Car dragged by truck for miles.

Discussion in 'The Bench' started by 2001ws6, Apr 20, 2017.

  1. TheSilverBuick

    TheSilverBuick In the Middle of No Where

    Last February I was driving down a pretty empty highway 395 in CA and see way off in the distance a smoking right rear of an 18-wheeler trailer driving along in the right lane, and as I caught up to it in the left lane I kept my distance back and threw on my hazard lights and flashed my brights several times but after another mile it started blowing tires and I hung even further back, still flashing my lights but the dude was just going along. Finally when I figured most the debris of two tires had flung itself clear I sped by they guy laying on my horn. About a 1/2 mile later I see him pulling over to the side. I saw it smoking for at least 5 miles, probably smelled it for 10. One look out of the right mirror would likely have clued him in. I really wouldn't put it past the guy in the rig to be completely oblivious to the car there.

    Though part of me does hope he knew that guy was there and just didn't give a damn :rolleyes::rolleyes:
     
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  2. faster

    faster Well-Known Member

    There are people who drive vehicles that just flat don't pay attention; even though they are driving, that is not their priority. Others for some reason just don't have the sense of something amiss or they flat don't care. My son can drive the wheels off a vehicle like I can (he scares the doo doo out of his mom, I've learned not to do that anymore) but does not have my acute sense of noticing something wrong with it. I am never nervous with him driving but my daughter who sometimes has me concerned if she is paying attention when driving can feel the smallest issue and will relate the problem very accurately to me when she gets home. Lord knows I love my wife but there has to be some major issue for her to notice it. She is one of those cautious and extremely courteous drivers that annoy me if I am behind them (don't tell her I said that).

    So how do you test for a drivers ability to pay attention or notice something wrong before putting them in charge of 40 tons in the proximity of other people?

    Now that my kids are grown and my wife has a job she loves I've tested the waters with a few companies about driving professionally again. It would have to be the right fit with the right equipment and the right company not these run of the mill freight haulers but no one wants a 64 year old guy in excellent health with years of experience and never a collision or moving violation in a big truck. But they will hire someone with no experience and "train" them for 3-4 weeks. I don't understand.

    Mikey
     
  3. TheSilverBuick

    TheSilverBuick In the Middle of No Where

    Your wife too?? After 11 years of living out in the sticks being back in a city (albeit small one) makes me want to embrace the autonomous car revolution.
     
  4. Smokey15

    Smokey15 So old that I use AARP bolts.

    All the aforementioned makes me wonder just how did the car get where it was? Texting? "Here hold my burger while a take a swig of Big Gulp"? "Turn right here?"
     
  5. faster

    faster Well-Known Member

    That's the problem with these stories, never enough information to make it a teaching moment. We all get have to speculate as to why one or both of the drivers involved had a brain fart.

    You do bring up a good point I never thought of before. I never use GPS without first previewing my route at home on the computer if I do not know the route. Do people actually blindly follow the voice directions of their GPS? Could explain why doo doo happens sometimes in these seemingly impossible scenarios.

    My 91 year old father never goes anywhere without his GPS girlfriend. As soon as she speaks he hits the brakes to wait for her command. "Dad why are you hitting the brakes, there is no where to turn and you are in the hammer lane of a divided highway doing 65 mph"?

    Mom voluntarily stopped driving three years ago, I wish dad would. He's had three of serious collisions in the last five years that would have not happened if he wasn't so afraid of having a collision or missing a turn. At least he won't drive at night anymore.

    Mikey
     
  6. Mister T

    Mister T Just truckin' around

    Back to the subject of "professional" truck drivers failing to look in their mirrors. A few years ago I was running across US 2 in Minnesota with a colleague one winter evening when I happened upon a set of skid marks in my lane. As there was nothing visible in front of us, we figured the "driver" had all four trailer brakes frozen and was attempting to break them loose by dragging his wagon over pavement. That IS NOT an acceptable method for accomplishing that.

