Almost 400 Roads, 160 Bridges Closed In South Carolina After Downpour, Flooding

Old School. . In that case was it ok to take roads that weren't truck routes? Very curious about that.

I don't think he cared. Old School is a dude who will do absolutely anything to get his load in on time. I guarantee he didn't even think twice about it. I've been saying this for years, he's 110% a whacko!

I went on some of those detours running up from Savannah to Charleston and then up I 26 to I 40 in NC. There were detours off 26 in Columbia and detours off SC 17 to I 526 in Charleston. One had a corner so narrow that I curbed an empty step deck in full view of a police officer that was parked there. He had bigger problems to deal with, I reckon, and didn't even bat an eye.

What was crazy was this Knight truck that went past the other way. He saw the traffic jam and just plowed through the pond that had formed on a side street, through someone's yard to get from the cul-de-sac to another side street, then careened around the corner back onto 17 heading south. As he raced away, there was laundry flapping from a clothesline he'd hit that was stuck to his headache rack just beneath the words "Old School" painted on the back of his cab. I remember thinking, "Who says trucking ain't what it used to be?"

If I ever see Old School, I want my underwear back. It was hangin on that clothes line he hooked while running through the yard. I wouldn't really care except it was my favorite pair of silk Homer Simpson boxers.

Video: Sumter flood 2015

Published on Oct 4, 2015 18 wheeler plowing through flood waters on hwy 15 in Sumter sc

That must have been Old School in the video...

Video: Sumter flood 2015

Published on Oct 4, 2015 18 wheeler plowing through flood waters on hwy 15 in Sumter sc

That must have been Old School in the video...

I think that was Old School's brother Party Dogg. He runs dry van , Old School does the flatbed side of the business. The splashes when OS hit that water were tremendous, like something out of the Old Testament. Party Dogg is a little more laid back - still whacko, mind you, as Daniel B. put it, but in a mellow way.

Ahhh! I'm settling in for a good nights repose all nice and comfortable in my new silky soft Homer Simpson Boxers! Good night you guys.

Old School. . In that case was it ok to take roads that weren't truck routes? Very curious about that.

Sue, it all depends on how badly you want that new pair of underwear!

Okay, seriously the answer to your question is... No, it's never ok to get on non-truck routes. The Highway patrol could have given me a citation if they wanted to.

Now here's how the scenario works out in the real world though... In trucking there are a lot of grey areas, and the driver has to make his/her own judgement call at times. I had several options. I could have run myself approximately 120 miles out of route and stayed on truck routes - that would have been prudent as far as not getting a ticket, but it would have made me late for my delivery, and it would have blown my fuel mileage bonus. I make a sizable bonus check each quarter, but it is based on dispatched miles, not miles actually driven. Here's how I came to my decision to be a rebel. I pulled over to the side of the road and consulted my atlas to figure out the best route I could take to get me to my destination. It was pretty obvious which one was shortest, but it involved about eighteen miles on a non-truck route to get me back over to a state highway going into Savannah that wasn't closed. I went for it knowing that most all of the highway patrol personnel were pretty much occupied with bigger problems than me, and they know when they close these interstates the truck drivers have got to do something. As it turned out there were a lot of eighteen wheelers on the same road I chose to take - it was the best option for many of us. I don't recommend taking crazy chances all the time, but being a truck driver is much like running a business, you have got to be able to think on your feet and react quickly when responding to sudden changes that take place. A good level head is a valuable asset to any person in this career.

I-95 southbound in South Carolina reopened, work continues on northbound bridges

The South Carolina Department of Transportation announced at 9 a.m. Monday it has reopened the southbound lanes of I-95 that had been closed since last week due to historic flooding in the state.

The northbound lanes of the 13-mile stretch remain closed as work continued on restoring bridges through this stretch of interstate.

SCDOT said work began the morning of Saturday, Oct. 10, to repair 18 bridges in the 13-mile section of I-95, and the work will continue until the northbound lanes are reopened.

With this stretch of I-95 reopened, all of I-95 southbound through South Carolina is now open.

UPDATE: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 9:40 a.m. Central: SCDOT has announced the northbound side of I-95 has been reopened. All of I-95 in the state is now open.