TruckDiver
TB Lurker
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Well, allow me to tell you about mine.... I spent it sitting in my dang truck.....
Christmas Eve Morn. 9am Line haul run, 617 miles.....
5:30 am phone call, Hey, your run is ready and yes, we know there's a bad storm blowing in, but this freight has got to move today.......
Roll out the gate a little after 7am and start west, things weren't bad until got to the top of the hill. But, after I got up on top of the plateau the storm hit.
40mph crosswinds, hard blowing snow, temp screwing it's way downward.
I call dispatch, tell them I'm gonna be stuck soon if I keep going. 23k on the front, 19 on the back, single axle with no chains, it ain't gonna be long, til I hit a grade I can't pull. Keep going they say........
About 5 miles later, I found the hill. Didn't feel lonely though, so did Saia, FedEx, Estes, bunch of folks.. Called them back, said "hey remember what I said was gonna happen?" Give them the milestick, calling breakdown for a tow.
Wait on tow truck, try to help get guys rolling for a couple of hours. One driver that I helped get moving loans me a set of chains. Chain up, break the trailer loose and roll.......
Call dispatch back, no answer, call again, nobody home, 3:30pm and they're gone.. Call central, get somebody finally, ask what to do? Keep going toward the next terminal that's 35 miles further west and park it. Or, turn back for home, cuz it ain't going all the way, No tonight anyway.. Told, nope, you are to turn around and head back, back the way you just came from. Go back, go back thru the stuff ......
As I roll west looking for an unblocked exit to turn around, I see that the eastbound side is stopped.
Big tangle of jacknifed flatbeds, cars and etc. have the road blocked, they're not going anywhere for awhile...
Call central back, "Eastbound side is closed, I can't get back". Turn around. go to Dallas like we told you, they say. And , btw, what's your driver code?
Get the truck turned around, pushing snowdrifts with the bumper, hoping I'm still on asphalt. Go back east for a few miles and fall into line. It's 4:15pm.
Sit there, re-starting the truck over and over, waiting for the road to clear. After awhile it starts getting dark, dark and cold, wind howling, snow drifting kinda night.
We aren't going anywhere.......
But then something pretty cool happened. I got to witness something kinda special.
As it became clear to everyone that we were gonna be here all night, people came together.
Drivers were checking on 4wheelers, inviting them into their trucks if they were low on gas.
Sharing food and water, people just taking time to help a stranger.
All of us stuck in the same boat, all of us spending Christmas night stuck on the interstate in the middle of nowhere.
It was really kinda fitting after all. People showing goodwill toward their fellow man, caring for one another, sharing what they could to help someone else.
Under a starry, cold sky, I was reminded of what Christmas is all about. That was something that doesn't happen very often anymore........
Sat in that spot until 10am this morning, finally we're rolling....
Got to work at 6:30 am on Christmas Eve, got back in my pick-up to head home at 2:30pm on Christmas Day, logged all of 301 miles.
It was almost worth it........
Christmas Eve Morn. 9am Line haul run, 617 miles.....
5:30 am phone call, Hey, your run is ready and yes, we know there's a bad storm blowing in, but this freight has got to move today.......
Roll out the gate a little after 7am and start west, things weren't bad until got to the top of the hill. But, after I got up on top of the plateau the storm hit.
40mph crosswinds, hard blowing snow, temp screwing it's way downward.
I call dispatch, tell them I'm gonna be stuck soon if I keep going. 23k on the front, 19 on the back, single axle with no chains, it ain't gonna be long, til I hit a grade I can't pull. Keep going they say........
About 5 miles later, I found the hill. Didn't feel lonely though, so did Saia, FedEx, Estes, bunch of folks.. Called them back, said "hey remember what I said was gonna happen?" Give them the milestick, calling breakdown for a tow.
Wait on tow truck, try to help get guys rolling for a couple of hours. One driver that I helped get moving loans me a set of chains. Chain up, break the trailer loose and roll.......
Call dispatch back, no answer, call again, nobody home, 3:30pm and they're gone.. Call central, get somebody finally, ask what to do? Keep going toward the next terminal that's 35 miles further west and park it. Or, turn back for home, cuz it ain't going all the way, No tonight anyway.. Told, nope, you are to turn around and head back, back the way you just came from. Go back, go back thru the stuff ......
As I roll west looking for an unblocked exit to turn around, I see that the eastbound side is stopped.
Big tangle of jacknifed flatbeds, cars and etc. have the road blocked, they're not going anywhere for awhile...
Call central back, "Eastbound side is closed, I can't get back". Turn around. go to Dallas like we told you, they say. And , btw, what's your driver code?
Get the truck turned around, pushing snowdrifts with the bumper, hoping I'm still on asphalt. Go back east for a few miles and fall into line. It's 4:15pm.
Sit there, re-starting the truck over and over, waiting for the road to clear. After awhile it starts getting dark, dark and cold, wind howling, snow drifting kinda night.
We aren't going anywhere.......
But then something pretty cool happened. I got to witness something kinda special.
As it became clear to everyone that we were gonna be here all night, people came together.
Drivers were checking on 4wheelers, inviting them into their trucks if they were low on gas.
Sharing food and water, people just taking time to help a stranger.
All of us stuck in the same boat, all of us spending Christmas night stuck on the interstate in the middle of nowhere.
It was really kinda fitting after all. People showing goodwill toward their fellow man, caring for one another, sharing what they could to help someone else.
Under a starry, cold sky, I was reminded of what Christmas is all about. That was something that doesn't happen very often anymore........
Sat in that spot until 10am this morning, finally we're rolling....
Got to work at 6:30 am on Christmas Eve, got back in my pick-up to head home at 2:30pm on Christmas Day, logged all of 301 miles.
It was almost worth it........
: they don't let the trucks idle in the winter.
every winter is the same.drivers who know their route and what they can and cant do being told what to do by dispatch.with all the technology we have today, they still insist on putting their drivers in harms way.to move a 3 or 4000 dollar load of freight they jeprodize a mans life, the general public and risk a huge cleanup and damaged freight bill.the whole time a driver is trying to tell this bunch of know nothing, never driven a truck bunch of dispatchers ,whats going tp happen.talk about lawsuits.i guess they dont realize many of us record these types of conversations, and if i am ever injured because of their negligence, they will pay.probably wont happen because anymore i just wont go.been driving 30+ years and know when to quit.
