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Author Topic: Truck wreck.  (Read 5264 times)

Offline starmac

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Truck wreck.
« on: March 27, 2018, 11:10:37 PM »
I need to pay more attention to the local news, one of my friends trucks took out an over pass on THE highway going into Anchorage last week. The south bound side was closed for 5 days.
I know several of his drivers, but he was not named in the news or on the dot sight, and have not talked to anybody to find out who was driving.
Not counting what the load will cost his insurance, the dot is claiming it will cost 1.8 million to replace, that probably does not count what has been done to open the road back up either.
I tend to think his insurance may be going up.

Offline starmac

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Re: Truck wreck.
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2018, 12:51:18 AM »
Picture of the truck, and a funny craigslist add some wise guy put up. lol

https://anchorage.craigslist.org/rvs/d/1-3-of-atco-bldg/6540829822.html

I did find out who the driver was,he had to work with me the first day he started a few years ago, and told my friend that owned the truck that he didn't want to run with me anymore, cuz I was a hard ass. lol
He was a genuine know it all when he first started, drove 5 trips and had trouble every trip, then bought his own truck going to get rich, lost in in less thana year, and I thought he had left the state, but apparently he didn't and it seems like he might know a little more now. lol

Offline Kirk Allen

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Re: Truck wreck.
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2018, 08:36:07 AM »
The detour through Eagle River was a nightmare from what I have heard from friends up there.
Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching!

Offline Ox

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Re: Truck wreck.
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2018, 11:01:18 AM »
The Craigslist ad was funny!

Eagle River!  I went hunting with 2 other fellas out there once, in a canoe, in all them swamps and little paddleways through them.  Had to use snow shovels for paddles!  Only shot a few muskrats, but they called them something different I think.

How can a container like that hurt an overpass so bad?  I've seen many videos about trucks hitting bridges and stuff and the bridge always looks totally undamaged but shreds the trailer or box on back of straight truck.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Offline furu

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Re: Truck wreck.
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2018, 11:10:38 AM »
We had a truck take an interstate bridge over a river out  a couple of years ago by catching part of the structure.  It end up collapsing and dropped several cars in the water who were on it just seconds behind the truck.  I can' remember if it killed the drivers of the cars as they fell a good distance to the water.  He had made it all the way through and stopped on the other side.
Integrity is not just doing the right thing.
Integrity is not just doing the right thing when no one is looking.
Integrity is doing the right thing when no one else will ever even know.

Offline starmac

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Re: Truck wreck.
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2018, 01:24:58 PM »
Ox, the fact that it took out the bridge girder is a mystery to many of us. It is rare they hit a bridge, but they are turned over all the time, and just explode into a bunch of splinters and insulation. They are basically a heavy built trailer house.
 This one was an odd duck though as it was several feet taller than most, the unit itself was 14 feet, so should never been loaded on that trailer. He had already gone around shorter bridges, but that one is plenty high, and hard to go around so I guess he just figured it was tall enough. If he would hve made it on into town, he would have wiped out every traffic light through anchorage. lol

Offline Ox

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Re: Truck wreck.
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2018, 10:15:13 AM »
That reminds me:  When I first started driving rig back around 2001 or so, I had to pickup a back haul from a soda pop distributor in Scranton PA after my delivery run to Red Lobsters and Olive Gardens through upper PA and upper NJ.  This place ended up being way back on the edge of town, across a crumbling single lane bridge and everything, but this first time going there I'd never been there before.  I had printed map and directions.  Having never been off the highway down there before I knew nothing, had no cell phone (still don't!) and no GPS or city maps on hand.  So I blindly followed what was given to me by the transportation supervisor.  I ended up on some side street lined with houses and clearly residential only.  And at what seemed to be about eye level to me in the cab of that Freightliner twin screw pulling a 48' liftgate reefer trailer was about 3 dozen black wires running across the street kind of diagonally between the houses.  Phone lines?  Cable TV?  Electric?  No idea.  So there I was with no way out but straight because these old town streets are small and narrow and with cars on both sides I could never get back out.  So forward I go, granny gear, idling, with my head out the window looking up at the first of many wires, sliding up the air dam, over the exhaust pipe outlet and straight down behind the cab and into the front of the trailer to be caught.  I snapped at this point.  I was stuck and I wasn't willing to call for help at this point.  Long over night trip, problems on the farm waiting for me when I got back, extremely tired and worn out after handling 20 tons of freight case by case, and pissed that I was given totally wrong directions to the back haul.  I totally snapped and was so pissed I didn't care anymore.  Started banging up through low range, into 6th gear and high range, and kept banging till I was roaring up that little street, hearing and feeling popping and snapping all around me.  The faster I went the less the effects of breaking wires and the quieter it got.  I reckon the faster I went the better they were able to just skip over the gap between tractor and trailer.  I hit every single damn wire on that street.  I looked in the mirror just once, when I was still in low range and saw quickly a wire coming down and kind of bouncing around on the street just behind the trailer.  I still don't know how many wires made it, were torn off, snapped, or otherwise.  I never looked back again.  I just wanted to get the hell out of there.  I reckon probably around half of those people lost some kind of service that day because there were quite loud noises and then barely could hear noises, and it seemed to be kind of half and half.  Then I took a hard left, headed back to where the highway was, got up on the northbound ramp and headed home.  Caught hell for not getting that IBC Rootbeer back haul but then I threw the directions at him and pointed out, "This is the residential section of Scranton - give me the right directions and I'll gladly get your back haul - next time - not now.  Send the yard guy down to get it today - I gotta get outta here."  He could see I was a bit wild and that it takes a lot to get me there, so he just said OK and that was that.  I never heard a thing about that episode and this is the first time out in public with it.  It's been over ten years so I reckon the statute of limitations is in effect, right?  Is it 5 or ten years for that?   :police:  :angel:
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools