[driverboy]

Reading Steveo's 1/2 mile of backing in reverse debacle had me wondering there has to be some horrendous stories out there of lost hours from cruddy directions, let's hear some, here is mine:

Offloaded a load of 2nd tomatoes in New York City to some cut rate restaurant supplier that was designed to hold stake trucks not 75 foot long OTR packages and ask the offloader the best way to get the heck out of there and onto the bridge to leave the city as quick as possible, my 1st mistake.

Get out of there with a Volvo 770/Great Dane Reefer, big combo, and following this guy's directions things are starting to get tighter and tighter in downtown New York streets. Thinking it could get ugly I spot a Fed Ex delivery driver dropping off some packages from a local delivery truck and hit him up for verification on my receiver's directions. He confirms the same route so I go with it, if anyone should know the best route to get onto the highway it should be a FedEx local delivery worker, 2nd mistake.

I continue for about 12-15 blocks and now the street is narrowed down to 1 lane each way, parked cars parallel on either side in front of shops and bistros, true Seinfeld style. Thinking a left or right is just about out of the question I come to a sign that says the highway is still ahead so I soldier on, missing parked cars on 1 side by inches and moving cars on the either side by the same. Come to a light and see the on-ramp to get on the highway just past the intersection. Problem is the entire intersection is under construction. Right or left only and lanes blocked off to the right or left with plywood "walls" for the construction project. I am screwed with a capitol S. Can not go forward, and a left or right would be tight in a pickup truck, 75 feet of truck and trailer would literally remove part of the buildings on either corner on an attempt. The only way out of this is in reverse, some 15 blocks behind me in bumper to bumper New York City gridlock traffic on both sides, nice.

I look up and see old apartment buildings built above the store fronts/patio restaurants and see clotheslines strung across the street 10 floors up, just like in the movies except I wasn't quite in the mood to explore, I am in the most serious jam I have been in yet with a big truck. Keep in mind at this point I had my CDL for about 4 months.

I could go on for chapters about the next 4 hours sitting at that intersection but I'll try and keep in under an novel. I called the cops, they said that was not important enough to warrant sending a car out. I literally ran after several police cars I saw but they whisked by the side street I would have wanted to get on but could not from the construction. Behind me is at least a 100 angry New Yorkers in their cars calling me every name in the book, cars are honking for 15 city blocks behind me and cars are starting to bolt around my truck and cut off oncoming traffic. Once 1 slipped up beside me, a dozen would follow them and have oncoming traffic at a stop, now both sides yelling at me, at one point I went back to the spacious sleeper of the Volvo 770 and splashed some cold water on my face from the optional sink as well as to avoid getting shot. The only way out was in reverse, and as far as the eye could see was nothing but cars honking, 16 weeks into getting my license, nice.

I needed an escort of some sort to part the traffic to back out of the mess but amazingly every cop I went up roared away. At 1 point a accosted what looked like a cop in a coffee shop (just like Seinfeld's restaurant on the corner) and told him I needed help. I visually showed him leaving the shop the mess I was in and he responded that he was a Port Authority Officer and had no resources or contact with NYPD to help me out. Asked him to call in and verify the severity of the situation to NYPD to jump the 911 backlog and get someone over here, at this point I have been there for over 90 minutes, maybe 2 hours. I had locked the truck up, and walked back to see how many blocks in reverse I had to go to good or blind this thing off the main road into a side street and turn around the other way. With no major intersection only small residential side streets close-by that would no way make the cut of 75 feet I had to reverse back around 10 of the blocks, only a few from where the FedEx guy had forgot to mention the construction 50 feet from the on-ramp.

I thought about paying someone to set the pick and push the cars back with their 4 wheeler off my trailer and reverse behind him but it was futile without some authority of some sort leading the charge, thinking flashing lights would help of some sort, heck I would have picked some up and tried to get someone to impersonate an officer, this was getting nuts.

