Your Most.Embarassing Moment?
Discussion
Reading elsewhere about the Scania not revving made me think, whats the most.embarrassing thing that you've done?
One of many of mine was the first.time I took a Merc with.the EPS.shift out, id moved it in the yard and knew how it worked( so I thought)
All went well, got to where I was going, lifted the cabin onto the trailer, put the crane away, jumped in to reverse out......
Where the f!*(s reverse???? Surely you just hold the wee gearlever back till it pops in? I had to phone the other driver to find out what I was doing wrong...
Also.i.was.completely blocking the road and couldnt.go.forward
Not my finest hour
One of many of mine was the first.time I took a Merc with.the EPS.shift out, id moved it in the yard and knew how it worked( so I thought)
All went well, got to where I was going, lifted the cabin onto the trailer, put the crane away, jumped in to reverse out......
Where the f!*(s reverse???? Surely you just hold the wee gearlever back till it pops in? I had to phone the other driver to find out what I was doing wrong...
Also.i.was.completely blocking the road and couldnt.go.forward
Not my finest hour
Borrowed an Actros for a night run, got to the yard in the pitch black around midnight with noone else about. Was an auto and I was sticking it in gear but nothing would happen, it would roll with the handbrake off and I could rev it but it just wouldnt select any gear. After 15 minutes of sitting there trying to make it work I decided that it must be broken and phoned the owner who was asleep at home to see what he thought. His reply was 'try pushing the clutch down'. Took a long time to live that one down.
Got to yard, picked up tractor unit, found trailer, reversed onto trailer (pulled forward to check), jumped out and connected soozy lines, froze as truck starts to roll backwards across yard!
Didn't put the handbrake on!
Jumped down and whacked my hand on the brake pedal. Turned around and there were 20 or so staff outside smoking and eating as it was a sunny day. Que them all clapping and cheering.
Highly embarrassing.
Didn't put the handbrake on!
Jumped down and whacked my hand on the brake pedal. Turned around and there were 20 or so staff outside smoking and eating as it was a sunny day. Que them all clapping and cheering.
Highly embarrassing.
GTIR said:
Got to yard, picked up tractor unit, found trailer, reversed onto trailer (pulled forward to check), jumped out and connected soozy lines, froze as truck starts to roll backwards across yard!
Didn't put the handbrake on!
Jumped down and whacked my hand on the brake pedal. Turned around and there were 20 or so staff outside smoking and eating as it was a sunny day. Que them all clapping and cheering.
Highly embarrassing.
Always check trailer brake before going under ;-)Didn't put the handbrake on!
Jumped down and whacked my hand on the brake pedal. Turned around and there were 20 or so staff outside smoking and eating as it was a sunny day. Que them all clapping and cheering.
Highly embarrassing.
but back in the real world at least you noticed it before it went too far or caused any damage!
Never a problem with artics, believe it or not.
Revering a six wheeler hanging meat wagon between to occupied loading bays and taking the insulation off the inside of the door with one of the parked trucks mirrors (not my finest hour)
Same meat wagon up on three wheels about to topple joining the A30 at Honiton - not long passed my test and nobody mentioned swinging beef!! Brown trouser moment, at the time I smoked and in ten miles must have smoked 10 cigs.
Revering a six wheeler hanging meat wagon between to occupied loading bays and taking the insulation off the inside of the door with one of the parked trucks mirrors (not my finest hour)
Same meat wagon up on three wheels about to topple joining the A30 at Honiton - not long passed my test and nobody mentioned swinging beef!! Brown trouser moment, at the time I smoked and in ten miles must have smoked 10 cigs.
GTIR said:
Got to yard, picked up tractor unit, found trailer, reversed onto trailer (pulled forward to check), jumped out and connected soozy lines, froze as truck starts to roll backwards across yard!
Didn't put the handbrake on!
Jumped down and whacked my hand on the brake pedal. Turned around and there were 20 or so staff outside smoking and eating as it was a sunny day. Que them all clapping and cheering.
Highly embarrassing.
