Slight Detour – December 2022/January 2023
Life on the road is filled with wild tales. Whether it’s an overturned semi or a crazy spouse, truckers are rarely at a loss when it comes to interesting stories. The following are a few of the wildest spills and thrills from the past month for your slight detour from the news.
Air horns, wedding bells
Perhaps I’m a big softie, but I love a good wedding. It’s a day filled with joy and celebration with family and friends, a day to party and have a great time. One Australian bride recently arrived to her big day in style.
Callie Sandilands has been trucking for 15 years. So when it came to tying the knot, what better way to arrive than behind the wheel of a Kenworth T909?
In fact, the soon-to-be newlyweds – and even the bridal party – all arrived at the ceremony via semitruck. The bridal party rode in a fully restored 1987 Kenworth T650 and white T950. The bride drove herself down the aisle. After the ceremony, she and the groom hopped into the T909 and drove to the reception.
Sandilands says the day was a dream come true. Cheers to the happy couple!
Hanging on for dear wife
Marriage is, of course, filled with highs and lows. There are bound to be arguments, and sometimes those can turn ugly.
Police in Nashville, Tenn., recently responded to a call about a woman hanging onto the driver-side door and mirror of a moving box truck.
When the truck came to a stop, the driver exited the vehicle, but the woman continued to hang on to the door. She then climbed into the truck and had to be removed by officers. According to police, the woman kept insisting the driver was her husband. The driver, on the other hand – he said he didn’t know who she was!
Despite her claims of marital bliss, she was unable to provide any personal information about the driver – which may or may not be normal for some marriages.
Reports state witnesses saw the woman climbing other vehicles and removing her clothes prior to police arriving. She was arrested on assault charges and was reportedly kicking officers while being taken into booking.
Likely to the surprise of no one, police say drugs played a factor in this slight detour.
This Bud’s for you
On to Kansas, where a semi carrying a load of Budweiser overturned on Interstate 35 near mile marker 79 in Saline County.
Fortunately, the driver was uninjured. Crews had to close one lane of the highway to tend to the overturned semi – as well as all the beer.
On a related note, the annual Kansas Highway Patrol’s Guns and Hoses flag football game will feature an open bar this year.
Crying over spilled milk
We’re all familiar with what they say about spilled milk and crying. Well, you may be crying if that spilled milk made you lighter in the wallet. An Australian trucker recently learned this lesson the hard way.
In June, the driver accidentally spilled 600 liters (just over 158 gallons, for us in the states) of milk down a storm drain during a delivery. CCTV footage obtained by EPA Victoria shows the truck driving through the lot with its rear doors open, when the container slid off the back of the vehicle.
The driver’s company was fined $5,500 by EPA Victoria for not being adequately prepared to manage the spill. The driver was fined $727 for the incident.
“We understand accidents can happen, but transporters need to prepare for the possibility and be ready,” EPA West Metro Manager Steve Lansdell told The National Tribune. “If they don’t, they can face a penalty. The company should have been better prepared, and the driver should have secured his load.”
The EPA says that milk entering the waterway can do harm to the environment and marine life. While they acknowledge that carriers that transport dangerous goods are often more prepared to handle spills, it’s a good reminder that anyone transporting liquids have an emergency plan in place.
I’m not certain what you use to clean a large milk spill, but I feel like a big bag of Rice Krispies would do the trick.
Sometimes, it happens
We’ve all had our fair share of bad days, but I’m sure we can all agree this driver’s day was downright crappy.
New York State Police recently responded to an accident involving an overturned tanker truck on Interstate 90 near Exit 49 in Lancaster. While the cause of the crash is still under investigation, officials say the driver lost control of the tanker, causing it to leave the roadway and overturn several times.
To make matters worse, the tanker was hauling liquid manure. The contents of the tanker leaked onto the interstate, causing major traffic delays as crews worked to clear the scene. Environmental conservation officers responded to assist with the clean-up. That’s one slight detour most of us would be willing to take to avoid crashes like this.
The driver had to be extricated from the vehicle and was taken to a nearby hospital with nonlife threatening injuries.
This wasn’t the craziest story of the month, but it certainly was a solid number two. LL