Truck Stop Follies And Assorted Stupidity

Found this gem online. How not to exit the fuel island. Enter your lane as straight as possible. Clear all obstacles before beginning a turn while utilizing those mirrors.

I don't even comprehend how a driver accomplishes this disaster.

Ryan B. said:

It's possible that the driver is able to read, was fully paying attention, saw the sign, and made the choice to proceed. "How," you ask? The driver doesn't know the height of the truck.

The responsible driver in your scenario would stop and ask themselves what would happen if the vehicle they didn't know the height of turned out to be too tall. You're trying to make an excuse where none exists.

A driver who doesn't know the height of his/her vehicle is not a responsible driver. I am not making an excuse. I am basically saying that there is more than ine way to be stupid.

Found this gem online. How not to exit the fuel island. Enter your lane as straight as possible. Clear all obstacles before beginning a turn while utilizing those mirrors.

I don't even comprehend how a driver accomplishes this disaster.

My guess on this one was not being squarely lined up when driving up to the pumps. The driver side was over at least two feet too far left, then not allowing for this upon exiting.

Found this gem online. How not to exit the fuel island. Enter your lane as straight as possible. Clear all obstacles before beginning a turn while utilizing those mirrors.

I don't even comprehend how a driver accomplishes this disaster.

My guess on this one was not being squarely lined up when driving up to the pumps. The driver side was over at least two feet too far left, then not allowing for this upon exiting.

I think we have all had times where getting squared up just wasn't possible due to lack of room, but I know that when I have been in that situation, I am extremely careful pulling forward. Just seeing how far over the trailer is, that's what confounds my understanding.

I'd say he didn't pull into the pumps straight as has been previously mentioned. I've known for a while but have seen it in turns, that the tractor and the trailer axle turn on two separate and unique radiuses. The tractor will turn on an outside radius while the trailer axle will turn on an inside radius. Because it's articulated it doesn't have a single turn radius like your car does. His tractor was straight, he got his fuel and pulled through but the trailer wasn't straight and he smacked the pump as it straightened out.

Wow. Somebody was not using their mirrors, probably because they were thinking about, or doing, other things. Fuel islands can be tough to navigate because it often is close quarter maneuvering. Also, a large percentage of preventable accidents happen at truck stops and parking lots. Knowing how to pull into a fuel lane is a critical skill for all of us drivers. If we are not aligned correctly, we may have to back out, which carries it own risks. You want to back out? Did you GOAL? If not, you might not see the truck that pulled up behind you and then break his grill. That picture immediately made me think of what G-Town says about watching your wagon. I see damaged fuel islands all too often. But this particular driver was NOT using his mirrors to track his trailer.

When I was training I had a 3 million mile driver as my coach on the road. When he first started his driving career, he was fueling up and got into a conversation with another driver. This distracted him, so he forgot to remove the hose from his passenger side tank and pulled ahead, thus taking the hose with him. This was his first and last preventable accident. He told me to always watch the mirrors when in the fuel lane for several reasons. Make sure your trailer is going to clear and to make sure you don’t leave a hose in the tank. Great advice!

On our way to church this morning I noticed this dumpster (?) or "something" along the highway and a Cat loader doing something there as we pass by. Thought it was odd. Turned to go across the Rio Vista bridge (about a half mile long or a bit more and Cal Trans is directing traffic. Traffic is stopped for five minutes or so and we're worried that the bridge is having mechanical problems again (was stuck a little over a week ago when trying to lift for a ship and took six hours to get dropped). I read later that "something" was a truck trailer that some truck driver lost when trying to cross the bridge and struck the first girder. Maybe a dump truck?? Seems to have kept going for quite a ways after getting knocked off. It appears the first girder is damaged and they have stopped traffic at least once to replace some signs. CalTrans said they were going to restrict traffic to one way for three hours to get the trailer removed but some farmer came with his tractor and drug it off all the way across the bridge and then some. I did not see any signs of the offending driver and truck.

On our way to church this morning I noticed this dumpster (?) or "something" along the highway and a Cat loader doing something there as we pass by. Thought it was odd. Turned to go across the Rio Vista bridge (about a half mile long or a bit more and Cal Trans is directing traffic. Traffic is stopped for five minutes or so and we're worried that the bridge is having mechanical problems again (was stuck a little over a week ago when trying to lift for a ship and took six hours to get dropped). I read later that "something" was a truck trailer that some truck driver lost when trying to cross the bridge and struck the first girder. Maybe a dump truck?? Seems to have kept going for quite a ways after getting knocked off. It appears the first girder is damaged and they have stopped traffic at least once to replace some signs. CalTrans said they were going to restrict traffic to one way for three hours to get the trailer removed but some farmer came with his tractor and drug it off all the way across the bridge and then some. I did not see any signs of the offending driver and truck.

Wow, maybe somebody ordered a dumpster, at the 'BRIDGE' address ?!?!? That's crazy! Love to hear the back story, haha!

~ Anne & Tom ~

Today I stopped at a Pilot for fuel. The driver at the pumps was talking to the driver to his left. After the conversation ended, the driver in front of me got in his truck and was ready to move ahead. Only problem was that the passenger side hose was still in his tank. We just talked about this, right? I laid on the air horn, which I love to do, and he stopped before he tore the hose off. I asked him how long he had been driving. It was one year. Isn’t that enough time to learn how to double check things?

My trainer told me a story about when he was in training. Overtired and overstressed as happens in training. Approached a bridge, marked 14'6". He pulled over and woke up his trainer, because he was " gonna hit the bridge. " Oops. He laughs about it to this day. I would rather pull over and be the jackwaggon, than the dummy that hits the bridge.