There’s no doubt we’ve all witnessed some pretty weird things happening in the course of carrying out our haulage jobs. Of course, the best thing is that they make great stories to share with incredulous friends and family.
For your entertainment, we’ve collected four crazy-but-true stories from our colleagues across the pond.
Spider Senses
Arachnophobes look away now – this story is not for you! A lady trucker was driving across Arizona one day when a bunch of leaves blowing across the road caught her eye. However, as she got closer she realised that the ‘leaves’were actually a large group of migrating tarantulas. There were thousands of them!
It gets worse because the trucker had to drive straight through this mass of spiders! The squashed legs and bodies of the tarantulas were so slippery she had to slow right down until she cleared the group. Spine-shivering stuff…
A Delicious Surprise
We’ve all had those haulage jobs where we’ve had to transport something a little weird. Well, this is the story of a trucker who had to pass through the Rocky Mountains with a truck full of whipped cream.
Our friend had been given a route to follow, but thought he could save some time by taking a different road – the proverbial ‘short cut’. He happily drove through the Rockies, no doubt admiring the lovely scenery, not stopping until he reached the other side. When it came time to stop for a break he decided to check on his cargo – but when he opened the back he was confronted with absolute chaos. The pass he had chosen was so high, the pressure had popped all the lids off the whipped cream and the inside of his truck was coated in it. A delicious disaster!
Choo-Choo!
One truck driver had a particularly terrifying experience when crossing some train tracks. Due to high, thick trees lining the road he couldn’t see whether a train was approaching, so he slowly made his way out onto the tracks, following the lead of the rest of the traffic on the road.Glancing to the left, he caught sight of an oncoming train, lights flashing, only forty yards away. Terrified, he slammed his foot down and sped over the tracks as fast as he could manage. Once safe he looked behind and realised that he had just passed a rail yard with a train parked safely out of the way. He drove off,no doubt feeling a little foolish – but, hey, better safe than sorry.
Hot, Hot, Hot
Drivers with haulage jobsin the Rockies always seem to have the craziest stories to tell. This one comes from a trucker who was new to the mountains, so he was taking it nice and steady. As hemade his way downhill,a truck sped past him in the left-hand lane (the wrong side for Americans!). Of course, this was mad behaviour on the treacherous roads at any time, but to make it worse,the vehicle’s brakes were on fire!
Our Good Samaritan quickly picked up his radio and made a call to the driver: ‘Hey, your brakes are literally on fire!’ The mystery driver coolly replied, ‘I know,’ as he sped out of view. As he continued down along the route, theconcerneddriver didn’t pass an accident or in fact any sign of trouble – but he did see a discarded fire extinguisher at the base of the mountain. It remains a mystery…
Do these stories remind you of anything you’ve experienced out on the roads? Even though ourhaulage jobs are 90% predictable, the other 10% can be completely crazy. But don’t we just love it that way?
Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry. Connecting logistics professionals across the UK and Europe through their website, Haulage Exchange provides services for matching haulage jobs with available drivers. Over 5,000 member companies are networked together through the Exchange to fill empty capacity, get new clients and form long-lasting business relationships.
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