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ODFL | Hard night!!!

Ump

Ump

Big Dave's and Billy Lo's love child.
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Glad all our OD family made it home or to a hotel safe and sound last night. So many things could have gone wrong and didn't. Some was pure luck and God's grace but a lot is the quality of drivers we have.

Was tough driving by that wreck seeing them cutting a driver out of his cab, knowing it wasn't to save his life but rather to give his family a chance for some closure and something to say good bye to. Was even tougher calling friends and telling them their old co-worker and friend wasn't going home to his family tonight.

After swapping out and taking my lunch, I decided to take the long way home to stay out of the wind. Had 37,000 lbs on a van, probably enough to get thru it, but my mind wasn't going to let me even try. Guess I really didn't want to drive by it again to tell you the truth. I thought about my wife and girls the whole way home, cell phone doesn't get reception going the back way so I had time to reflect.

I love my job but it comes with a price. Last night I saw first hand how steep that price can be. No amount of money can buy this man's family the peace they deserve. No amount of money can make them whole again.

To my NPT brothers, I'm sorry for your loss... R.I.P. driver...
 
Songremainsthesame said:
Great post Ump, you're right, we have to reflect on what's important and never ever leave the house without letting those we love know how we feel. Glad you made it through safe, was it just wind or wind and snow that caused the wreck?
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Winds.. He got hit by a micro-burst. They estimated the wind that hit him to be around 130 mph or more. Just crazy stuff last night. They should have closed the road.
 
radman said:
Thats the truth right there. I 80 through Wyoming can be a dangerous run. I don't think twice about going around when the wind is ripping. There is no place like it, say your prayers and hold on to the steering wheel.
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Chugwater to Wheatland on 25 is just brutal. They should just tunnel the whole damn state.
 
Ump said:
Chugwater to Wheatland on 25 is just brutal. They should just tunnel the whole damn state.
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That bridge with the wind socks at Bordeaux is something else. The cut in the mountains there is a natural wind tunnel. It was made by that Wyoming wind cutting away at it for millions of years.
 
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You can never be too careful, and sometimes you gotta know when to shut it down. Sometimes you can't even anticipate what's coming your way and things just happen to you.

A couple of weeks ago, I was westbound out of Montreal, just across the line into Ontario and about 20 miles east of Cornwall. There's a blind S bend in the highway just west of the welcome center. Accidents happen there all the time, especially in winter, but it was well above freezing and despite a light rain visibility and traction was as good as it gets at 1:30 in the morning.

As I'm making my way through the bottom half of the S, I can see a truck pulled over on the side of the highway, four ways on. Not unusual, breakdowns happen all the time when the weather gets weird. I take my foot off the accelerator and cover the brake. My headlights pan across a trailer on it's side in the ditch, bottom facing me. Moments later I'm face to face with the tractor lying across both lanes of the highway in front of me. No way in hell can I stop in time, but I stabbed the brakes anyway. I steered for the right shoulder and held on.

The cops, firefighters and EMT's that showed up about 10 minutes later said it was a miracle I didn't hit the truck, or anything else, nor did I roll my own truck during my ride through the ditch grass. I managed to miss a sign and a pole carrying power lines across the highway. Only damage to my rig? The bumper mounts broke when it was towed out of the ditch because the bumper hung on some mud. Cost me $300.

But because I reacted the way I did, at the time I did, I saved my life, my father's life (sleeping in the bunk) and the life of the driver of the rolled truck who was still trapped inside at the time. The load I was hauling wasn't damaged and the trailer was fine. Had I failed to react (say, been texting on my phone like so many people do while driving) or reacted too slowly, I'd have gotten the other truck's engine in my face and I wouldn't be here talking to you all. Had I reacted too soon, as a cop later pointed out, I'd probably have destroyed the trailer when the wheels hit a concrete drain pipe poking into the ditch, and it would've sent my dad and I to the hospital and probably trashed our truck.

Sometimes, there isn't a "later" because sometimes later doesn't come. I was lucky, and it was only because of all the flashlights that the 10 or so trucks that came upon the same wreck were able to stop in time. An XPO Sterling with two pups locked up and very nearly hit anyway. Even the first fire truck on scene, who was looking for it, almost drove into it.

We live on the razor's edge out there on the road. We really do.
 
