Sometimes I wonder where people learned how to drive. Well, not sometimes, ALL THE TIME!
Today is no different. I only had to drive 100 miles today. Only 100. Not the 500 - 600 I usually drive. Only 100.
528,000 feet.
6,663,000 inches.
Sounds like a lot, but in my line of work, it is a Sunday Drive.
Coincidentally, today is Sunday. A day of rest and worship. A day to spend reflecting on our lives and our blessings. For me, a day to drive 100 MILES!
Do I sound perturbed? Maybe a bit miffed? Well, today I am.
One thing drivers learn to do when they are taking drivers education is the art of merging. You know, when a driver COMING onto an interstate blends in with the traffic that is already ON the interstate?
It is a relatively simple process I thought. When a driver enters the entrance ramp, he looks down onto the interstate as soon as safely possible and either accelerates or decelerates to match the speed of the vehicles on the interstate and MERGE in with the families and freight already on the highway.
But let me tell you what I am seeing more and more. Today, 3 times today, cars coming onto the interstate did not perform the art of merging, rather they waited until the last second to see what was going on and then tried to make a decision.
I watched them come down the ramp, la la la, and then check their mirror at the bottom of the ramp. At that point it is too late to make an informed decision, so something awkward and potentially dangerous will unfold. Often in the blink of an eye.
As a "professional driver", I am paid to not only drive my truck, but to pay attention to all that is going on around me, so I can make a decision at any moment that will protect the motoring public. Today, these 3 vehicles are lucky that I was doing my job.
In all 3 cases, I watched these cars from the time they entered the entrance ramps. If possible, I try to move over so the merge can go smoothly. But there are some times that I can not. For example, if there is a car next to me, or one coming up so fast that moving over may cause an accident. In those situations, I will maintain my speed so the drivers trying to merge can try to get ahead of me, or slow down a little and pull in behind me.
Remember, it is the vehicle on the ramp that has to perform the merge dance, not the people already on the highway.
Well, when I saw these 3 vehicles coming on down the ramp and not paying attention, I backed off the fuel to let them accelerate and get in front of me. Well guess what? In All 3 cases the person driving had no idea I was even on the highway until they were almost at the bottom of the ramp. Now it is their turn to panic. Well, all 3 of them just kept right on coming, expecting me to slow down so they could "come on down".
If you read my first post, you understand that these trucks DO NOT stop on a dime. I could not stop, all I could do is slow down and let them keep coming. Well at the last second, all 3 of them decided they couldn't get in front of me so they slowed down. Now we are both slowing down. Refer to my first post again. These trucks aren't exactly quick on the pedal.
Well, in the end I won because I am bigger. These people ended up stopping on the entrance ramp. How hard is it going to be to merge now?
My point is this I guess. When you are merging, do not wait until the last second to check out the traffic you are merging with, regardless which part of the equation you are. Merger or Mergee. It is the responsibility of the person on the ramp to match speed and merge, not the people you are merging with. Start looking at the top of the ramp, not when you get to the bottom of it.
If you are the one on the highway, pay attention to the person coming down the ramp. Move over if you can safely do so. If not, try to adjust your speed slightly, but remember, you have traffic traveling behind you too and they may not be paying attention either. Don't slow down too much, you may create an even worse situation.
Happy Driving.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
38,000 pounds of tampons and a change of underwear
I have hauled many different commodities in my short career as a Commodities Relocation Specialist. (that means truck driver). I have hauled cottonseed, diapers, fruit roll ups, dog food, laundry detergent, and fabric.
I have hauled REAL pig skins (A.D.D. moment here. did you know the pork rinds you buy at the store are actually made with pig skins. REAL pig skins! I did not, but now that I do, I will never eat them again) and frozen chicken. I have hauled bottled water and Pepsi.
I have also hauled Hazardous Chemicals and baby powder. I have carried a load of beer from Milwaukee to Georgia, with a quick stop at my house. Well, I didn't really stop at the house, but Joanne sure was trying to talk me into it.=-)
One time I hauled a load of cigarettes out of California with so much security you would have thought I was carrying nuclear secrets or something. These cigarettes did not have the tax stamp on them yet, so the government wasn't taking any chances on losing that revenue. (Another A.D.D moment. Cigarette smoking is so bad for us, so why doesn't the government just make them illegal and stop subsidizing the tobacco farmers? Then they could also stop spending millions of dollars on Stop Smoking PSA's , save even more money on health care because we are told that smoking is one of the leading causes of health care costs rising, after obesity. Think of all the money we could save.....hmmmmm. We probably make more on the cigarette taxes though, so lets play both sides of the issue and get as much revenue as possible and then say it is for the children!) Sorry for the tangent, I just get sick of our government talking out of both sides of their crooked mouths.
