In the Snow..or sleek roads..

Welcome to TTR Thomas,
Very true post.
I see too many drivers in the ditch or worse over the years just because they did not know any better and kept on the gas pedal when the road is slick.

I try my best to stay away from all vehicles as much as i can when the roads get bad.
I learned to drive when i was young and was living in Michigan.
These drivers here in the south just go to pieces when the road gets a little slick.

 

I too learned from my Dad back in the 70's. It was a whole nother world. Now they tell you they have the right to pull out in front of you on a hill while your still moving....Welcome to the site..

 

EZ Money what part of michigan? i grew up there also and am currently contemplating moving back to wisconsin and getting in the truck industry. how did you end up in NC from michigan.

 

And sometimes, you just can't tell.

On I-80 in WY, west bound the other night.
Slick conditions, but the roads were not that bad and no wind to speak of.

Coming up on a bend and I see a truck up ahead put the 4-ways on, so I start slowing down.
I put my flashers on as well, not knowing what was ahead.

Coming around the bend I see a truck in the center, jacknifed.
I get to the left lane like the truck in front of me - following the leader, as it were.
Then he moves back to the right lane, and so do I.

As I approach the accident I get the hint that the right lane is the wrong place to be, because my drive tires start spinning.
And I am only going 10 MPH!

I ease back to the left lane where there is some snow, and gain traction again.

After that one icy spot the road was OK again.

If not for the grace of God...

And it's a shame that one slick spot on a road might be the end of a drivers career, because that spot could not be anticipated.
No matter how slow you were going, you would have spun.
And that one drivers misfortune may have saved several other drivers careers - or lives.

He was OK, by the way.

 

I got my first real experience of ice while in WI. I had to deliver to a farm cotton seed. You wouldn't think such a heavy truck would not turn as all, but when on ice rubber doesn't matter. I was just turning around going 1MPH. Luckily I was only skidding for about three seconds.

 

I'm not wanting to be an old sourpuss because I'm not THAT old and I know that there are many out here been there longer than i have but today's generation of drivers don't no how good they have it compared to only ONE generation ago. The recent advent of cell phone and qualcomm technology has completely transformed many of the critical, key aspects of trucking as we know it today. And many younger drivers can't fathom being out here with only pay phones for help and assistance and dispatch.

And with regards to snow/ice, only one generation ago, there was 300% fewer trucks/autos out here, meaning the chance of YOU being the first to discover the "slick spot" was 3 times higher. Then, we sometimes were light on the drives and heavy on the trailer due to limited enforcement of the laws we have today making snow/ice travel in the mountains brutal. Today, they close down roads much sooner, and yet someone crashes or gets hung up much sooner.

 

I lived near Monroe MI.
I had family here in NC and moved here back in 1985.
One thing is for sure i do not miss living up there,those were some brutal winters!

 

did my time down that way. was at fort bragg for a number of years. back up here in 95 due to mothers death and then keep bouncing back and forth between mich and wisconsin. who do you drive 4? thinking about millis but can not go until april due to promising a guy i work 4 that i would be here until he got back from florida in the spring. i am his only employee and pay is not great but he is a good guy to work for.

 

Back in the day, a trucker was this guy that wanted adventure on the open road. Ran like a demon down the highway, tough as nails, could think behind the wheel, enjoyed what he did. Nowadays, a truck driver is some person that was told to go drive a truck because he's too stupid to do anything else. He's always on the phone crying about respect, home time, mama's nipple, the mean all powerful dispatcher that forces him to work, how unhappy he is that he has to drive for a living...etc.

So then they put those electronic cattle prods on him and do all of his thinking for him. How can you be surprised when he puts his truck into a ditch?