As there are some newbie drivers on here its worth pointing out that if it happens( I think.we all.do it once) jumping down is a.good way to die under the wheels. Pull the red line out, it'll stop sharpish.Didn't put the handbrake on!
Jumped down and whacked my hand on the brake pedal. Turned around and there were 20 or so staff outside smoking and eating as it was a sunny day. Que them all clapping and cheering.
Highly embarrassing.
Humper said:
GTIR said:
Got to yard, picked up tractor unit, found trailer, reversed onto trailer (pulled forward to check), jumped out and connected soozy lines, froze as truck starts to roll backwards across yard!
Didn't put the handbrake on!
Jumped down and whacked my hand on the brake pedal. Turned around and there were 20 or so staff outside smoking and eating as it was a sunny day. Que them all clapping and cheering.
Highly embarrassing.
As there are some newbie drivers on here its worth pointing out that if it happens( I think.we all.do it once) jumping down is a.good way to die under the wheels. Pull the red line out, it'll stop sharpish.Didn't put the handbrake on!
Jumped down and whacked my hand on the brake pedal. Turned around and there were 20 or so staff outside smoking and eating as it was a sunny day. Que them all clapping and cheering.
Highly embarrassing.
Who puts the trailer brake on anyways!?
If it was on I would have been at the other end whilst it rolled off!
if the trailer brake had have been on, the motor wouldn't have rolled off.
as for being the other end, i guess 1 of 2 things would of happened if trailer brake was on.
1, people jump back in the cab, go to drive off after hooking up, this is when most realise that the parking brake was on, (maybe saving their life)now they put tractor parking brake on, walk down trailer, and take parking brake off.
2,if said driver, did do a walk round check, and noticed the trailer brake is on, when they release it, (if tractor brake was off) and it starts to move, again, just hit the trailer park brake again, 9 times out of 10 it would be safer than trying to get to the tractors foot brake.
not having a dig, i did the same 20 years ago, never done it since.
also, as someone else mentioned, if this does happen when your on the catwalk, just pull the red line straight off again, alot safer than trying to jump down, and stop the truck by trying to get to the cab. people die doing this
i have a mate who knocks me for putting the park brake on when i drop trailers, or when i do a proper walk round check when i pick a new trailer up, reckons i'm "anal"
he could be right, but at least i spot trailer m.o.t's that are missing, bulbs, light lenses, loose bodywork etc.
as for being the other end, i guess 1 of 2 things would of happened if trailer brake was on.
1, people jump back in the cab, go to drive off after hooking up, this is when most realise that the parking brake was on, (maybe saving their life)now they put tractor parking brake on, walk down trailer, and take parking brake off.
2,if said driver, did do a walk round check, and noticed the trailer brake is on, when they release it, (if tractor brake was off) and it starts to move, again, just hit the trailer park brake again, 9 times out of 10 it would be safer than trying to get to the tractors foot brake.
not having a dig, i did the same 20 years ago, never done it since.
also, as someone else mentioned, if this does happen when your on the catwalk, just pull the red line straight off again, alot safer than trying to jump down, and stop the truck by trying to get to the cab. people die doing this
i have a mate who knocks me for putting the park brake on when i drop trailers, or when i do a proper walk round check when i pick a new trailer up, reckons i'm "anal"
he could be right, but at least i spot trailer m.o.t's that are missing, bulbs, light lenses, loose bodywork etc.
Edited by chilistrucker on Monday 9th July 12:19
GTIR said:
Got to yard, picked up tractor unit, found trailer, reversed onto trailer (pulled forward to check), jumped out and connected soozy lines, froze as truck starts to roll backwards across yard!
Didn't put the handbrake on!
Jumped down and whacked my hand on the brake pedal. Turned around and there were 20 or so staff outside smoking and eating as it was a sunny day. Que them all clapping and cheering.
Highly embarrassing.
Did this about 2 years ago, went into a customers yard to pick up a loaded trailer, hitched up to it, no air in the trailer, went inside to make a brew, when i came out the truck was halfway across the yard, me mate had followed me in said 'who left their handbrake off', felt a bit of a tDidn't put the handbrake on!
