Yikes!!!

[blacksheepdiesel]

You have seen someone before that you can just tell they shouldn't be doing the job they are doing? Well... At a truck stop on I-55 in Illinois today I saw one of those people. Parked my dually pickup and 5th wheel camper beside another dually pickup pulling a 5th wheel camper. The guy delivers new camping trailers to dealers which is what I also do but for a different company. Went in the building to do my business and came back out to see he had pulled his truck out of the spot where it was parked and had stopped while making a big u-turn to exit the parking lot. As I finished up my logbook and began to make a sandwich I noticed that he was out of the truck and doing something to the 5th wheel hitch. He appeared to be in his '70's and my observation was that this guy didn't seem to be very well suited for this job, as in he didn't know what he was doing. He then walked back to the cab of his truck then back to the hitch again. The next thing I noticed was that the truck was moving - BUT HE WAS NOT IN IT!!! I could see him start running toward the still open door of the truck to try and stop it. He fell on the asphalt, got up and ran again to try and stop the runaway truck and 5th wheel trailer. Fortunately there were no vehicles parked where his truck was headed. As the front tires went up over the curb and onto the grass the truck turned slightly to the right which allowed the truck to barely miss a parking light pole with a huge concrete base. Finally the truck and trailer stopped and he got in it. I was far enough away when this took place that I could not have caught the truck, it was actually moving pretty quickly considering no one was pushing on the accelerator (it WAS a Dodge Cummins . I went over to make sure he was ok. He showed me the back of his hand where he had fallen on the asphalt, there was a 3 inch patch of leathered skin that was missing, not much blood considering. Other than that he was ok. I noted that the dually fender on the pickup had scraped the concrete post, nothing horrible, but this was a very new truck. The front lower side of the brand new 5th wheel trailer had also scraped the concrete which meant that he would have to retrace his steps and take the trailer back to the factory to be repaired. His comment was "Well, that's probably it for me!" Meaning that he would be let go from his job. The dually fender on the opposite side of the truck had already been damaged from a previous incident, so I surmise that his prognostication was correct, he would be let go. While I felt bad for him I also believe he really had no business doing that job. God gives us all talents and abilities, and delivering campers is not for that fellow.

How did this incident happen? When he made the big u-turn the breakaway cable for the trailer became caught under the 5th wheel hitch leg and pulled the pin on the breakaway system which applied full braking power to the trailer brakes which brought the truck and trailer to an immediate standstill. He got out of the cab to find out what had happened, saw the cable and got it out from under the hitch leg, then put the pin back in the breakaway switch which released the trailer brakes. That is when the truck began moving because he had left the transmission in DRIVE when he got out of the truck. Just glad no one else or their stuff got hurt.



Godspeed,

Trent

 

[LBARTLETT]

you just can't be too careful, as I age I try to be more careful than ever, always thinking what could possibly go wrong

nothing is worse than something moving with no one at the wheel and in control, thank the Lord he didn't fall and run over himself

I am extra careful with my tractor and pto

 

[HBarlow]

Poor fellow. He is probably one of those retirees on a social security check who heard how he could get rich pulling trailers out of Indiana. Lots of them went out and bought a fancy new diesel dually with leather seats and all the bells and whistles counting on transporter income to make the payments. If he is not well suited for pulling trailers, and it sounds like he is not, his truck will be repo'd and he'll be back home sitting in front of his television set in much worse shape than he was before he started. I saw a few like that when I was transporting. It's not for everyone and is not a get rich quick scheme.

 

[AClayton]

This is a heart-wrenching story! Many of our nations seniors do not want to sit in front of a TV and do nothing and I commend them for that, however as others have stated, some jobs just aren't meant for them. Many of the seniors I know are very patriotic and do not care to admit they are too elderly for any specific job... . they were raised in the heart of our nations prosperity and understand that if you want something - you earn it! Now combine that with a little male stubbornness and you have an elderly guy with the ambition of a teenager but lacking the physical attributes (and maybe even mental) to perform certain tasks.

My Grandfather is the same way... . he is 89 now and can still hang with a huge majority of 'youngins' 1/2 his age! His spunkyness comes from the 'never give up' attitude that many seniors possess!