Winter driving.

[Jackrabbit379]

Don't feel bad, Malaki. Here in north central Texas, it's only getting up to the mid 20's in the mid-afternoon.

[Malaki86]

I'm just north of Baton Rouge, LA now and it's a whopping 22... This is just wrong!!! Wrong, I tell you!!! Damn global warming anyway

[Windwalker]

Hobo. Clear out your PM board so that you can receive more.

Since you can't receive a PM, I'll put it here.

That day in TX, you were riding with far more luck than you'll realize. I can think of more than a dozen situations, that you obviously did not run into, that would have almost certainly taken you off the road that day. Instead, Lady Luck worked overtime, sitting on your shoulder and allowed you to come away with more than a million dollars worth of experience. The more you face conditions like that, the better you are going to get. Look back at it ten years from now and see just what you think of yourself.

[Orangetxguy]

I can't say I've ever worked for a company that cancelled runs because of winter weather. But, back when the wife and I were pulling for Burlington, we picked up a load of hazmat north of Philadelphia, and were taking it to NC. That was the year when NC got their worst snowstorm in recorded history. She was driving when we hit the snow, and by the time we stopped at the J at Haw River, I was behind the wheel. We had gone past other trucks that spun out going up a small hill and figured that was far enough.

I called dispatch and told them we were hanging it up. "Are you sure you can't run? Your appointment time is tomorrow morning." I told them it was hazmat, and asked if they wanted the liability in case of a spill. (Phosphorus tri-chloride is some pretty nasty stuff. Both corrosive and an inhalation hazard. 5 mile evacuation area down-wind, must be removed and can not be washed away. exactly the sort of stuff you want next to you all the time.) Tlhey asked for the UN number and I told them. Within 3 minutes, they were back on the phone, telling me to do whatever I thought best. The next day, I called the customer and was told to wait one more day. They could not insure that they could unload it safely.

I never heard another word about it. The load was safely delivered and unloaded, and dispatch never said one word about parking the load.

And, for the ladies reading this... I was told that customer mixes this stuff with animal fat and a few other ingredients, then sells it to Helene Curtis for MOISTURIZER for MAKE-UP. I still picture all the women lining up at the cash register and paying good money to put this stuff on their faces.

But, there is a very large difference between a smart driver and an intelligent driver...

A smart driver knows the weather conditions, the equipment he's driving, and the load he's pulling. He knows what he must do in order to make it to the destination. Chances are, he will pull any load, through just about any weather conditions, to almost any destination, and get it there.

The intelligent driver knows better than to challenge it.

In my career, I've been both.

January of 09, a customer in E. Brunswick NJ paid the local Ramada Inn $1,750 for the use of one of their parking areas for 4 days, for my truck and the trailer I was pulling to sit on, while I checked into a room there. There were ice storms for 3 of those days, and the unload spot for the chemical was on top of a hill inside the plant. They did not want the truck on the plant property, during the storm... but they paid for a security team to babysit my truck 24 hours a day, and paid the E. Brunswick Fire Department permit fees of $3,800 for my truck to sit on that lot.

I loved it! Demurrage ran the settlement up to $8,300 for the load! 10,000 pounds of product on the trailer.

[headborg]

Are there any States that require a Minimum of MORE than 3 sets + a spare ( 7 chains total)???????

I was under the impression (perhaps outdated info) that at least one State required 5 sets & another that required 4 sets....

[Fredog]

Are there any States that require a Minimum of MORE than 3 sets + a spare ( 7 chains total)???????

I was under the impression (perhaps outdated info) that at least one State required 5 sets & another that required 4 sets....

just for you

State Tire Chain Laws and Regulations

[Jackrabbit379]

State Tire Chain Laws and Regulations

That's interesting. I thought it was a requirement to have tire chains. I guess it varies from state to state.