Jumped down and whacked my hand on the brake pedal. Turned around and there were 20 or so staff outside smoking and eating as it was a sunny day. Que them all clapping and cheering.
Highly embarrassing.
t i can tell you, very very lucky he noticed.I've been doing this job way too long, heres another of mine...
Spent a couple of years picking random vehicles up for export with a low loader. Amongst some gems like 'if you chain something down whilst the tyres are inflated, it will become loose if the tyres deflate' and 'stand away from the winch cable incase it snaps' is my favorite watch this moment. Someone had bought a lot of equipment from an auction in the midlands and it was our job to get it back to Tilbury so that it could be exported, I had no idea what any of it was until i turned up to the auction house. Along with a few dumper trucks and tracked vehicles, all of which I had never driven before, was a 25 tonne road roller (big steam roller thing you normally see flattening a motorway). Turns out that they dont have pedals, you get a steering wheel and one lever like a handbrake on your right hand side. Push the lever to go forward, pull it back to go back and release it to the middle to stop. Had a quick 5 second play to line it up with the low loader and went for it, what we didnt know is that the proffesionals have rubber mats that they put down on the trailer bed for traction. When it came to the point that I wanted to stop, it didnt. I pulled back on the lever thinking that it would help stop it but all that did was spin the roller wheel backwards whilst the machine was still moving forwards, and then sideways. Once the roller had slipped off of the side of the trailer and everyone had stopped laughing at me we decided to pick it up on the second trip with some rubber mats.
With regards to making mistakes when hooking up to trailers, we get quite a few new drivers pass through the company I now work for. They regularly catch the suzie on the taughtliner ratchet handles when doing tight turns and leave themselves stranded in the middle of the yard after ripping them out. another is not checking the height of the pin, driving straight underneath it and smashing in the back of the unit. Recently we've had some who make some big disasters. One hasnt checked that the pin has locked in and made it across the yard before they turned and the trailer become unhitched, bending the legs right up so that the nose of the trailer was on the floor. Another dropped our little 25ft urban trailer with double stacked IBC's sitting just on the front, That made an expensive seesaw. The best though was one that dropped a loaded trailer in Tilbury docks, rather than pull gently forward and lower the back of the unit down until the trailer legs took the weight he just drove out from underneath and the legs smashed through the floor into a drainage channel below
Spent a couple of years picking random vehicles up for export with a low loader. Amongst some gems like 'if you chain something down whilst the tyres are inflated, it will become loose if the tyres deflate' and 'stand away from the winch cable incase it snaps' is my favorite watch this moment. Someone had bought a lot of equipment from an auction in the midlands and it was our job to get it back to Tilbury so that it could be exported, I had no idea what any of it was until i turned up to the auction house. Along with a few dumper trucks and tracked vehicles, all of which I had never driven before, was a 25 tonne road roller (big steam roller thing you normally see flattening a motorway). Turns out that they dont have pedals, you get a steering wheel and one lever like a handbrake on your right hand side. Push the lever to go forward, pull it back to go back and release it to the middle to stop. Had a quick 5 second play to line it up with the low loader and went for it, what we didnt know is that the proffesionals have rubber mats that they put down on the trailer bed for traction. When it came to the point that I wanted to stop, it didnt. I pulled back on the lever thinking that it would help stop it but all that did was spin the roller wheel backwards whilst the machine was still moving forwards, and then sideways. Once the roller had slipped off of the side of the trailer and everyone had stopped laughing at me we decided to pick it up on the second trip with some rubber mats.
