Milking Hours

Working on the road has it's moments
At any moment a carefully planned work day can be disrupted.

This milk tanker has ground to a halt on a steep hill, in a rather dodgy place.
Fortunately a fellow worker came across it and by parking a vehicle with flashing lights on the corner and lots of arm waving managed to warn and direct traffic.

Another tanker has to be brought in to pump out the load.This only leaves room for cars and nervous camper van drivers to get through.
 
Eventually a heavy tow truck arrives and another truck to take the trailer.After a bit of fiddling with air lines it is dragged to a pull off area at the top of the hill, and from there to hospital.


Looks easy, but this takes all day...

Trucks and Us

The truck drivers were a bit cranky today.

There is a lot of work going on at the moment.

The rush is on to use fine weather to get the road sorted for the Christmas break.

This means lots of road works.


The CB crackles with complaints of trucks getting dirty.
(Hey we're working in the dust....)

Signs are another thing truckies complain about.

Not enough, or too many...

Yesterday I heard a conversation criticizing the way in which we pick up a set of signs.

We set them out and pick them up in a precise order. It is obvious when you think about it.

The Sign Truck goes with the traffic flow, first setting up the "Working Man" and moving towards the work site, then follows with the "Flagman", (Stop On Request) and then the speed restrictions.

The process is repeated from the other end, again going with the traffic flow.

Doing it in this manner means that you have some warning out as you set up the signs.

Picking them up, you also leave the "Working Man" last for the same reason. You work so that you have some signage behind you in the hope that nobody will kill you from behind.

We on the road have a good idea of the truckies gripes.

We drive trucks ourselves.

Sadly there are a lot out there who don't have a clue what we are doing and why...

So in a bid for a bit of mutual understanding & goodwill,

If you are from a trucking company and read this,
(I know a lot of you do ...)
I would gladly write something for your company magazine, or get answers to questions ...

And seeing it's Xmas,

For Free Too ...

Dropping the car off...

Living a long way from the Garage presents a bit of a logistical problem when it is time for a warrant check.
Not any more ..
Put car on back of truck, pick up on way home...

A Love So Big ...

In The Plasticine Era, when I was 5, I was a truck.

I made 3 point turns around the kitchen making engine noises.

I Loved trucks.

So do Elephants.....

Mlaika is a 10-year-old adolescent female African elephant living in Kenya in a group of semi-captive elephants. During the day she makes sounds you might expect.

But she moonlights as a truck.

"When she is with the other elephants, she makes normal elephant sounds," says Stephanie Watwood of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. "But at night, when she is by herself, she can hear the trucks from a nearby highway and imitates their sounds."

Live Science

Sandbagging

"Truckers use CB for a variety of reasons. The have an almost obsessive interest in the location of police cruisers and road conditions, but much of the chatter concerns day-to-day working activities. Drivers talk about their equipment, the loads they are hauling, and complain about their bosses and fellow drivers. At times the radio is a diversion to stay awake on a long haul."

I have a CB in the truck. I don't really find the chatter very stimulating.
There is little in the way of philosophy, political science, or even juicy gossip & scandal.
NZ Truckers usually just greet each other with news of what is ahead of them, "Roadworks at so & so, a cop on the straights, etc."
If they are travelling together then some chatter on about, .... Trucks.
A lot of them travel the same route at the same times, so there is quite a little community thing going on.

So generally I just "read the mail"

At times though, they are incredibly useful.
When trying to find a reported "tree down", a truckie can save you a long trip in the wrong direction. They can also alert you to a hazard, or someone who may need help.

When there is torrential rain, slips everywhere, and a foul night, the truckies can help you work out which to tackle first, and warn all other trucks bearing down on you.
They often thank you too.
It makes up for the times when you hear their displeasure at being held up at road works....

This shows why the rest of the crew are in favour of the new truck.
The tray has been slid back and lowered and we have filled a hole with premix, a fairly easy job now that we can use a shovel at shin height.
You can also level it by pretending to be a grader.
In the centre of the headboard, you can see the hinged flap through which you can feed a winch rope.
The winch is hydraulically powered and could probably pull a super tanker off the rocks, or move the Fart debt mountain a metre or two.
Well certainly pull a roller, tractor, or car onto the back.
I have also been pondering the boat launching possibilities...

My new office.
I was duly presented with the keys this morning.
160 delivery K's on the clock.
I joined the crew who had found the sloppiest, muddiest, slip they were clearing.
I managed to prevaricate till we moved to a dryer one, backed into position, and the first bucket full of rubble hit the deck.
My truck is a virgin no more.
I even did a bit of overtime.

