Close Calls!!

Since i've been doing the High Road Training Program I've read so many things about safety. And obviously safety is the top priority for a trucker. I was beginning to wonder who here has had any real close calls while driving. I know most, if not everyone here has spotless driving records. I'm talking about close ones, like having to use the emergency truck ramps, or had a trailers brakes lock up and lose some control. Just real stories about what happened and what you did. I know these things can happen and I wanted to get someones first hand perspective.

Thanks

I've had a super single on my drive tires pop on me twice. Lost some control and trailer was leaning so hard it looked like it was going to just fall over.

Had a guy clip my passenger side mirror. Almost took it out. He scrubbed it and that's all. I heard a loud noise, if he was an inch closer it would have snapped it right off.

I lost my brakes one time on a downhill. I lost it at the very end when the hill was over. There were no ramps because it wasn't even a bad hill at all. I used a slight uphill to come to a stop. My engine brakes broke.

I skid one time when I was with my trainer because I took a left turn a little too fast. Thankfully my trainer didn't notice or else I would have gotten screamed at haha!

Had a motorcycle brake in front of me in Dallas. He tried to cut me off and another driver off but I guess changed his mind real quickly and decided to stomp his brake right in front of me. The only reason he didn't die was because I had a good following distance and I was paying attention so I reacted quickly.

No one here on TT is a perfect driver. That doesn't exist. We were all rookies before, some of us are still rookies, and we all have made and still make mistakes. It's difficult not to have a close call when there's millions of potential disasters everyday.

Oh I understand there are no perfect drivers. But it seems you've had a couple close calls. What was going through your head though when you lost both your engine brake and regular brakes? Even though you said it was at the bottom of the hill it still must have sent your heart racing!

Oh I understand there are no perfect drivers. But it seems you've had a couple close calls. What was going through your head though when you lost both your engine brake and regular brakes? Even though you said it was at the bottom of the hill it still must have sent your heart racing!

I don't think I've bad many close calls. I've almost been driving a year now and mostly everything I mentioned happened when I didn't know what I was in my first few months.

It was in NM, flat land. So thankfully it wasn't in a mountainous road. It scared me but not that much. I knew I would be ok. Not trying to turn this into a religious thread but prayer is powerful and having God on your side helps a lot.

There was a moment of "oh sh17!". But then I looked ahead and it was flat with a small uphill. My low air warning was buzzing and I had just a little bit of brake left so as soon as I hit that uphill I stomped on my brakes and It slowed me down tremendously. In a few seconds I was walking speed and my tractor and trailer brakes engaged due to the low air which caused me to come to a complete stop. I then slowly pulled over to the shoulder and sat there for 30 minutes for my brakes to cool down.

In every truckers life, they will get "The Come To Jesus" eye opener more than once. And for some reason, you will find that one place that everything that is bad will happen to you there. For me, its Eloy AZ. I've been put into the median twice there....by big trucks...go figure. And the scale house at Dunsmire CA...If TSB is driving, they smile and wave him thru. If I'm driving, they pull me in for a full inspection... .TSB thinks its hilarious...I never have seen the humor in the situation, myself. But as you continue in your career, you will find the same things...weird little foibles of the trucking world... But above all...keep it light, laugh often, and enjoy the adventure !!!

My second week solo I was driving I476 North in PA. Cresting a mountain on a two lane (one direction highway) I noticed 3 lanes of traffic. Well being that it was cold and the road was icy (early December) I had already dropped seversl gears but decided to go down to 6 and merge to the left lane. I was empty so I only gained about 5 miles on the 15 I was doing. At the end of the hill is a long bridgeand right as I crested to the bottom the car in front of me decided to stop to look at the 10 car pile up on the side of the road. I knew I was on ice but tried to gently ease on my break to avoid the car when I started jackkniffing across the right side of the bridge. I looked over to a 500 ft drop. I tried to correct it enough to coast across the bridge and just prayed id make it safely across before I hit anything. I quickly surveyed the area and saw I wouldnt hit anyone since all the people from the wreck were behind the guard rail. The car in front of me bailed and I dont know how I made it but I did. The bridge was covered in blk ice. Think I stopped? Nope I though truckers drove in any weather so I drove 5 hours in black ice! NEVER EVER EVER DO THAT! I didnt know any better but now I do. Im lucky I survived that trip!