Ever have a near death experiance while driving a brown truck?

[Big Babooba]

My car was off line for 3 weeks to replace the fuel injection pump and brake hydro boost.The day that I got it back, I took it around the building to test the brakes before leaving the property. After a 17 mile trip on the highway, I reached my exit. I let the slow to about 45 mph before reaching the off ramp. At the top of the ramp I stepped on the brake pedal and it went to the floor. I said, "Oh !" and pulled the parking brake knob(I had a Ford P1000 with the Lucas parking brake). The rear brakes locked up at 40 mph and I left about 75 feet of skid marks before it stopped. I was lucky that the traffic light at the bottom of the ramp had just turned green. The usual line of cars was gone. I was aiming at that light in case the truck wouldn't stop because there were 4 lanes of traffic that I would have to cross.

They brought me out a spare and the day mechanic discovered the problem. A cotter pin that holds the brake linkage together was installed from the bottom instead of the top and the ends were not bent over. While on the highway it fell out and the linkage vibrated apart. Thankfully I didn't have a regular hand brake because I would still be going.

 

[disneyworld]

I was driving an old P600 with alot of play in the steering over a river on a two lane bridge with no breakdown lane when an unbelievable gust of wind came, I thought I was going over.

 

[sendagain]

I was driving down a hill toward an intersection in the rain when the light changed. I applied my brake and the truck just started hydroplaining, as though I hadn't touched the brakes at all. A little pumping on my part allowed the truck to finally stop halfway through the intersection; fortunately, the cars normally present in this busy place weren't there.

I also was in heavy traffic heading down the freeway to LA, when an SUV went out of control coming from the opposite direction; his car nearly leaped over the Jersey Wall into my lap but hung up and went scraping it's way down wall. I had my door open watching him come right at me, unable to move, when the car hung up on the wall.

 

[raceanoncr]

Every time I set foot on UPS property, it's a near death experience!

 

[Sammie]

Science doesn't have the exact tools to explain this, but it's coming very, very close:

UPS Board of Directors claim Near Death Experiences while Brain Dead...1

 

[wornoutupser]

One of the old Ford P-5's almost killed me--twice.

The first time I was doing 55 on the highway and the front wheel,tire,brake and caliper went BANG and flew off the vehicle. The spindle had broken in half.

Have you ever put a P-5 down at 55 MPH on three wheels?

The next time was the same car about a year later. I was less than a mile from the building heading in when BANG!

The pinion came off in the rear end,instantly locking the back tires together. That was one heck of a skid down the road!

UPS was mad because the skid ate a brand new set of Michelins off during the skid. They tried to give me a warning letter for that!

UPS can not understand why I am scared to drive a P-5!

 

[bad company]

Every time I set foot on UPS property, it's a near death experience!

AMEN!

 

[Raw]

had to edit out!!

 

[rushfan]

It could have been according to the mechanic. I was in a neighborhood going about 15. I tried to stop, no brakes, and couldn't shift. I looked in my left mirror, and one of the rear tires was out of the wheel well. Mechanic showed up and said, "good thing you weren't on the freeway".
The left rear axle was coming out of the "pumpkin".

We had a driver in a diesel ford 1000 who had a hard time steering. Turns out the U bolts holding the axle to the front leaf spring were loose. It pays during you pretrip to inspect the leaf springs in the front.

 

[samiam]

I was in the inside lane going over a high over pass to get on another freeway. It was raining, so I wasn't going very fast because I'm deathly afraid of heights. An empty package truck has ZERO wheel grip in the rain I found out. The truck slid into the outside lane a just a foot away from hitting the gaurd rail. NOT FUN !!!

 

[hseofpayne]

Not me but I was following a good friend of mine back to the bldg one nigth during peak when the P500 he was driving had the drive shaft drop to the road in the front. It catipolted him across 2 lanes and a seperating ditch into oncoming traffic. Luckily no one hit him and he finally got the car stopped. I have never seen such a look of fear, white as a sheet, on my friends face. SOMETIMES ITS JUST NOT YOUR TIME.

