Fuel for Thought

A Cold Slippery Day

               My nerves were frazzled by the time I got back home today. I had a relatively simple run scheduled last night... run over to WV, meet another driver for a transfer, and run it up North of Pittsburgh, PA... a run that would leave me about 250 miles from home... an easy home run.  Well, of course, it's a late night pick up, and as I"m heading down thru Southern Ohio, I run into a near white-out, people are sliding around, one goes clear down in a huge ditch beside the road... traffic slows to a crawl in places, and my average speed was only about 40 mph for over an hour.  It got so bad in that short space, that I actually called dispatch to see if there were any other drivers closer... I would give up the run if so.   20 minutes later, I drove out of the worst of it, so I called back in... they hadn't found anyone, so I went on in.  Well, the other driver finally arrived, and I headed out.  I figured the Interestates would be cleared pretty well, wrong... LOL... I79 going up thru WV was one lane each way... and slow goin.  Once again, 40 mph... erggg! 

          Thankfully, when I crossed the PA line, it was like night and day difference. They had cleared and salted the roads VERY well, and the roads were only wet... so I was able to make up time and deliver on time.  I was glad it was a decently heavy load tho... that extra 1000lbs sitting over the back wheels made the ol van handle well, even in the crappy sections!