A Night Out

In the very early hours of this morning, a truck dumped 300 litres of diesel on this corner.

I arrived very soon after it happened.

Another truck from the same company had stationed himself at the top of the hill and was warning truckies on his CB radio.

They were picking their way rather gingerly down the hill.

The truck had hit a piece of broken spring, which had flicked up and ruptured his fuel and hydraulic tanks.

The result was a skating rink.

We use a white granular powder, "mineral sponge", to soak up the worst, after putting out warning signs.

We have spread sand on the road, and put up a speed restriction.

The sand will give grip and help absorb the diesel.

It was a long night.

The Good Oil & The Magic Powder

We often have to drive for a couple of hours to our worksite if it is at the far end of our network. Having set up signs and got on with the job, we all flinch if the Fleetlink R/T goes off. Too often the cry is "Diesel Spill, Mt Messenger!" If no one else closer is available, and that is often the case, a couple of us have to head back to put up warning signs and spread mineral sponge on the affected area. We curse the truckies who overfill fuel tanks, which are often paired, so they splash diesel on all corners with a sharp camber. Often though, and especially if it is raining, a very small spill can look quite dramatic for a while till the rain washes it away. The further away you are, the more likely it is that it will be a minor nonevent, but of course you still have to check. Today we had a real one. A light truck suddenly found himself going sideways, so we headed for the mountain with our magic powder, to find a diesel trail which wound up one side for a couple kilometres, and a few white faced drivers around. Motorbike riders take notice of slippery road signs, a lot of car drivers do not, they will speed past your frantic signals while you are gritting the road. The local panelbeaters love them. We smirk when we see the broken taillight lenses, and bits of plastic body panels jammed into the banks. So for the good oil, Ignore slippery road signs at your peril. Especially on steep winding roads. Unless you want to give us a laugh.