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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Been there and gone...
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You stupid son of a ......
It didn't end there. I think I learned a few new swear words this trip.
I was looking forward to this one. It's the first time I've been up to the Twin Cities in a while. Since the bridge collapsed, for that matter. First stop in TN, second one in Cleveland, OH, then on to the Cities. The northern latitudes are getting frost at night, and since the company put me into a new(er) truck, I have not been having any trouble with it.
That is... Until I was in the middle of a construction zone, with concrete barriers on both sides of one lane of travel. "Check engine" light came on, and right after that, "engine protect" also came on. When the "engine protect" starts flashing, the engine shuts down. Even before it did that, I was on the CB, broadcasting that my truck was shutting down on me in the middle of the construction zone. At 4 AM, in the dark, I did not see any kind of break in the barriers for me to coast it out of anybodies way. I put on my 4-ways and came to a stop.
I had the hood unlatched and was in front of the truck, pulling on the hood when the headlights came up behind my truck. The way they came up, I began to step back. When they came to a stop, I went back to pulling the hood open. As I got around to the driver's side steer tire, this guy came alongside my trailer, broadening my education in 4-letter words. He finished with: "...Completely insane to stop in the dark, in a construction zone, with no way around you."
"Fine", I said. "So, send my truck to the loony bin." And, I pretty much ignored him while I unplugged the coolant level sensor and prayed that my truck would now keep running. By the time I got the truck running, closed the hood, and got it in gear, 3 more trucks were lined up behind me, and one of the drivers was throwing even more of those popular 4-letter words into the air.
Yes, the truck kept on running, and it was a couple of miles out of the construction zone. Then, Fed-Ex was the first to pass me while I tried to pick up speed. Yup, he was the first one behind me. Then, as I got up to my speed, I gained on him but when I tried to pass him, he'd swing from one lane into the other in front of me. His underwear must have been black from the scorch, and his collar must have been smoldering. I backed off and relaxed. The truck was running smooth again.
Poetic justice???
About 15 miles beyond the construction zone, Fed-Ex puts on his 4-ways and pulls over onto the shoulder. Nothing on the CB, and he knew I was the truck behind him. Not knowing what he had in mind, I stopped behind him, stayed clear of between the trucks, and went up to his window.
"Problems?"
"My truck just shut down on me. I've tried to re-start a couple of times, and it just keeps shutting off."
"Check engine comes on, and engine protect comes on, then starts flashing when it shuts down?"
"Yeah."
I opened his hood, unplugged the coolant sensor, then told him to start it up. "Engine protect isn't on anymore"
"Mine did the same thing back in the construction zone. I tried to let others know on the CB, and put my 4-ways on. No other choice."
He said he was sorry about how he reacted. He was listening to XM, not the CB, and saw my 4-ways on, but thought I was just moving slower. By the time he realized I was stopped, it was a split second from being too late. How did I know to unplug the coolant sensor? The other truck was doing that to me all the time. This is the first time this truck has done it. But, now I know of 3 trucks that have the same problem. And, all 3 of them are freightliners... I think I'm losing faith in Mexican Quality.
But, it made me think about all the drivers that I hear saying they don't even have the CB on. They're all listening to XM instead. Is the XM REALLY ALL THAT IMPORTANT? What's the potential cost to you the one time you don't pay attention to something on the CB?
As hard as Fed-Ex stood on the brakes, if he could not have stopped, the only things that would have been hurt were: The front of his truck. The back of my truck (And, I think mine would have fared far better than his). His pride. And, his job. I know of a few former drivers that turned off the CB, and turned up the stereo. I guess, in a way, you could say that the stereo cost them their jobs. They didn't find out about something in the road in front of them until it was too late because the stereo was more important.
I've already told the shop foreman about nearly getting rear-ended in a construction zone. Maybe, this time, with this truck, they'll actually try to fix the problem. (We need a "fingers crossed" smiley.):whistle:Did I say that???
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YES ! ! ! There is life after trucking.
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