So I Wasn't The Least Bit Scared......

....when both tires on the right rear axle on my trailer blew at 60 MPH westbound on I-24 in TN this morning. The 4-wheeler who was hanging out in the lane next to me was, but that's his problem. He shouldn't be hanging out there.

I sure did get scared when I saw how many so-called "professional" truck drivers made absolutely no effort to slow down and move to the left when I was sitting there waiting for the Loves service truck to arrive. And I was downright terrified after he arrived and started unloading stuff off his truck. I was almost sure he was gonna get splattered before he was done with the job.

Now I expect stupidity from 4-wheelers. Those who aren't on the cell phone while they're cruising along at 65-75 MPH have such a bad case of rectal cranial inversion they don't even see what's going on until it's too late. When they do see the pretty orange triangles 10, 100, and 200 feet behind my truck, they probably figure it's leftover Christmas decorations. The flashing red lights on my truck and the yellow ones on the service truck mean there's a clearance sale at K-Mart, right?

But I expect better from my road brothers and sisters. I know you all know exactly what is going on and what can happen. Is it really going to cost you that much to slow down and move over? Is that half a penny you may lose really more important to you than my life? Or the life of that young man from Loves who is making peanuts to change the tires on my trailer and has a young wife and a 3 year old waiting for him to come home from work tonight? Really?

Think about this: it may be YOU out there with blown tires next week, next month, or next year. How would YOU like it?

I'm an old man and it really isn't going to hurt anyone if you kill me. But if you do, I promise you I will come back and haunt you so that you never get a good night's sleep again as long as you live. And when you die, I will be the first one you meet at the gates of hell because I'll be the one kicking the snot out of you every day for the rest of eternity. Go ahead - be as stupid as you like.....

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. Rant over.

Same thing happened to me I75 in FL the shoulder is real small and the highway is 3 lanes! I had trucks blowing by me so fast I thought my truck would fall over.

....when both tires on the right rear axle on my trailer blew at 60 MPH westbound on I-24 in TN this morning. The 4-wheeler who was hanging out in the lane next to me was, but that's his problem. He shouldn't be hanging out there.

I sure did get scared when I saw how many so-called "professional" truck drivers made absolutely no effort to slow down and move to the left when I was sitting there waiting for the Loves service truck to arrive. And I was downright terrified after he arrived and started unloading stuff off his truck. I was almost sure he was gonna get splattered before he was done with the job.

Now I expect stupidity from 4-wheelers. Those who aren't on the cell phone while they're cruising along at 65-75 MPH have such a bad case of rectal cranial inversion they don't even see what's going on until it's too late. When they do see the pretty orange triangles 10, 100, and 200 feet behind my truck, they probably figure it's leftover Christmas decorations. The flashing red lights on my truck and the yellow ones on the service truck mean there's a clearance sale at K-Mart, right?

But I expect better from my road brothers and sisters. I know you all know exactly what is going on and what can happen. Is it really going to cost you that much to slow down and move over? Is that half a penny you may lose really more important to you than my life? Or the life of that young man from Loves who is making peanuts to change the tires on my trailer and has a young wife and a 3 year old waiting for him to come home from work tonight? Really?

Think about this: it may be YOU out there with blown tires next week, next month, or next year. How would YOU like it?

I'm an old man and it really isn't going to hurt anyone if you kill me. But if you do, I promise you I will come back and haunt you so that you never get a good night's sleep again as long as you live. And when you die, I will be the first one you meet at the gates of hell because I'll be the one kicking the snot out of you every day for the rest of eternity. Go ahead - be as stupid as you like.....

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. Rant over.

What time today? I was just over that stretch of road earlier today. Presently @ the Flying J I-255 Exit 17a across the river from St Louis.

Ernie

You're totally right Howard - critical thinking should be our best tool in the arsenal but not a lot of people take the time to really use it.

Staying safe on the road is like pushing a boulder up a hill - you have to fight and claw and work every second to remain diligent and focused. One moment of inattention - one slip up - and it's all downhill in a big hurry.

Glad things worked out for ya though! Don't let the poor thinking of others ruin your own peace of mind out there. As you know, your mind and your truck are truly the only things you have full control over out there.