I even hauled a load of Tampons from somewhere in Missouri to Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Well, almost to Green Bay. I ran into a little problem along the way.
I spent a lovely May evening somewhere in southern Illinois at a Shell Truck Stop. After doing my pre-trip, I headed up the road on my way to Wisconsin. This route took me past my house, so I decided to stop at home and visit with Joanne and the kids, and the yet to be delivered Jack.
After a lovely lunch at Hardee's, I headed back up the road on my way to deliver all 38,000 pounds of tampons in the trailer.
As I headed up Route 151 in Sun Prairie Wisconsin, I accelerated from 55 to 63 and set my cruise. Just as I did this, a gust of wind pushed against my trailer, trying to gently push me to the right. (these trailers are like big ole sails out there. High winds are especially fun to drive in) As I gently nudged my steering wheel to the left, a funny thing happened. The truck did not respond. There was no pressure against the wheel.
For a second I thought "That's odd" until I realized that what this meant was that I HAD NO STEERING!!!!
That is right boys and girls, my steering had ceased to function. Without getting all technical, the hoochamajiggy came off the thingamajig, literally disconnecting my steering wheel from the wheels. (For you mechanics, I know you understand what I am talking about. Some mechanic said the pitman arm came off the steering box and I was like "Yeah right, you weren't there, how do you know?)
So, 63 mph. 38,000 lbs of tampons. 1 split second to make a decision. What do you do wise guy, what do you do?
First, i think I may have cursed out loud. Just a little bit, but I am sure I used every word I could think of and then I made up a few, just to make sure I had my bases covered.
Did i mention I was on a bridge? Oh yeah, and that there was 4 lanes of traffic. Oh yeah, and that there was an 80 foot drop to my right? (That is where the change of underwear comes in. I really could have used one)
Well, the Lord had his hand on my truck that day, kind of like a child playing with a toy truck. The wind that was annoying me, actually pushed me into the jersey barriers on the right. Why is this good? If my truck had gone to the left, I would have gone across 3 lanes of traffic and a pretty nasty median. By going to the right it allowed me to stay on the road until I was across the bridge. Then I went down an 80 foot embankment and came to stop on the entrance ramp that lead up to the highway I just came off of.
The truck did not roll over thanks to the soft ground and God's will.
It is funny what you think of after a stressful situation like that. After I knew I was OK, and that no one else was involved in my accident, I went to the bunk of my truck and checked out the TV/DVD combo we had purchased not too long before. I heard it hit the floor of the bunk as the truck rolled down the embankment, and I wanted to see if it still worked. After all, what would I do without entertainment? So before I did ANYTHING else, I plugged it back in and turned it on. Guess what? It still worked!
I called my company to let them know what had happened and waited for the police to show up. I called Joanne to let her know. It was then that I realized what had really just happened and how close I came to something really bad occurring. I had almost left this earth without seeing my son. I would have missed watching his little newborn eyes trying to focus on my voice when I spoke to him for the first time out of the womb. I almost missed seeing him born. (OK, i just put that in there so you guys will think that was special for me. It was really kinda gross. lol) I almost missed hearing him say he was daddy's baby.
I almost missed the rest of my life with Joanne and the kids. I almost missed all the fun I have out here on the road. I almost missed the Indians winning the World Series and the Browns winning the Super Bowl! (I am the eternal optimist. I am a Cleveland fan, what can I say?)
I also almost missed out on all the memories I have had since then, and that I will have in the future. Don't take safety for granted. Some things are beyond our control, like that steering breaking. Some things, however, are not beyond our control.
We can drive safely. We can not tailgate. We can do the speed limit. We can pay attention while we are driving. (I saw a woman yesterday reading a report or something she had placed on her steering wheel, talking on the phone, and drinking something with a child in the car. I hope she made it where she was going for the child's sake.)
We can be patient. (I have a hard time with that one). We can be tolerant without being hateful.
(politics included in that statement)
And when we come upon one of those things we can not control, trust God, pray, and sometimes, you gotta just hang on for the ride and hope your TV/DVD combo works afterwards.
Drive safe. I want you to read my next post.
I have hauled REAL pig skins (A.D.D. moment here. did you know the pork rinds you buy at the store are actually made with pig skins. REAL pig skins! I did not, but now that I do, I will never eat them again) and frozen chicken. I have hauled bottled water and Pepsi.
