Tidbits, pt. 2

"I don't know what it is you're doing, but it sure as hell AIN'T professional truck driving!" - me


There was a horrible accident two weeks ago (Fri., 4/6): A Wisconsin driver, coming up on 94 West through Chicago (by the way, we call it the Dan Ryan and Kennedy Expressways), got cut off by an SUV, hit a concrete pillar, rolled the truck, which burst into flames, killing the driver. It happened about 4:15 in the morning. I was in the city delivering at the time, so I didn't see the accident, but caught some of the aftermath while travelling eastbound around 7:30. I had a helper with me, and we were heading out to the far southern burbs to do our final delivery of the day. He quick turned on the radio, to get more details on the crash. All I could see, besides the bumper-to-bumper traffic in front of me, was the rolled-over trailer (yep, bright orange plate - WI). The truck was basically unrecognizable; we looked over in horror, at about 10mph, as crews cleaned up the scene. Needless to say, westbound traffic was backed up for miles. Traffic at that time on Friday morning is bad enough, and we were glad to make it through without too much trouble.
Now, let me just say that I'm sorry it happened - my sympathies go out to the driver's famly; however, these guys from Wisconsin (yes, Cheese-dicks) and points further north, wanting to avoid paying those "darn tolls" on 294 (the Tri-State), use the Ryan/Kennedy to come through the city. That's bad enough, ('cause, even at midnight, there's a bunch of 'em) but they drive "balls to the wall." They come flying through the Ryan construction zone (speed limit is 45) at
I dunno how fast. I mean, look, I'm not a prude; you don't HAVE to go 45 the whole time, but I just stay to the right and let 'em go. I'm sure the accident was the fault of the four-wheeler (I'm not sure of the percentage, but most accidents involving four-wheelers and trucks are the four-wheelers' fault), but I'm equally sure the truck was driving too fast. In fact, I'd bet money on it.
Here's a hint, all you Cheese-dicks out there: if you're tailgating a four-wheeler (and most of them fly!) you're driving too damn fast! It shouldn't take an accident for people to get the message, but you want to know the sad truth? Most of 'em won't. They'll just keep doing what they're doing, and forget about this driver, his family, even the driver of the four-wheeler (don't know what happenened to that person). How many more people will completely ignore the rules, and wind up crispy critters on the pavement? It's mind-boggling to me.
Anyway, that's my rant for the moment. By the way, I left the last post (Marissa) up for a couple weeks, because I wanted it to be viewed by as many as possible, maybe even her. Actually, I sent her a hard-copy in the mail, so maybe she'll actually read it, I dunno.
So, I've been going up to Cheeseland for the past couple of weeks (Green Bay- haven't run into Brett Favre, though, lol) It's a pretty nice drive, once you get past all the congestion in Milwaukee. Other drivers complain about Chicago, and how congested it is. I'm from there, so I actually have a clue as to how to get around. But places like Milwaukee (St. Louis is the worst I've run into) kind of piss me off. I was doing a route up there last summer, and I remember they closed the expressway down for several miles (how the fuck do you justify closing an interstate down?). Not only that, the detour was all fucked up; I couldn't, for the life of me, find my way back to the friggin' highway. I thought I'd never get out of Beerfart, er, Milwaukee.
And, like with most big cities now, they've got it under construction again. In Chicago, the saying used to be "We got two seasons here, winter and construction season," but now it seems like it's construction season all year round. Anyway, my route is pretty bearable; sometimes after my deliveries, I do a pickup or two, then head back home. Hell, now they're talking about sending me back out Marissa's way (Des Moines), which I obviously wouldn't mind one bit (wink!). In my line of work, nothing is constant but change. Speaking of pickups, I'm not the biggest fan of backhauls: I mean, I've busted my ass for two days, and now I have to clean out the trailer (dumping my shit into someone else's dumpsters - always had a problem with that), stack the pallets nice and neat, pre-cool the trailer, especially in summer, and do the damn pickup. Then, of course, you deal with the weight issues, because, in their sweet, backward fashion, Wisconsin doesn't use pre-pass, and I have not one, but two scales to deal with (Manitowoc and Racine).
Granted, my loads aren't usually that heavy, so I don't worry too much; I guess it's just the principle of the whole thing that bugs me. I'm doing not only my job (food service delivery), but
a trucker's job too (bumping docks, scaling, etc.). So we shall see how this pans out; whether I stay going up to Cheeseland or go back out to central Iowa - I will keep you all posted.

More soon,


Steve