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SAIA | lane departure, a potential danger on ice?

Clandestine_ice

Clandestine_ice

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I find that if I forget to hit the button, after 15 minutes it'll jerk the truck back onto the road if I veer off the lane in the slightest. In my estimation, this could be a serious issue on ice. Is there a remedy to this madness or am I being silly. Yea, I know some joker will say, "keep it in the lane", but it just seems potentially dangerous
 
I have spent way too much time on ice. To paraphrase Forrest Gump, Wet ice, slide ice, dry ice, washboard ice, chainsaw ice, plowed ice, uphill ice, downhill ice, fall down ice, walk on ice, whoopsie ice, OMFG ice etc etc etc.

I see anti collision and I see anti rollover and I see lane departures on ice a liability. I am a trucker and when driving on ice, everything I am I become the tires and the vehcile. It is my world now. If I am trucking you pay me to use my skills on mountain ice for example to get that load there.

Its my specailty. My trucking school instructors found I was scared of moutains (HEight( then learned I cannot do ice. Well my first winter involved nothing but ice on a dedicated auto glass Account. That truck is loading on the dock on schedule regardless of ice, snow, sleet or rain etc. Or all of them or some of them. They no longer mattered. GM got their glass in a relatively timelly manner in the worst of winter the mountains could offer on the east coast.

By spring I knew I was bored in fair weather and sunshine. I need that winter and bad weather to really do a very good job with that old tractor trailer, car or whatever. Even a tiny bit of flying and a smaller amount on a train. I have plans to be instructed more on those three someday modes of transport as a bucket list.

Computers are Helpful. ABS saved me several times, it also saved lives. I will not tell those stories here on the internet beause if some of my previous employers learn about this, they will know who to go after for the occasional scrubbed tire or ruined wheel or whatever it was.

I will share this one.

It was raining, about 3 inches a hour if not more as a frontal storm passage rolled through Lawrence Kansas.

A concrete 4 lane divided. Well I was upgrade a little bit, coming out of a steep valley with a traffic light at the bootom. So I was through with that light and the associated camera and everything down there. It was not a problem. However that rain was so bad she spun her drives loaded a few times on the way up. Not necessarily adding too much power but rather refusing to lug. Its incredible.

part two....
 
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And so my mind was deep into the solution hunt for her drives spinning on the second axle when the rig was lugged to maintain a little traction rather than add too much power and really spin the whole thing. It was that wet. I should mention also it's 50 degrees and dropping. a 40 mph wind out the west and two feet forecast in two days. Omaha had one already. One foot.

While mentally.... far away from that little hill I was coming up on top of a gust of wind slammed into my whole side. Tractor leaned over onto her bags to the right of frame, the trailer leaned over (53 great Dane loaded) and then started kicking out to the right.

I added right wheel to keep her settled waiting for that puff to go away and let me stop leaning so much. Its a point of pride nothing much other than coffee, smokes and a jacket moved inside that cab, I had everything put away for battle.

The wind increaased. As I backed off the power half way she went "WHIFF" clean off the road. Huge water all around.

Now I am on a lawn straight for a brick two story built in the 30's from a sears catalog. Its crazy how I cataloged the image of that damn house and inventoried it while my rig was trying it's best to kill me kill them and scatter the load all over the damn subdivision above lawrence.

I slammed the power to the floor seeing I had left drives still on concrete. Dont ask me about the right side steer and drives, I do not remember at any time sparing a thought or glance for any of them. ISNT that awful?

When I added power to the floor I hear the voice of my old trucking school Instructor. Ok Now you bastard HOLD THAT WHEEL TIGHTER THAN YOUR WOMAN. AND EASE HER.

Well that old detriot kicked in and she pulled. I EASED HER back up onto the cement.

As soon that right steer and drives tasted that cement she went straight for the left side.

To this day I cannot tell you how i got her back. I used all 4 lanes and center of that pavement. ALL OF IT. Thank God it was wet or I would be buying 18 new tires. I abused that thing so hard. Stabbing brake pedel, ramming steering wheel around and did not care what gear she was in (8th high)

Got her settled down. Went straight to North Kansas City Truckstop and had some alcohol and hotel room that night.

Dispatch will never hear fo the hungover journey across the scales the next day. Drunk? No. A problem? Yes. I was to spend that week carefully considering yes/no to and against quitting the entire cursed industry that scared me so bad.
 
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