Near-death experiences and new underwear: driving with Mother Nature 

Photo: “You take what you can get” by Mike Murchison

by Don Taylor, excerpted from “Stories from the Road” used with permission

When thinking about safety in trucking and the logistics of delivering loads across the continent we have to consider the role played by the weather. Weather can be as hazardous to the trucker as any other potential dangers that are encountered. Weather alert technology has come a long way since I started long-haul trucking.

These days routes can be monitored and alerts can go out early enough to allow shipments to be re-routed. Not only is time saved, but so is potential damage to trucks and loads, as well as the lives of drivers.

I have been on the road long enough, and far enough, to have had several “adventures” of the weather kind, thanks to Mother Nature. Somewhere in early 1997, when I was still training my friend Pete, we were given a load headed to the United States, crossing at Pembina, North Dakota, due south of Winnipeg. It was snowing, but not THAT bad, although the winds were fairly strong.

We got to the US Customs entry, parked the truck, and went in. The customs booth we visited that trip has since been demolished and rebuilt. After customs cleared the load, I was informed that the Interstate 29 was closed because of the weather. I almost told the agent off. When the highway is closed, travel is illegal.

I mentioned that I guess we would have to stay right where we were. The customs agent said we couldn’t stay there, we had to vacate the premises. I said that it would be illegal for us to leave as the highway was closed. I also told him that had he informed me the interstate was closed BEFORE he cleared the load, we could have returned to Canada, taken the load back to the yard, and taken a load that stayed in Canada.

After a few minutes of back and forth, his supervisor came out to see what was going on. When he learned what had happened, he told his subordinate that the only way we could leave the border was if he supplied us a police escort to the closest suitable facilities, which were two miles away at the Gastrak Truck Stop in Pembina. We ended up with the escort, along with a few other trucks in the same situation. All other trucks were sent back to Canada.

As I recall, I never saw that customs official at the border again.

Gastrak was long been popular as a regular stop for all cross-border traffic, not just trucks. Fuel is cheaper there than in Canada. If you’re north-bound, it’s a good spot to stop to make sure all your paperwork and receipts are in order for Canada Customs. It’s also the last place to make any snack or duty-free purchases before heading into Canada.

When the roads close though, their parking lots fill up fast. We managed to get a place to park, although it was not an official or marked spot. Gastrak has a “normal” capacity of about fifty trucks. By the time everything was said and done during this winter storm, there were three times that number. Every available inch of pavement had a vehicle of some sort on it. Even the fuel pumps had vehicles parked in front them.

The storm that had caused the road closure bore down on the area like nothing I have ever seen, before or since. The winds were gusting to 50 mph, and the bottom fell out of the thermometer. At one point, I remembering hearing on the radio that the temperature was now -70 F, but when its that cold, the numbers don’t really matter. It’s just freezing!!

It was very cold, resulting in some trucks starting to “gel up”. When diesel fuel gets to a certain temperature, dissolved wax particles start to solidify, plugging the fuel filters. Winter fuel has additives to retard the wax from solidifying, but this product is not widely available in the United States, save for some of the more northern states. If someone fuelled up in Iowa or Nebraska, chances are winter fuel wasn’t available.

Most truck stops sell fuel conditioner, to retard fuel gelling, but it can be expensive. We fuelled in Winnipeg, so we had good winter fuel. We were stuck there for three long, boring days before the highway opened up. It took the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) another three or four days to clear the cars and trucks that littered the ditches.

I only heard of one serious accident, although I didn’t witness it. It apparently resulted in a massive crackdown by USA Department of Transportation regarding logbook violations. The story I heard, remembering that I didn’t see the accident or the aftermath, was that a truck decided to risk running the closed highway.

In the severe adverse conditions, he didn’t see a state trooper stopped to help a stranded motorist, and killed the trooper. The investigation apparently also revealed he was running over his legally allowed time. For all intents and purposes, if this is what truly happened, his driving career was finished.

All Gastrak had for food at the time was soup, chili, and hotdogs, plus convenience store snacks. In those days, they also closed the soup and chili service from eleven at night until six in the morning. During this storm, however, everything stayed open. For the most part, it was because the staff, too, couldn’t get home. The only way anyone could get around was by snowmobile.

The parking lot was tightly packed, so this meant that if someone needed fuel, it was all-hands-on-deck. We’d use five-gallon jerry cans, creating a bucket brigade to get the fuel from the pumps to the trucks and trailers. Drivers with double bunks (sleepers with two beds) were offering the second bed to stranded families. More than a few drivers doubled up to give a family of four a double bunk truck to keep everyone together.

One driver brought his TV/ VCR combo into the truck stop along with a collection of VHS tapes to help pass the time. The collection was heavily laden with martial arts movies. Not my cup of tea.

I stayed in the truck for the most part, playing cards with Pete. When we finally got moving, the Interstate was in decent shape. We made good time driving the 150 miles to Fargo, North Dakota. They had started clearing the parking lot at the Petro Stopping Centre, which was (and still is) one of my favourite places to stop. The scene was like nothing you can even imagine.

As bad as it was in Pembina, Fargo had it worse. The lot was a complete mess, even three days after the storm ended. This was just one of eight blizzards the Fargo area experienced that winter. Whereas the average snowfall for that part of North Dakota is 50 inches the winter of 1996 – 1997 ended up with a whopping 117 inches! That’s just shy of 10 feet!