 

[jason67rs]

Was traveling down a two lane at 55mph, I looked up and saw a van in my lane. I was driving a P500, so I grabbed the ebrake and locked it up for about 40ft. The van was still coming at me, so I turned left into the other lane. I went a little too much and hit the left rear on a rocky hillside it blew out the tire and the truck got sideways and went up a little on the right side and then came back down onto all 4 tires. Everything was in a big pyle in the middle of the truck. The person in the van never stopped. It was a rare unavoidable.

 

[trickpony1]

The van was still coming at me, so I turned left into the other lane.

You are very lucky. Had the other driver realized what he was doing and veered right (back into his lane) you would have hit him head on and IT WOULD HAVE BEEN YOUR FAULT.

I know of a situation where some kids decided to play "chicken" with a pkg car. The kids veered left into the pkg cars lane. The pkg car went "left of center" to avoid the kids and then the kids veered right (back into their lane). There was a head on crash. The pkg driver got his job back after witnesses explained what happened.

ALWAYS VEER TO THE RIGHT and, if you can, get a little piece of the other car for proof otherwise the company will say you fell asleep if the other guy keeps going and you roll your pkg car.

 

[jlphotog]

It wasn't me that had the near death experience, but I almost contributed to someone else's demise a week ago.

I was driving my P5, parked at the side of the street was this 18 wheeler. On the street side of this truck was a hefty size trucker. He was reefing down on the metal bar to tighten up the straps when the bar slipped and he fell back on the road about 45-50 feet in front of me. There was traffic coming the other direction so I couldn't move over and I slammed on the brakes. The eyes on this guy were about as big as his belly. Somehow, he got on his hands an knees and crawled toward his truck as fast as he could. I learned that my brakes grab and pull the vehicle to the left. It's a good thing to as it gave him a few extra feet to get out of the way.

I knew we dressed in brown for a reason.

 

[RockyRogue]

ALWAYS VEER TO THE RIGHT

Good point, Trick. I avoided a head-on in my personal vehicle a number of years ago because I veered right. Scared the out of me at the time. Some maroon crossed into my lane and realized he had done so a little late. He went left, I went right. Think of it this way: what's the quickest way out of almost any driving situation you didn't cause? TO THE RIGHT! -Rocky

 

[over9five]

When I was a young rookie, I was driving a P5 down a dead end road with a circle at the end to turn around.
Anyhow, for some reason I don't remember I did the circle the wrong way (clockwise).

I slid out of the drivers seat (no seatbelt?), but hung on to the steering wheel..... while the car slowly did the circle.......about 12 times.....till I was able to pull myself back in.



Hope no-one saw me....

 

[jason67rs]

I couldn't go right guardrail than embankment to railroad tracks. The van never did get over just stayed in my lane. I was just lucky that day.

 

[satellitedriver]

Yep,
Driving a P-400 at night in the rain, doing about 45mph.
Crappy visibility.
If you have ever driven a P-400, you know to never make a panic brake on a wet road.
I topped a hill . The road goes down to a creek, no gaurd rails,and the walls of the creek are about 15 ft deep. Both sides of the road is steep ditches. The road then makes a hard 90 degree to the left.
100 yards in front of me I see.
Spread out all over the road at the bottom of the hill is a herd of Black Angus cows, about 20 of them.
Since I had no option, I got in the middle of the road. In the second before impact, I saw a dark space and aimed for it. I realized then I was about to impact one of them and that cow looked up just feet before the impact. Her horns touch the side of my truck.
I still cannot believe I did'nt wipeout that night.
I have been in many close calls in my life, but that one took the cake.
PAX

 

[tieguy]

Those driving feeders can tell you there is something about a brown tractor trailer on the road that gives other drivers the strong urge to committ suicide. I've seen too many issues over the years where someone tries to drive through our equipment like they think its not there.

 

[cast]

When I was a cover driver doing an rural route I almost pooped my pants after eating a burrito at a quick mart nearest bathroom 5 miles away when I got the rumbles. Thankfully there was a port-a-potty in a orchard near the road. Does that count as near death?