    The twin set of tracks went for at least 15 miles, until we topped a small rise to find "Mr Supertrucker" parked on the shoulder with eight flat trailer tires. Bet that phone call to dispatch went very well. :rolleyes:o_O My coworker and I had a few good laughs at his expense that night.
     
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  7. Smokey15

    Smokey15 So old that I use AARP bolts.

    Sounds like he's driving in the dark already, Mikey.
    We live in a rural area. Last night I heard a crash, then tires squeal. It came from an intersection about 3/4 of a mile away. I drove down there to see what happened and to help if I could. Our road ends at that intersection and goes into a highschool/middleschool campus across the intersection. A drunk (cops gave him sobriety test right there--FAILED) ran the stop sign and broadsided a highschool girl driving home. He hit her at about 55-60 mph. Witness said he never lifted, thus the crash, then the tire squeal. Fortunately he hit the SUV the gal was driving on the right rear side and she was unharmed. She was also alone. His truck wound up spinning and backed through a construction fence.
    Her parents arrived before the cops. I directed what little traffic there was until then. I can't say I would have remained as calm as her parents when the jackass failed the sobriety test. Drunks piss me off.
     
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2017
  8. faster

    faster Well-Known Member

    I always carried alcohol in the winter. Just pour it in the air lines pump the brakes and repeat. Saved me more than once on a drop and hook. Have had to get under there with a hammer and break them loose twice. Once I could not get them free, fortunately their maintenance shop wheeled their torches out and thawed them for me, then the alcohol treatment.

    Very late one extremely cold night in Montana on 90-94 I felt the tractor wiggle like I was on black ice with the drives spinning slightly. The road was not shiny or wet looking so I eased over onto the hammer lane and had good traction so I drove out there for a while. Tried going back and same thing, sliding around slightly, weird, back in the hammer lane. Came up on a bull wagon stopped on the shoulder and since we were out in the middle of nowhere I stopped to see if he was alright. The bottom dropped out of the trailer and being so low he was just dragging cattle. I was sliding in blood! How many cows have to drop out before you feel the drag? You could not see it on the highway.

    Mikey
     
  9. faster

    faster Well-Known Member

    He scares me. My kids won't ride with him, they just say "let me chauffeur you grandpa" and he always just hands me the keys and says "you drive".

    Stopped drinking like that 40 years ago in my early 20's when I lost it and ended up in a snow bank, stupid and selfish. Thank God I never hit anyone.

    Mikey
     
  10. Mister T

    Mister T Just truckin' around

    Yup, brake line alcohol is a must when running in cold weather. It's saved me numerous times through the years. Occasionally had to use the hammer trick too. When I'm still in the yard, or near to it, our shop will send a mobile technician to handle that job. There's been a few drivers who do not know how to perform this task. I do, but prefer having the mechanic do it. :cool:

    I've never heard of a bull hauler losing their floor before! :eek: I bet that blood was freezing on the road. Perhaps the driver was hauling ass and failed notice the extra drag. :rolleyes: Some of those guys really motor.
     
  11. John Codman

    John Codman Platinum Level Contributor

    In fairness, I have seen lots of truckers doing the same thing.
     
  12. John Codman

    John Codman Platinum Level Contributor

    I worked for a truck rental agency as well. UPS used to rent stepvans from us around the Christmas rush; they beat the sh-t out of them. The flip side was that we would rent the same sort of trucks to scary-looking biker gangs to take to bike week at Laconia, NH. They would use the trucks to store their bikes and to bring home any that didn't survive the week. The first time these dudes with the 1% patch and tattoos everywhere (most people were not tattooed in the early '70s) showed up, the office manager called corporate because he didn't want to rent them a truck. Corporate said that they didn't want to either, but that the rental contract had nothing about the appearance of the renter in it. When we got the truck back, it was better then when they rented it. They had adjusted the belts, tightened up loose screws, oiled door hinges and basically treated it better then we did. We decided that they just did not want a breakdown. Eventually we were giving a price break to these guys. Go figure...
     

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