Bullshit. The southern half of Georgia is all under construction. That part isn't all that terrible, as they only drop the speed limit to 60mph in most places. The trouble is that you have motorists who can't maintain a constant speed, combined with day cab drivers who maintain one speed (65mph) regardless of where they are. Speed limit 70? They go 65. Speed limit 45? They go 65. Put them on the same stretch of highway with the Clampetts, who go anywhere from 50-75mph, and it can get a little tedious trying just to cruise along.
Out of Georgia, things were looking good for a few minutes. I was set to deliver early, have some time on my log book, catch a nap, and see what else the day had in store. Then, things took a turn...
I was rolling along, blasting my latest Dropkick Murphys CD and feeling pretty good, when the brake lights started. We were being routed off of I-75 on account of an accident that closed the freeway. You know the drill - people speed by on the left, get right to the end, cut off the people on the right, make everyone wait a little longer. I held up the center lane and a Werner guy held up the left lane, at least enough to let everyone move forward in an orderly fashion. When we got to the end, a Crete fella let me over and things were okay for a bit. They were routing us onto US-441 which didn't turn out to be a bad ride at first. A few miles down though, things again took a turn...
The left lane came to a complete halt, while the right line moved at a very slow but methodical pace. I had no idea why, but I knew I was not about to sit parked in the left lane all day so I headed by on the right. According to my atlas, there would be plenty of routes by which I could get back to I-75 if I just stayed along 441, so that's what I did. A few miles down, I saw the left lane issue up close. People had to make a left turn to get to southbound I-75. There were cops doing something like directing traffic, but they were basically just pointing out that the light was green whenever it changed. They never held up oncoming traffic to clear up any of that southbound mess. As such, two trucks were turning every time the light changed and everyone else was waiting. Glad I passed that shit. My ride into Gainesville on 441 was uncongested and quick.
I took the little jog across FL-126 to I-75 southbound. Again, quick and smooth, no issues. I figure I saved myself nearly an hour by skipping the backup on 441. Of course, that just meant that I hit the next one an hour sooner. When I got to I-75, the traffic was at a dead stop. It took another two hours to go three miles. Again, there was an abject failure to control traffic on the part of the local cops. I should have never been allowed to get on that southbound ramp, nor should the hundreds of cars who were getting on at the next one. People were parked in the middle of the highway while more and more cars tried to jam in, making the whole area impassible. People were driving by, trying to pass on the shoulder. Others would block the shoulder to try and preserve some order, so more people just started driving on the grass. Fucking animals. I counted thirteen cop cars that went blazing by on the median during the whole ordeal, but I can't for the life of me figure out what they did to help the situation. I know they work hard and I'm sure they were doing something. I just couldn't figure out what it was.
Eventually I got past that mess and made the rest of the run without incident. There were bugs flying all over at the WalMart place. I suspect they may have been those love bugs that I've been reading about lately, as they all seemed to fly around attached in pairs. I somehow managed to get in and out of my truck a few times without letting any of them inside. I made the drop/hook, then headed to the rest area just north on I-75. I got an assignment to take this empty to a customer in Georgia, then bobtail to the ConWay in Lawrenceville and grab an empty. I'm out of hours for today, but I just woke up and I'll get hours back at midnight so, once my ten hour break is up at 1am, I'm heading north. They told me to pick up a ConWay trailer, so I guess I'll have to learn the deal with the electric landing gear and mising crank handles that people have been discussing lately. Oh well, I had to get my turn sooner or later I guess.
The frustrations of today left me with no choice but to hit the weights again this afternoon. I worked out hard yesterday, so today should have been rest/recovery day, but I had to do something. The chances of getting laid at this rest area are pretty slim, I assume. I don't see a bar by the toilets. I don't imagine I'd have much legal defense if I chose to kick someone's ass for no apparent reason. So the weights wound up being the only stress relief I could find. I'm sure I'll be paying the price for the nex couple of days, but that's just life.
I had some snarky remarks ready to post about people who can't drive and the effect they have on my job. After having time to work out and take a nap though, I had a bit of a different perspective. That became especially true after reading the news account of today's events on I-75. And then the photos provide a stern reality check. Sometimes we feel a little invincible behind the wheel of these big tough trucks, but fire is fire and a few families are never going to see their loved ones again today. (Then I also noticed all of the Fritos falling out on the street and it made me hungry. What in the hell is wrong with me?) I managed to snap this shot as I finally got almost clear of the snafu:
Let's try to kick off the weekend on a little lighter note before I wrap up this posting.
Until next time, cheers.
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