With regards to making mistakes when hooking up to trailers, we get quite a few new drivers pass through the company I now work for. They regularly catch the suzie on the taughtliner ratchet handles when doing tight turns and leave themselves stranded in the middle of the yard after ripping them out. another is not checking the height of the pin, driving straight underneath it and smashing in the back of the unit. Recently we've had some who make some big disasters. One hasnt checked that the pin has locked in and made it across the yard before they turned and the trailer become unhitched, bending the legs right up so that the nose of the trailer was on the floor. Another dropped our little 25ft urban trailer with double stacked IBC's sitting just on the front, That made an expensive seesaw. The best though was one that dropped a loaded trailer in Tilbury docks, rather than pull gently forward and lower the back of the unit down until the trailer legs took the weight he just drove out from underneath and the legs smashed through the floor into a drainage channel below
This one's doing the rounds on the recovery forum I go on.
http://www.itv.com/news/london/update/2012-07-14/l...
Oops...
http://www.itv.com/news/london/update/2012-07-14/l...
Oops...
I was asked to do a day on an artic tipper by my agency.
I hadn't long had my class 1, but had done plenty of 7.5 tonner tipper stuff, so they thought I was up for it.
It was all local stuff, no distance at all.
I had to deliver a load to a building site near Whimple. after the usual ball ache delivering to a building site, we got stuff moved, and the head bricky told me to "get it as close as you can to the mixers".
No problem, back it in, nice and level, no soft spots, start to tip it. The sand shifts, I jiggle forward to get the last of it off, and walk around the back to close the back.
Ooops!
The pile was up and over the mixers, they were going to have to dig them out!
The brickies labourer gave me a sour look, and said "fking cheers pal!".
I hadn't long had my class 1, but had done plenty of 7.5 tonner tipper stuff, so they thought I was up for it.
It was all local stuff, no distance at all.
I had to deliver a load to a building site near Whimple. after the usual ball ache delivering to a building site, we got stuff moved, and the head bricky told me to "get it as close as you can to the mixers".
No problem, back it in, nice and level, no soft spots, start to tip it. The sand shifts, I jiggle forward to get the last of it off, and walk around the back to close the back.
Ooops!
The pile was up and over the mixers, they were going to have to dig them out!
The brickies labourer gave me a sour look, and said "f
king cheers pal!".
iva cosworth said:
Not me but.....A colleague of mine who has been driving HGVs for a long time filled
our 7.5T with £46 of petrol on Monday.
TBH i don't know why he even bothered filling it as £46 is not even 1/2 a tank.
The piss taking will last for years
Heard a similar story a couple of years ago.our 7.5T with £46 of petrol on Monday.
TBH i don't know why he even bothered filling it as £46 is not even 1/2 a tank.
The piss taking will last for years
Transport Manager (bosses son), bought a load of cheap diesel to fill the bunkers.
It was cheap because it was petrol. Quite a few vehicles had added fuel before they found out. Ooops.
About 15 months ago I was given an old DAF fully loaded. By 'old' I mean well used, the gearbox was non existant and the brakes weren't all that.
As I approached the toll booths at the tunnel side of the Dartford crossing I was struggling to bring my speed down and used the floor button exhaust brake - should have guessed that was also suspect
The exhaust brake must have got stuck, or something and the engine slowed to somewhere between idle and stalling. I was at the barrier and gave the engine an almighty rev to try and clear it.
Revving the engine released the thickest black acrid smoke cloud you could imagine and filled the toll booth, the could hear the poor sod in the toll booth coughing and spluttering as my engine recovered and I pulled away.
I was a mixture of embarassed and pissing myself.
As I approached the toll booths at the tunnel side of the Dartford crossing I was struggling to bring my speed down and used the floor button exhaust brake - should have guessed that was also suspect
The exhaust brake must have got stuck, or something and the engine slowed to somewhere between idle and stalling. I was at the barrier and gave the engine an almighty rev to try and clear it.
Revving the engine released the thickest black acrid smoke cloud you could imagine and filled the toll booth, the could hear the poor sod in the toll booth coughing and spluttering as my engine recovered and I pulled away.
I was a mixture of embarassed and pissing myself.
I am currently the champion of dart toll barrier pinging on my firm. That beep noise that the dart tag makes just as it pays, well it makes that noise when it rejects aswell and it normally takes my brain half a second too long to realise that the barrier isnt lifting. Im on 4 at the moment with the best distance pinged atleast 50 meters 
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