....when both tires on the right rear axle on my trailer blew at 60 MPH westbound on I-24 in TN this morning. The 4-wheeler who was hanging out in the lane next to me was, but that's his problem. He shouldn't be hanging out there.

I sure did get scared when I saw how many so-called "professional" truck drivers made absolutely no effort to slow down and move to the left when I was sitting there waiting for the Loves service truck to arrive. And I was downright terrified after he arrived and started unloading stuff off his truck. I was almost sure he was gonna get splattered before he was done with the job.

Now I expect stupidity from 4-wheelers. Those who aren't on the cell phone while they're cruising along at 65-75 MPH have such a bad case of rectal cranial inversion they don't even see what's going on until it's too late. When they do see the pretty orange triangles 10, 100, and 200 feet behind my truck, they probably figure it's leftover Christmas decorations. The flashing red lights on my truck and the yellow ones on the service truck mean there's a clearance sale at K-Mart, right?

But I expect better from my road brothers and sisters. I know you all know exactly what is going on and what can happen. Is it really going to cost you that much to slow down and move over? Is that half a penny you may lose really more important to you than my life? Or the life of that young man from Loves who is making peanuts to change the tires on my trailer and has a young wife and a 3 year old waiting for him to come home from work tonight? Really?

Think about this: it may be YOU out there with blown tires next week, next month, or next year. How would YOU like it?

I'm an old man and it really isn't going to hurt anyone if you kill me. But if you do, I promise you I will come back and haunt you so that you never get a good night's sleep again as long as you live. And when you die, I will be the first one you meet at the gates of hell because I'll be the one kicking the snot out of you every day for the rest of eternity. Go ahead - be as stupid as you like.....

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. Rant over.

How did BOTH tires blow at the same time? I've never heard a story like that before

Don't let the poor thinking of others ruin your own peace of mind out there. As you know, your mind and your truck are truly the only things you have full control over out there.

Oh, I won't Brett. If there's nothing else I learned in 12 years as a salesman and 25 as an engineer, it is exactly how stupid the average American (truck driver or not) really is. Just slightly smarter than the typical cedar stump. Twenty some odd years on the back of a '57 Panhead taught me to expect drivers around me to do the stupidest thing possible in any given situation and plan for it.

For anyone who disagrees with that statement, I ask you to watch the evening news on any given day to see my evidence.

Cheers, Howard

What time today? I was just over that stretch of road earlier today. Presently @ the Flying J I-255 Exit 17a across the river from St Louis.

Ernie

Must've been about 0915. Sent the QC call to the geniuses at RA at 0937. One Prime driver stopped to see if I needed help. Decent guy, but there was nothing he could do, of course.

I ended up stopping for a break at the Pilot in Oak Grove KY where my hours ran out. This morning, I got as far as Okawville IL before the road disappeared in a snowbank. Not rolling again until the snowplows come out and do their job.

This load of welfare juice ain't worth my life or my career.....

Cheers, Howard

How did BOTH tires blow at the same time? I've never heard a story like that before

Experience would make me SWAG that one blew first and took out the other one along with the mudflap and the rail it was attached to. Since I had time to get to the right and find a left hand curve to stop on instead of the right hand curve I was on when it happened without trashing the rims, I think that's an accurate SWAG....

If I got paid to do failure analysis, I would do it in a professional manner and write a full report on it with time/stress tracking, microscopic photos, and other such things. But I get paid to drive a freaking truck and I dont do ANYTHING I don't get paid for, Keith.

I keep trying to explain that to the folks in Springfield, but they don't seem to "get it"....

Cheers, Howard

Howard, you're cracking me up!

I can tell that you are a truck driver at heart, even if you are trained to be an engineer.

Howard, you're cracking me up!

I can tell that you are a truck driver at heart, even if you are trained to be an engineer.

Humor is the best medicine, amigo. And I need a LOT of medicine since I quit taking the illegal stuff!

Actually, I was a biker before I was an engineer or a salesman. Not a lot of difference between bikers and truckers. Except truck stops have showers......

Cheers, Howard