This story is another illustration of why I would like to be involved in the safety field.

One cold winter day, many years ago, I was working as a route driver for a portable chemical toilet company.  A friend had suggested that one of his friends needed a new driver, and in the unemployed and very poor state I was, I didn't turn it down.

I actually enjoyed driving the companies, there is some thrill in it for me.  The bigger the better as far as truck driving goes, is how I feel.  Anyway, I was heading to my next cruddy (pun intended) stop and as I was heading down this itty bitty hill, I decided it was time to slow down a little.  After all, I knew there was a 90 degree corner at the bottom of the hill.  And since  the corner was atop an embankment, I didn't like going around that corner very fast.  You see, tanker trucks have a very high center of gravity, which in simple terms, means they like to roll over sideways at the drop of a hat.  Smart tank truck drivers don't speed around corners, or they might not speed again.

Anyway, as I pressed on the break pedal, I had an interesting sensation (in my heart) as the pedal operated normally for a fraction of a second and then I felt a snap as it went all the way to the floor.  I would love to know what my heart rate was at that point.  I pulled on the emergency/parking brake, and it didn't have any affect.  The brake was operated by a cable, and especially if someone had drove with the brake on, didn't work worth a darn while on flat ground, much less when the truck was already heading down a hill.  I don't remember if I thought about shifting down, even if I had, that wouldn't have been the best idea.  The chances of getting the truck into a lower gear are slim and none, since I was already at the top end of the RPM range for that gear.  If I had tried shifting into a lower gear, I probably would have shifted into neutral and been unable to shift into a lower gear and I don't even want to think about that.  Going down a hill in neutral, wellllll, I don't want to think about that right now, I would like to sleep without nightmares tonight.

I wondered what would happen to me as I went down that hill.  I seem to remember thinking about my chances of making around that curve and decided the odds weren't real good.  I wondered what would happen to my daughter, after I died.  She was about four years old, and I wasn't real happy about her growing up without a dad around.

After I came to a stop, all I wanted was out of the cab of that truck.  The truck was powered by propane, and I didn't want to think of what would happen if I was still in the truck, if the propane was leaking and it found a ignition source.  BBQed Jeff.  It was a little tough getting out, I was held in place by my lap belt and the weight of me against the latch mechanism (I was upside down) was causing a bit of difficulty releasing the belt.  Maybe I thought about BBQed Jeff a little more and the extra adrenaline helped me pop the buckle loose.  Now all I had to do was get out of the cab, but even with a door crunched way down, that wasn't too hard since the windshield was totally gone.

I can't imagine what the people thought of my looks as the answered there door.  I was pretty dirty (covered with glass and dirty from crawling up the hill), it was pretty early in the morning (maybe 6 AM?) and I was pretty much out of breath.  Fortunately they had a phone in the garage, which I could use.  My boss had a pretty interesting reaction after I said I rolled the truck (which wasn't exactly correct, the brakes went out, you know!), he said you WHAT?

After he calmed down, he told his boss that I had rolled the truck.  The boss decided to mosey on out and check out what I had done to the truck.  A fire department aid car happened along and they set up a perimeter, after discovering the power lines connected to the electrical pole that my truck was upside down against, were snapped and across the road.

The paramedics suggested that it might be a good idea to have them check me out.  I didn't see why, but agreed anyway.  They didn't find anything wrong with me, but did ask what type of seat belt I had on.  After I told them a lap belt, they suggest that if I had any blood in my urine, I should see a doctor.  When asked why I would have blood in my urine, they mentioned the possibility of kidney damage from the lap belt.  That wasn't to scary to me at the time, but then again I had just ridden a truck without brakes down a hill.  And looking up at the truck, halfway up the hill, upside down against the power pole, I still couldn't figure out why it was facing the opposite direction I had been traveling.

My second level boss happened along about then and when I said I didn't have a clue why the truck was facing the opposite direction, he said, "Oh, see how this side of the truck is scrapped up, the front end has has a big dent and that tree has a big gash?  You rammed into the tree on the hill (a few feet from the top of the hill,) the rear end swung down the hill, and while the truck rolled over, it turned the direction it's facing and stopped against the tree.

Which was interesting, since to this day, I still don't have any memory of the ride down the hill.  I don't think I closed my eyes, since I stayed on the road around the corner.  These days, I would like to remember what I was feeling as I turned the corner.  My daughter pointed out that maybe my brain is protecting me from the horror of the ride, something I hadn't thought of.

Why did the brake pedal snap and go all the way to the floor?  Because the mechanic who overhauled (the truck had been rolled just before I was hired, the roller was fired) the truck, reused a 50 cent nylock bolt (they are not supposed to be reused,) it vibrated loose and fell off.  Thus, "the break pedal wasn't connected to the break lever."

They didn't confirm this for a few days, they thought I had been speeding around the corner.  When the mechanic found the bolt and nut missing and the mechanic that overhauled the truck, let on that there wasn't any spare nylock bolts in stock that day, they put two and two together and came up with one totaled truck.

They didn't fire the mechanic, but they did buy a box of nylock bolts, for future use.  I wonder if the insurance company found out what caused this truck to be totaled.  Bet not.  I wonder what they would have done, if they had found out about the reused nylock.

Soooo, maybe when I graduate and make it out into the "world", I will be able to prevent a few truck rollovers, and falls from four stories buildings.  (Did I mention that the contractor who did clean the gutters was cited for not having a fall protection system in place, I think somebody narced to OSHA after he dropped a gas powered blower from the roof)
 
 


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