peeve is drivers who screw up traffic while they blabber on a phone. If I had drivers I would find a phone jammer for the truck so their phone only worked when the parking brake is applied.

My other pet peeve is APU units with the exhaust pointed directly out the right side so I get my neighbor's stinking APU exhaust and noise.

BTW--Irish Spring is good but it makes me burp alot.