All photos are available in It also made for one of the most interesting semi shots we've ever gotten. You can really see how these guys block the whole road all the way through. Interestingly, there was a motorcycle in the ditch a couple of corners after this, and the state and county LEOs where there working the accident. When the semi came by, one of the officers jumped onto the driver's side steps and told him to pull over, ticketing him for lane violation.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
Hmm, a truck driver that doesn't know where he is going?? Sounds like he should stick to cooking meth and government checks. At least that way he might not run someone over.
My father drove a truck for thirty years and if he got lost or went down this road on purpose he deserves a citation. If I drive on the wrong side of the road i get a ticket, why wouldn't a truck driver.
Sounds like you have it all worked out. I wonder what your opinion would be if you hadn't once been a lost driver.
It strikes me as funny that someone would have the profession of DRIVER and not plan how he/she was going to do his job. five or ten years ago it might have been excusable but now between computers and GPS there is no reason for ANYONE including dumbasses who call themselves drivers to get lost.
I bet there are a lot of REAL professional drivers out there that would not agree with the fact that it is OK for them to get lost or just ignore warnings and do whatever the hell they like.
My dad had a term he used for drivers like this and I can remember him using it all my life. He called them “Chicken Haulers”. Guys who couldn’t stay on the road without taking a bunch of pills and couldn’t hold a job with a reputable company for the same reason. More interested in lot lizards than having pride in their work.
Making a living is no excuse for being a danger to society.
I equate guys like this to the VROD rider of last week. Poser
Common ground. You gotta love it. Enough said.
Hey don't start in on me, I didn't say anything bad about the guy, and we're an equal opportunity embarrassment service...picking on all types of riders, drivers, even ourselves.
I don't hold too much against the drivers anyway, the state should get serious about their rules and either say yes or no with the signs. "Suggesting" they take an alternate route then writing a ticket for crossing the yellow doesn't seem like the right answer.
Not everyone. ;)
Lori's dad drives a low-boy, he even goes across the Gap sometimes, but never when it's busy. He also has us come escort him if it's daylight, even during the winter. Otherwise, he might pass through occasionally late at night...like 4am.
I never give the truckers a hard time, most of them so shook up after getting through that the will never come back. That's all we can ask for now.
I helped get this guy across the gap and talked to him at the store. He did in fact know what he was getting into. He said that he had been there before on his BIKE.
But most truckers don't know what they are getting into when crossing the gap. They are all gratful to make it off in one peice without hurting anyone.
My dad being a trucker, thinks that trucks should be banned from Deals Gap. It wasn't such a big deal 30-40 years ago, but there is just too much traffic now. That is why, like Darryl said, my dad goes across at 4am. He doesn't even use the gap anymore or hasn't in months.
*sorry for the miss-spelled words. I didn't proof read it before posting*
I don't get much into the blame game. I never know if the driver was blissfully ignorant when he passed the "warning" sign, or knew what he was headed for and made the choice to go for it anyways.
Here is what puzzles me:
US 129 is open to semis; no law against it.
But, it is impossible, empahsis: IMPOSSIBLE to drive a semi through The Gap without breaking the law. That doesn't make sense to me. The state keeps the road open to semis, yet every semi that uses it HAS to break the law in order to use it.
Go figure.....
I have no problem with the length of any discussion on here...doesn't cost me anything. ;)
Just keep it reasonable and remember you're talking to or about someone you may meet in real life one day.
Minx and I discussed this at length, and there are tons of people at fault: Drivers, Dispatchers, Law Enforcement that ignore it, State government that allows it, etc...
Bottom Line: When a driver comes onto a public road KNOWING that they are going to endanger the lives of the public, they've become scum in my mind. The same applies to the dispatcher that sends them. If A driver is simply ignorant of the safety concern, I'll take notice for him.
When a driver does this, he endangers Minx, Myself, and many of my friends. I don't lead them through as a favor, I do it to protect my friends and the public.
I don't know what the answer is (Though I have many ideas), but I do know what the answer isn't: Bringing a tractor-trailer onto the gap.
VStrom,
We police our own pretty well up there - I've spoken to cycle riders and car drivers about thier behavior. I don't take well to anyone violationg others space on the Gap.
As far as the trucks, they CANNOT traverse the Gap without being dangerous. The moment they pass the lake they're comitted to endangering other people. When a driver comes through the gap for the second time, he's declaring that he's not concerned for the safety of others.. Imagine if a driver was trying to get one more exit north on the interstate and there was a backup in the northbound lane, with little traffic in the Southbound... so he just gets on the southbound side going in the wrong direction to save time. Is it O.K.? Because that's basically what the drivers do when they make that second trip through the gap.
It's all puppy dogs and roses till someone loses a head.
I'm a shipping manager and have driven from time to time. Sh!t happens sometimes. But the nature of that road should prohibit tractor trailer traffic. Hopefully either the laws change or the police ticket that behavior out of them. You don't have to be on two wheels and breaking the sound barrier to lose your life to something like that either.
Post a Comment