What Would A Pro Driver Do?

When I was working the oil fields in Pennsylvania it required us to take a lot of back country roads/highways. One of the hardest things about this job was when there was a new well site we had to try and find it. Forget GPS (for the most part) because these things were in the backwoods. Well I got a load for a brand new well site went to the staging area which was about 2 miles away from the well. It was like 2am so it was pitch black outside which makes it harder. The roads were not labeled at all and I missed my turn off. Well.. 53 miles later I found a spot to turn around.

That's one of the hardest things about this job. You can't just make a u turn where ever like a 4 wheeler. It took me 53 MILES to find a spot to turn around. There were some spots before that where I thought I could turn around. I would start to turn around then realize it was to small of an area to turn around instead of forcing it and destroying my truck or a pole or whatever I just pulled out and kept going down that tiny highway or state road. Whatever it was. Until I found a spot 53 miles later.

Moral of the story.. better to be late then sorry. Use the tools you have like GPS. Google maps, and your map book. Try to scout it out before using Google maps so you have an idea. There are plenty of YouTube videos showing a big rig turning around and destroying their truck or something else. Don't be that guy.

Be careful with state detours. Some will say no trucks allowed, some don't and you find out when your a mile down a two lane pa road and have to back it out. Not really a lot of fun there.

My second day of driving solo out of training, I got my truck stuck. It was a really sharp turn going up a steep incline on a 2 lane road going up a bridge. I didn't swing ask the way over into the oncoming lane and my trailer tires on the passenger side went into the grass. Well with those tires in the grass and the steep incline, my engine stalled. When trying to get started again it kept stalking no matter what great I was in. I tried to back up a bit, but realized right away that due to the angle I was at from making the turn, backing was just going to push my trailer father off the road and into a ditch. I called my company's roadside maintenance and they called a tow truck. I found out from the cop who stopped while I was waiting for help and the tow truck driver, they get 2-3 trucks a month stuck there. Often those usually with a lot more expertise than me, get themselves in worse situations because they don't want to call for help and keep trying to fix it themselves. This was just a mile or two down the road from the super I just got loaded at.

There are three main lessons I learned from this event. The first when leaving a shipper in an area your not familiar with, ask if there are any problems going down the road. The second, don't be afraid to swing ask the way over into the oncoming lane to make a turn if necessary, just make sure no one is coming. The third, do not hesitate to call for help if you get into a situation. Better to call early and only need a little help than to make it worse and need repairs or lose your load.