Years ago while I was in college (about 19 yrs old), I worked road construction in the summers. Worked for one guy who had a single axle dump that if you had a load of asphalt in it you had to stand on the brakes to get it to stop. Scared me every time it was on the road. Next, I worked for a major road builder who maintained their equipment very well. Was glad to work for a big outfit and never worried about driving their equipment.
One day I was driving a stake truck loaded with equipment, towing a trailer full of sand and cement and just exiting the expressway, probably doing 60 or better. I touched the brakes to slow down as I hit the ramp and I heard a loud bang, the front of the truck dipped and I saw the right front tire going like a bat out of h--- down the ramp. I had a heck of a time keeping it straight and out of the ditch, managed to get it stopped on the shoulder. Got out and found the right front corner a mess. Walked down the ramp and found the wheel had gone through a fence into a motel parking lot and smashed smack dab into the rear of a car. Put a nice big "V" in the rear bumper. (This was back in the day with REAL chrome bumpers).
Went into the lobby and called dispatch (this was back before cell phones also). First thing they asked was "did anybody see it?" I thought that was the craziest question because this was broad daylight in a metropolitan area and who knows how many people were on the road watching a truck and trailer careening down the ramp and a tire flying out ahead of it. I rolled the tire back to the truck and waited for the tow truck. Took both of us to lift the tire onto the stake truck and we went back to the yard.
Forgot all about the car in the motel lot until later when I was telling my boss about it. I can imagine some guy coming out to his car and wondering what the heck happened. This was 40+ years ago but things like that you remember.
To this day, I am wary about being around trucks on the expressway, especially if they're behind me on an exit ramp. :wink:
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Today's Featured Article - The River Tractor - by Charlie English Jr.. This is a 4010 John Deere that was used to farm on the Diamond Island which is in the Ohio River about 15 miles southwest of Evansville, Indiana. About ten years ago, this tractor was parked close to the bank as the river was washing the bank of the island away.
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