Canadian Flyer said:
You can never be too careful, and sometimes you gotta know when to shut it down. Sometimes you can't even anticipate what's coming your way and things just happen to you.

A couple of weeks ago, I was westbound out of Montreal, just across the line into Ontario and about 20 miles east of Cornwall. There's a blind S bend in the highway just west of the welcome center. Accidents happen there all the time, especially in winter, but it was well above freezing and despite a light rain visibility and traction was as good as it gets at 1:30 in the morning.

As I'm making my way through the bottom half of the S, I can see a truck pulled over on the side of the highway, four ways on. Not unusual, breakdowns happen all the time when the weather gets weird. I take my foot off the accelerator and cover the brake. My headlights pan across a trailer on it's side in the ditch, bottom facing me. Moments later I'm face to face with the tractor lying across both lanes of the highway in front of me. No way in hell can I stop in time, but I stabbed the brakes anyway. I steered for the right shoulder and held on.

The cops, firefighters and EMT's that showed up about 10 minutes later said it was a miracle I didn't hit the truck, or anything else, nor did I roll my own truck during my ride through the ditch grass. I managed to miss a sign and a pole carrying power lines across the highway. Only damage to my rig? The bumper mounts broke when it was towed out of the ditch because the bumper hung on some mud. Cost me $300.

But because I reacted the way I did, at the time I did, I saved my life, my father's life (sleeping in the bunk) and the life of the driver of the rolled truck who was still trapped inside at the time. The load I was hauling wasn't damaged and the trailer was fine. Had I failed to react (say, been texting on my phone like so many people do while driving) or reacted too slowly, I'd have gotten the other truck's engine in my face and I wouldn't be here talking to you all. Had I reacted too soon, as a cop later pointed out, I'd probably have destroyed the trailer when the wheels hit a concrete drain pipe poking into the ditch, and it would've sent my dad and I to the hospital and probably trashed our truck.

Sometimes, there isn't a "later" because sometimes later doesn't come. I was lucky, and it was only because of all the flashlights that the 10 or so trucks that came upon the same wreck were able to stop in time. An XPO Sterling with two pups locked up and very nearly hit anyway. Even the first fire truck on scene, who was looking for it, almost drove into it.

We live on the razor's edge out there on the road. We really do.
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That's a frightening story, CF. GLAD you are here to tell us about it. Continue to be safe out there. My best to you!
 
Trucker 206 said:
That's a frightening story, CF. GLAD you are here to tell us about it. Continue to be safe out there. My best to you!
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Most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me, and that's the truth. Took me nearly 3 days at home before I felt ready to hit the road again. My dad spent the trip home telling me he was glad it was me in the seat because he wasn't sure he'd have been able to do what I did. That he was proud of me.

And I'm not ashamed to admit that I needed it, because I couldn't stop blaming myself for it. Took me the weekend to come to terms with the fact that I had no other choice.
 
CF dont put any blame on yourself. When I was at another LTL I was on my way in with a set of empties, in the rain at 530am and all of a sudden my truck shook then, I saw the little chevy Tahoe bounce around the front of my truck. I tried to brake and steer to keep him on the bumper but started to jackknife and had to release brakes to prevent me from going over but, the tahoe took off across the right side of the truck and on to the right shouder where I saw it roll several times when I looked in the mirror. Ran back to find the driver cuz he was ejected, and when I found him it was not good. Broken leg, and internal injuries. Used my military first aid training but he eventually passed away. I was off for over a week, and even today, I get nervous in traffic because it feels people are in my lane right under my nose when they are not. That was back in 2008. So again, dont blame yourself because it will eat at you just like it did to me. Does it get better? yes but it takes a long time. Very glad you and your dad are ok. And remember this, everytime I go past that spot where my accident happend, i see the scene all over again in my head but I deal with it just like you will learn to do..
 
I've already crossed that stretch of highway once since, and I admit that it all came back. I let off the pedal coming around the bend and by the time I was on the straight again I was down to 50mph.

Hell, sometimes it all comes back when I close my eyes. I've come to terms with having done the best I could, but I'm not sure it would have been so easy if things hadn't gone as well as they did.

Sometimes...even if you've done your best, it's not enough. I think that's something that all drivers have to face sooner or later.
 
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