Today I got a glimpse of my virgin bride.
Though I have seen her before only once, I'd know that tray anywhere.
She was off to New Plymouth for make-up and titivating.
A flurry of R/T calls alerted us to her progress down the highway.
The delivery driver must have wondered why he was being watched so closely.

" In Pagan times the start of summer was when the festival of Beltane was celebrated with outdoor orgies. This was therefore thought to be an unsuitable time to start married life. ... The Summer as a whole was considered a good time to marry and this is partly to do with the sun's association with fertility. "

The Alarm clock better watch it too..

"Seeing an open grave, a pig, a lizard, or hearing a cockerel crow after dawn are all thought to be omens of bad luck. Monks and nuns are also a bad omen. This may be because the are associated with poverty and chastity. They are also though to signal a dependence on charity by the newlyweds."

weddingmag.com

Doddery is one smug old roadworker today.
In fact vast quantities of smugness are oozing out of every pore.
Today, the crew got a dinky little clock radio thingie for not having any lost time injury accidents for a year, & I scored a couple of pairs of new overalls, some new boots, and a brand new truck.
At this very moment a highly skilled team of engineers and truck builders are painstakingly crafting a real roadies truck with every conceivable folding out, and tucking in, extra. Sliding deck, winch and all.
I am also authorized to oversee the finishing touches, placement of lights, lockers etc.
( a stainless steel galley & en suite would be nice, oh and a high speed wireless data link)
Truly my cup runneth over.
I haven't had the heart to tell my old truck yet.
Terminating a long relationship is never easy, especially when a shiny new, low mileage replacement comes along. I may have to try and break the news gently, over a service pit with some heavy duty grease, and low sulphur diesel.

Little Town Flirt

My old truck had a bit of a turn the other day.
I was not far from home when it started to splutter & sneeze. A bit of cajoling got it to my gate and it coasted in, then refused to move. I know how it felt, I was a bit knackered myself and the weekend had finally come around.
I tried prodding it, and bleeding it, which is a secret truck driver ritual thingie not involving leeches, but to no avail.
Bright and early on Monday morning the mechanic arrived, who it transpired had worked for the firm some years ago and knew the truck well. He talked to it as he worked, quickly discovering the injector pump was falling off, and also spotted a missing hose.
"There you go, sweetheart", he said as he finished working on it, and it burst into life.
It has now developed a new lease of life, and can really kick it's heels up.
I thundered past a startled Kenworth on the Mahoenui Hill yesterday. Amazing what a few kind words can do...

Overloaded & On The Run

I am currently locked in very delicate negotiations with my employers over a fine for overloading. My loader driving mate, has offered to pay half. Meanwhile I am quietly getting ready to flee to Argentina, should negotiations fail. I have picked Argentina because I rather like the idea of being a Gaucho, (retired) and also I rather like the sound of a recipe for Rasberry Mango Fool I came across. Also my brother assures me that armadillo hunting is all the rage over there. He heard it from someone in the pub. They are also not shy about eating huge hunks of grilled steer and drinking beer, both of which are hobbies of mine. Throw in the fact that, though I have never tried it, I bet I am deadly at the Tango, and you can see that Argentina is probably my best bolt hole.

The God Squad, Bee Whispering & Mushrooms.

The sight of the "God Squad" fills truckies with dread. The C.B.'s go ballistic. Lights flash. Trucks suddenly stop in odd places. The God Squad (Police Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit) are doing a blitz.
One of the Guys had to go to Court yesterday, for forgetting to fill in his log book. After a tanker truck and trailer load of flour overturned on a notorious corner, we were out till midnight till the cranes has cleared the road. A large chevron sign was demolished in the accident and he drew the short straw to get a new sign down from Te Kuiti first thing in the morning. He was stopped by the "God Squad" on the way and hadn't filled in his log book. The penalties are rather draconian.
Driver: Maximum fine not exceeding $2,000 and
Disqualification for 1 calendar month or more as the Court sees fit unless special reason exist why not.
Note: Special reason must relate to the offence
Any Other Case: Max fine not exceeding $10,000
We wrote letters to the Court, pleading a special case, but he lost his heavy traffic licence for a month and was fined $380 including costs. This was regarded as being let off lightly. Suddenly I have become a model log book keeper.
On a happier note, I have been formally thanked in front of the assembled company multitudes for my efforts in the killer bee incident. I am now the official company Bee Whisperer. Meanwhile the first mushrooms are starting to appear.