Around the 2.5 hour mark, a guy comes up to the truck and asks if he can be of help, he is an off duty NYFD (fire department) in some type of managerial position, his Nissan Pathfinder has a light bar on it, ahh yes my savior has arrived. This guy pulled out the badge, set the pick behind my trailer and drove back what was at least a 100 cars (took 15 minutes for the procession to turn off or reverse back enough for me to even move). Hand out his window flashing the badge, Ace Ventura Pet Detective style, lights blazin and creeping along on the solid line, with opposing traffic whizzing by still tossing me 4 letter words I back the truck up about 10 blocks, parked cars on the passenger side 4-6 inches off my trailer and just being able to see a few inches of this guy's pathfinder right on the line to monitor if I am safe to keep in reverse out my good side mirror. Some 30 minutes or so later we make it to my turn-around intersection and my NYFD friend shuts down the entire intersection with his truck/lights/badge, walks to each lead car and tells them what is going on, also forcing the side road I am backing into to go back 10 cars lengths and wait until I am turned around before moving forward.

Things are looking good but the next problem was I needed swing room to avoid whacking the parked cars on my pass side, the tractor would have took them all out on the good side swing, they are inches off the tractor. I need to go back into the intersection, pull back up and center into the roadway to allow room for the tractor to swing wide to make what is still an extremely tight good side, parked cars on both sides of the side street as well. Total head count watching at this point was well in excess of a 100, heck the shop owners were out to take in all the action, charming.

With my NYFD friend holding off the 4 intersections I now push another 20 or 30 cars in reverse from the oncoming lane to give me the room to good side. I remember looking up at the buildings above me and now notice dozens are enjoying the impromptu sideshow out their windows, thank god they were out of earshot as I don't think they were commenting on driving expertise. Around this timeline I am having severe reservations about doing this for a living.

With the NYFD friend hand signaling me back into the good side turn around I hogged both lanes on the side street and once backed up completely into the side street had decent clearance, it was a 2 lane side street. Mid turn however, I was under a foot off parked cars on my good side and my new best friend said about the same on the other side.

We chat for a minute after I am ready to pull out and try a forward gear for the first time in 4 hours and he escorts back to the safe way of getting back to the highway avoiding the construction, which both the delivery and FedEx guys had told me to take. Thinking back my GPS would have said to do the same, there was no posted warnings off the upcoming construction, none.

NYFD friend follows me onto the highway gives me a thumbsup and shoots off the next exit to resume his life and my story ends. I am 4 hours behind, I drive a few hundred miles out of the area and get to wide open roads and hit the 1st truck stop and go to bed for 10 hours, I was wiped in every sense of the word. Put on a DVD, I think season 2 Miami Vice reruns and never even made the theme song, I was done.

Wish I would have taken the guys # I would have for sure sent him one helluva a fruit basket. Great guy, and surely some heartache from his end as this was in 2004, after 9/11 when surely dozens of his coworkers or staff were killed, I wonder if the random act of kindness was a reflection of what his last few years had been like, who knows.

My O/O calls and asks what the heck is going on why am I so far behind, not wanting to freak him out I said I am having a bad day, your not getting the details. The truck is empty, nothing was rejected, and nothing is damaged, the rest is a moot point. Call you in the morning and we will dial in the next spin out (multiple drivers same truck)when I wake up, whenever that may be.

Hmmm this got a little wordy, I laughed writing it, and I actually laughed at the time and still do when things get tense. Never forget some guy dancing with is headphones on at a street pole at the corner looking over and helling "Dude, your f***ed". I yelled back, "Yeah I am, enjoy the show."

And that's my debacle of my trucking career, and yours?

[wot i life]

London, Rome , Paris, Milan.....Any day, every day. I expect its most probably the same in N/Y, L/A etc.... :lol:

[bulldog2036]

Went the wrong way down Exchange St. near the Fort Worth Stockyards, thought I was going to rip down all those banners (if you've ever been there you know) that they have strung across the road....needless to say the people on the street thought I was a dumb azz...felt like one. :lol:

[BanditsCousin]

Too many bedbugging stories, too many residential deliveries

I did the 1/2 mile in reverse through a residential one time, man, did that suck!

[Dejanh]

Reminds me of a time i got lost in Philly with 45,600 load of paper rolls with Werner during my first month as a driver....


