Question:
I roll onto an off ramp today and go to downshift to sixth. Right as I tap out and let the clutch out I see a white utility van coming DOWN the ramp the wrong way. I swear my eyes bulged clear out of the sockets, my butt took a bite out of the seat, and some unknown force guided me around that moron sparing his life. How I got around him on the right, and up to the top of that ramp safely is beyond me. I know I steered hard to the right and got up against the concrete wall enough to scrape my spot mirror, but how the trailer didn't get him is a mystery.

Answer:
Man, you were lucky it wasn't another semi... it easily could have been with some of these drousy drivers tossing their "lost" log books out the window while the mirrors flash red in their faces.


Answer:
How long afterwards did it take for you to dig the seat out after that pucker factor?
Seriously I feel for you. I have had several simliar close calls like that since i started driving the big rigs.
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
Answer:
Originally posted by uturn2001:
How long afterwards did it take for you to dig the seat out after that pucker factor?
It was still there today man. I had a terrible day because of it too. That's too long to dwell on something like that but I just can't tune out thoughts like. What if that was a kid on a bike? What if it was another Semi? What if I would had fixated on a mirror just a split second too long?
There is a razor thin margin of error out there. I think that is something that needs reinforced on newbies and anyone else considering this line of work, more than what it already is. I know that you have been one of the veteran drivers that has stressed it the most, but I hope it is sinking in. I *thought* I knew where you were coming from with your safety posts before, now I am pretty sure it's been driven home with a galvanized deck screw.