Road Trip Reality Check

I just got home from being out on the road for 2 weeks and i really need to share a few things not to scare anyone, but to put things into perspective. When i left it probably wasn't the best time for heading to the Northeast but that was where the loads were headed.

The first issue of weather since it appeared that we were seeing the worst storm in who knows how many years. It started wit a run from Florida to Baton Rouge,LA. I picked up my load and was excited to get a decent run. What came next is ment to be a learning experience and a note of caution. I got up into the Florida Panhandle heading west on 10 and it seemed like all hell broke loose. I hit freezing rain and then all of a sudden broke traction. I had never really seen snow except on the TV and had no idea the true dangers of ice. I was running a really light load about 15K in the box and the next thing i know i look out of my mirror and my trailer is sliding into the other lane. You i know oh S**** so the only thing i could think of was slow down. That helped with traction a little and the trailer came back. I am now frantically looking for a safe haven when a truck about 2 truck lengths in front of me started swinging back and forth. I started to slow even more and just as i geared down to 6th, i see his trailer start sliding sideways and go over. Now i am really panicking. I was right there so i grabbed my cell and am dialing 911 as i am running fearing the worse. I get up there and thank god he is OK and just dazed and confused. The tractor is laying on the drivers side and reality hit home hard. I start thinking about my family back home and wondering if this is the best job for me.

The next day i was able to get going and the roads cleared a bit so i started heading to my delivery. As i am coming down the back side of the bridge on the 10 1 mile before the 12 cutoff i blow an inside drive tire. If you have ever heard on blow you know the first time you think your gonna have to change your shorts. I called my uncle and told him i blew my first tire and he laughed really hard then said how do you feel. (My uncle was a 38 year veteran driver) I was ok once i settled down and then i guess it was kinda funny.

I thought the worst of it was over and then my next load came. Baton Rougue, LA to Baltimore, MD. Sweet 1200 miles right? that's what i thought but the coming days would prove as a true test to what i was made of and if i could cut it. I ran into ice, snow, rain, freezing conditions, and greasy roads. I saw so many accident with both 4 wheelers and trucks that i was counting my blessings that i was still upright. There were 3 accidents bad enough that they said over the radio that the freeway was shut down so that the helicopter could land. I wasn't until they said that the road was closed due to fatalities that i really started thinking hard. I had a job to do though and i was going to do it the safest way i could regardless and just think about getting home. I got to Baltimore, delivered and picked up my next run. Cincinnati, OH supposedly out of the white stuff. I ran hard and got to Cincinnati and pulled into a TA thinking my appointment was not until 11pm so i had 7 hours to shower and power nap. All was well until i woke from my nap to see a blizzard and then freezing rain. Was someone sending me a message?

I called my dispatcher and told him to reschedule the load for the next day so this would pass. I stayed there that night and the next day i decided to bundle up and help guide others into spots in the mess. This was all good and i was back in my seat warming up when a young pup came around the corner and slid into 4 trucks. Let me tell you i thought they were gonna kill that kid at first. They got past the mad part and asked him what happened and more importantly made sure everyone was ok. Apparently this was his 1st solo load out of school and he was heavy. His load shifted and he lost traction. Truly an accident.

I made it through and continued to battle the horrible weather all the way down to almost North Carolina then i was pointed toward home. I made it safely and i would do it all over again if i had to. I met some of the most awesome people you could ever ask for in the worst of circumstances. People just kept their heads, did their best to help each other out and got some great advise from some old timers that was worth it's weight in gold.

For me, i love the job and will do it until i retire. It is not so much of a job as a way of life and the countryside in the Northeast is among the most beautiful i think i could ever imagine.

The only advise i can really offer is Slow down and be safe out there. No amount of money or freight is ever worth your life or someone else's. If the conditions are bad, stand your ground with your company! This is your life not theirs.

That sounds like a normal day across i80 during the winter time.

Assuming the "kid" came around the corner in A TRUCK STOP....no matter how heavy or light you are the only correct speed in a truck stop is idle speed and anything faster is an accident waiting to happen. So accident ....yes.....but it's a preventable accident and one that could have easily been pervented. Perhaps the kid learned his lesson and realize the truck stop is not a race way.

For anyone starting their solo trucking career this just wasnt the winter to do it for sure. Im glad I got a year under my belt before dealing with this brutal winter. Last year was peanuts compared to this. We have a dangerous job. But knowing your limits and taking your time will be your only saving grace for now. With time comes experience and better coping skills.

What was it that we used to say in the military? Ol yeah:

If you at first don't succeed, get a bigger hammer. Guess that could work for frozen gear!

All jokes aside, as a Paramedic for 20 plus years, it has always amazed me how people risk their lives everyday because they are in so much of a hurry. The reality of driving 10 MPH faster saves you very little time in the grand scheme of things. People get tunnel vision of the task at hand and lose site of everything else around them. We are very guilty of this! If life has taught me anything it is:

Sometimes you must STOP, take a deep breathe, look at the big picture and readjust. Sometimes it seems the world is conspiring against you to make a living and keep that big ol truck moving. In the grand scheme of things, it is for a very short amount of time. The important thing is YOU MADE IT HOME SAFE! Everybody around you went home safe as well. That is the greatest success. So your wallet is not as heavy as you thought it was going to be. Who cares. It will work out. Had you wrecked or got hurt, the wallet would be even lighter.

Remember what is truly important to you. For me, it is my little girls and my wife. Every decision I make, I first think how will it affect my little girls? Then, how will it affect my wife? Last, how will it affect me? So if you apply that to the above scenarios, if I die or get hurt pushing that truck down the icy road just to make $100 then I really did not have their best interest in mind.

Thomas, I think you did great! You are completely correct when you say SLOW DOWN and be safe! Great job! If I ever get to drive one of these beast and get on the road, I 'll buy ya a cup of coffee someday.