I cried.... ops: Literally

[repete]

1st week on my own and only my 3rd load. I got lost in Boston and ended up on a brick paved street :shock: I drove all over and couldn't find the *^&$ place. I called dispatch (weekend) no help, called the reciever " no one here can give direction" now I'm real late and pull over @ closed Ice cream stand and pull out my map for the 100th time. I hear a knock and there's a guy standing there and "asks are ya lost" :roll:YA THINK! turns out he works at the warehouse and if I can wait a 1/2 hr I can follow him OH-YEAH life is good! When I pulled up to the gate I explained to the young guard why I was late he said ok just park but we don't know when you'll get a dock. No problem I shut down did my log and found out I was over my drive time by about about 1hr. :roll: sat there for 28 hr till I bumped the dock! :evil:
I pay more attention to street signs and directions now!!

I'M GLAD I CAN'T TOP THAT NYC STORY!

[ToxicWaste]

18 years old delivering building materials to a custom home in the mountains right outside of Scottsdale. Pulled in but had to back out around a curve that was on the other side of a 35 foot gorge. Trailer wheels made it around the curve but the truck stops and the drives start spinning. I say oh :dung: and open the drivers door to see I'm looking down that gorge and the left side drives are off the side spinning. Thank God for diff lock!!!

[vavega]

dejanh's comment brought this back.........

i was chosen to be the substitute yard jockey at goldman paper in philly when the regular guy took a week's vacation. :? the friday before i spent an hour with him going over everything i had to do. i'd been there many times before so i knew most of it, all but where to put excess trailers. they had a drop lot back off westmoreland st, a 2 level jobbie with a ramp of sorts going to the upper level which backed up against a 2 story brick garage. most times you could drive straight up the ramp swing around and back it up no problem. but to get the last 2 in there he tells me you have to back it in off the street and go back up the ramp to the building. we did one together and it wasn't bad. come wednesday of my week alone i start to run out of room and reached the point i had to use those last 2 spots. i start to back in off the street and a car decided he didn't want to wait, ran up on the sidewalk, passing me on my side :shock: bumps down near the tractor, shoots me the finger, yells something and keeps on going. after the initial scare, i laugh and thought this is cake, all i need to do is go right up the hill striaght and i got it. but remember this is a paper load and as dejanh says heavy. i get half way up the hill and the truck stops. thinking i didn't give it enough gas i let off the brake pedal and roll downhill to do it again. then all i hear is loud booms! wth!???? thinking i dropped it, i look back real quick and see trailer. whew! what made the noise? getting out i go back to see.......all the tires are flat! when i went up the hill the shoes embedded themselves in the chunked up asphalt, tearing of off completely and that's what stopped me. once i let off the brake i rolled over them popping all the trailer tires. :roll: ops: :shock:

then on my last trailer that friday, the forklift driver leaves the plate on and loads a roll right to the tail with part of it on the plate. the problem with that is once you pull the trailer away from the dock the roll with actually start to slide out a bit. they were doing shift change when i went out to move it, so getting a guy to pick it up while i popped the plate was out of the question and i didn't want to wait the half hour for 2nd shift. so thinking that if i pulled it slow, it might not move. sure enough that didn't work. the last roll was sticking out oh say a 1/4 inch. so genius here gets the bright idea that if she pushes on the left side door hard enough the roll will slide in and she can go home. yeah, right... like you're strong enough to push a 400lb roll of paper!?? but it sounded good at the time! so i grab the door and using both hands slam on it with all i got. the bar hits the frame, the door handle comes flying up and smacks me in the upper lip. stunned i stand there thinking i'm ok, i check teeth with tongue.....yeah i got all them, nothing hurts. then i start to get woozy. the schneider driver sitting in the truck next to me starts to yell. sorry schnieder, and a belated thank you for helping me, you were gone when i came back from the hospital i start to go down. one of the mechanics puts me on their shop golf cart and runs me down the sidewalk to the hospital on the next block. i ended up with 15 stiches, a week of the recover and never haivng to jockey again.

[ibamars]

I used to play in a band... Well during our third set our other guitar player walked off stage because he thought his girl was messing around. He was right, but it was a mess because I had to finish the night by myself on stage.

LOL. hope you got the joke

[Jackrabbit379]

Originally Posted by ibamars

I used to play in a band... Well during our third set our other guitar player walked off stage because he thought his girl was messing around. He was right, but it was a mess because I had to finish the night by myself on stage.

LOL. hope you got the joke

Oh man. He woulda been laid out :P