Of course, after the “Blizzard of the Century,” comes the “Flood of the Century.” This one was a doozy. By April of 1997, all that snow was melting into the Red River. Unlike most major river systems in North American, the Red River begins in the United States (at the southern edge of North Dakota/Minnesota), flowing north into Canada and eventually into Lake Winnipeg. All the snow that had piled up during that winter melted and eventually ran into the Red River.

I was fortunate to be on the road away from the area when the flood began. For April and May, the Red River spilled its banks reaching more than three miles inland. Grand Forks was completely inundated (along with the highway). Manitoba was luckier. The Red River Floodway, built after the 1950 flood, was designed to divert 60,000 cubic feet per second of water around the eastern side of Winnipeg.

During the 1997 flood it diverted 63,000 cubic feet per second. For reference, Niagara Falls’ average flow rate is 83,000 cubic feet per second. The Red River Floodway kept all that flood water off of the Trans-Canada Highway (which crosses over the floodway), keeping us long-haulers in business until the southern highway opened once more.

One winter, I was headed west from Trois-Rivieres in Quebec to Reno, Nevada. I had crossed over into the United States, taking me to I-80 just west of Cheyenne, Wyoming, when I encountered some bad road conditions. This area is famous for rapidly changing weather conditions. Travelling between Cheyenne and Rawlins, Wyoming, can be a crap shoot at the best of times. I checked the weather before leaving Cheyenne. Favourable road conditions were reported. Time to hit the road!

Cheyenne to Rawlins is 147 miles, but it can be a gruelling drive when the weather turns ugly. This time, it turned VERY ugly. The first 50 miles to Laramie was awesome. Bone dry roads with temperatures just above freezing. I was making good time. About five miles west of Laramie, everything went to hell in a hand basket. Dark, low, clouds came in, and the snow started. The snow soon changed over to rain, which is NOT a good sign when the temperature is close to freezing.

The conditions that create freezing rain are responsible for quickly turning the road surface into a skating rink. Rule of thumb when driving in these conditions is to keep an eye on your mirror. Trucker’s wisdom is to be followed: if you see spray, then you’re okay. If there is no spray, you’d better pray, meaning if there is spray coming off your tires, the road is just wet. If there’s no spray, then the surface is covered in ice, and you’re on borrowed time.

Another trick, is to run your hand over the leading edge of your outside mirror. If it has ice on it, chances are the bridges are covered in ice as well. On a small aside, I’m sure you’ve seen the signs saying something to the effect of “bridges may ice before the road”. Ever wonder why? The reason is, the road can absorb whatever heat the ground is storing, and the wind can only affect the road surface. On bridges, the wind can cool both the surface, and underneath the bridge, lowering the surface temperature faster, so the road surface could be as much as 4 degrees warmer the surface of the bridge.

I kept a close eye on my mirrors, as the temperature was right at the freezing point just as the sun was setting. I knew from experience that driving conditions were going to get very bad, very soon. I slowed right down, looking for a rest area, truck stop, or any place with enough room to get off the highway. Of course, no such luck.

I’m very confident in my driving skills and abilities. It’s the others on the road that you have to watch out for. Before long, I was down to about 10 mph, and just white-knuckling it. I had the CB on, getting updates on the road ahead from drivers heading the other way. I knew it wasn’t getting better anytime soon, so I just kept plodding along, nice and slow. Of course, there were cars, pick-up trucks, SUVs, and the odd semi just flying by at dry-highway speeds, oblivious to the road conditions. Joe Average in his car or pick up, I can almost understand, but the semi drivers? In the industry, we have a few names for these types of drivers: “Steering wheel holders” and “Billy Big-rigger” are the two most common (and least offensive).

About three miles ahead of me, another truck was doing about the same speed as I was. We kept in touch via the CB discussing the road conditions ahead. I kept him apprised of what was coming up behind us. At one exit, on the eastbound side, there was a pretty bad accident. We were calling all the east-bound trucks to warn them about it. Not all of the eastbounders, however, were listening to their radios. Inevitably, a few added their mass to the carnage, along with quite a few of the cars and pickups.

As we slowly progressed westward, the driver in front of me suddenly yelled over the CB: “OH SHIT!” I was checking my mirror at the time, and snapped my head forward to see a Jeep four-wheel drive spinning around in the eastbound lanes. As the Jeep spun, it came through the median, heading towards the west bound lanes. This is was going to be close!

I had to rapidly sort out my options. What do I do? If I step on the throttle to get out of his way, I’ll spin out, possibly jack-knifing into the ditch. If I hit the brakes, the truck brakes will likely lock, causing the trailer to push the truck out of the way, and I’ll still be jack-knifed into the ditch. Damned if I do; damned if I don’t.

Only thing I could do was to just maintain control, keeping the truck straight and slow, hoping to all-that’s-holy that the out-of-control Jeep didn’t hit me or the truck ahead, cause a huge wreck, and probably killing the Jeep-driver in the process. Thankfully, the Jeep passed between us spinning all the way, before ending up on its side in the ditch. Apparently, the driver wasn’t injured, as a truck behind me said they were out and walking around.

Pretty sure they needed a change of underwear, though…  

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“Stories from the Road” by Don Taylor is available in hard copy, paperback and downloadable electronic file at Friesen Press.