Written by Scott Hughson
I was on the last stop of a three stop meat load. The customer was a grocer in central New Jersey, off of I-287. The direction on the qualcomm macro stated “Follow directions to a tee or risk turning your reefer into a flatbed.” A mental image of a low bridge entered my mind. As a precaution, I called the customer for directions, but no habla English. So….no back up directions.
Of course, I got lost and relied on Google maps to direct me three blocks from a 12’3” bridge. I found it, the low bridge, and the customer was on the other side of it. Right downtown! I swung wide right and some four-wheelers had to back up for me to complete the lost trucker turn. I came to a residential area, and a sign stating “No trucks over 4 tons”.
I took another wide right turn into a neighborhood of side by side houses. I put on the four ways and pulled the yellow knob. Some kids and their parents were playing inside a chain link fence so I asked them for directions to the store and in broken English, they directed me to the same low bridge. Every driver goes through this same madness! I needed to take a moment and gather my wits.
After a couple of minutes, I took the address of one of the houses and the street name and called 911. I told them I was and over-the-road truck driver and needed help with directions so I would not get stuck under a low bridge in town. I was forwarded to an officer and I gave him my location. As he started giving me directions, I told him I didn’t want to tear up his town with this big rig, and asked if he could send someone to escort me safely to the customer, which he did.
Within ten minutes, a plain wrapper with flashing lights under the hood guided me like I was in a parade. He brought me to the right bridge for safe passage and pointed me to the customer. I flashed my lights as a courteous gesture of thanks and made the turn. I still made it to the customer on time with no damage to my truck or trailer. I don’t make a habit of calling 911, but in this case, my trucker instinct told me it was the right call to make.
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