I have also hauled Hazardous Chemicals and baby powder. I have carried a load of beer from Milwaukee to Georgia, with a quick stop at my house. Well, I didn't really stop at the house, but Joanne sure was trying to talk me into it.=-)
One time I hauled a load of cigarettes out of California with so much security you would have thought I was carrying nuclear secrets or something. These cigarettes did not have the tax stamp on them yet, so the government wasn't taking any chances on losing that revenue. (Another A.D.D moment. Cigarette smoking is so bad for us, so why doesn't the government just make them illegal and stop subsidizing the tobacco farmers? Then they could also stop spending millions of dollars on Stop Smoking PSA's , save even more money on health care because we are told that smoking is one of the leading causes of health care costs rising, after obesity. Think of all the money we could save.....hmmmmm. We probably make more on the cigarette taxes though, so lets play both sides of the issue and get as much revenue as possible and then say it is for the children!) Sorry for the tangent, I just get sick of our government talking out of both sides of their crooked mouths.
I even hauled a load of Tampons from somewhere in Missouri to Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Well, almost to Green Bay. I ran into a little problem along the way.
I spent a lovely May evening somewhere in southern Illinois at a Shell Truck Stop. After doing my pre-trip, I headed up the road on my way to Wisconsin. This route took me past my house, so I decided to stop at home and visit with Joanne and the kids, and the yet to be delivered Jack.
After a lovely lunch at Hardee's, I headed back up the road on my way to deliver all 38,000 pounds of tampons in the trailer.
As I headed up Route 151 in Sun Prairie Wisconsin, I accelerated from 55 to 63 and set my cruise. Just as I did this, a gust of wind pushed against my trailer, trying to gently push me to the right. (these trailers are like big ole sails out there. High winds are especially fun to drive in) As I gently nudged my steering wheel to the left, a funny thing happened. The truck did not respond. There was no pressure against the wheel.
For a second I thought "That's odd" until I realized that what this meant was that I HAD NO STEERING!!!!
That is right boys and girls, my steering had ceased to function. Without getting all technical, the hoochamajiggy came off the thingamajig, literally disconnecting my steering wheel from the wheels. (For you mechanics, I know you understand what I am talking about. Some mechanic said the pitman arm came off the steering box and I was like "Yeah right, you weren't there, how do you know?)
So, 63 mph. 38,000 lbs of tampons. 1 split second to make a decision. What do you do wise guy, what do you do?
First, i think I may have cursed out loud. Just a little bit, but I am sure I used every word I could think of and then I made up a few, just to make sure I had my bases covered.
Did i mention I was on a bridge? Oh yeah, and that there was 4 lanes of traffic. Oh yeah, and that there was an 80 foot drop to my right? (That is where the change of underwear comes in. I really could have used one)
Well, the Lord had his hand on my truck that day, kind of like a child playing with a toy truck. The wind that was annoying me, actually pushed me into the jersey barriers on the right. Why is this good? If my truck had gone to the left, I would have gone across 3 lanes of traffic and a pretty nasty median. By going to the right it allowed me to stay on the road until I was across the bridge. Then I went down an 80 foot embankment and came to stop on the entrance ramp that lead up to the highway I just came off of.
The truck did not roll over thanks to the soft ground and God's will.
It is funny what you think of after a stressful situation like that. After I knew I was OK, and that no one else was involved in my accident, I went to the bunk of my truck and checked out the TV/DVD combo we had purchased not too long before. I heard it hit the floor of the bunk as the truck rolled down the embankment, and I wanted to see if it still worked. After all, what would I do without entertainment? So before I did ANYTHING else, I plugged it back in and turned it on. Guess what? It still worked!
I called my company to let them know what had happened and waited for the police to show up. I called Joanne to let her know. It was then that I realized what had really just happened and how close I came to something really bad occurring. I had almost left this earth without seeing my son. I would have missed watching his little newborn eyes trying to focus on my voice when I spoke to him for the first time out of the womb. I almost missed seeing him born. (OK, i just put that in there so you guys will think that was special for me. It was really kinda gross. lol) I almost missed hearing him say he was daddy's baby.
I almost missed the rest of my life with Joanne and the kids. I almost missed all the fun I have out here on the road. I almost missed the Indians winning the World Series and the Browns winning the Super Bowl! (I am the eternal optimist. I am a Cleveland fan, what can I say?)
I also almost missed out on all the memories I have had since then, and that I will have in the future. Don't take safety for granted. Some things are beyond our control, like that steering breaking. Some things, however, are not beyond our control.
We can drive safely. We can not tailgate. We can do the speed limit. We can pay attention while we are driving. (I saw a woman yesterday reading a report or something she had placed on her steering wheel, talking on the phone, and drinking something with a child in the car. I hope she made it where she was going for the child's sake.)
We can be patient. (I have a hard time with that one). We can be tolerant without being hateful.
(politics included in that statement)
And when we come upon one of those things we can not control, trust God, pray, and sometimes, you gotta just hang on for the ride and hope your TV/DVD combo works afterwards.
Drive safe. I want you to read my next post.
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