Unusual Stowaways
http://www.aboutautomobiles.net/articles/6224/1/Unusual-Stowaways/Page1.html
Lyall Cresswell
Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director for the Transport Exchange Group. Haulage Exchange, their freight exchange for the 7.5 tonne and above market, offers an independent environment for its members to swap backloads. By Lyall Cresswell
Published on 21 April 2010
When you spend the major part of your waking life in the cabin of a big rig (or even a little one for that matter) fulfilling contracts for haulage companies, it can sometimes get a little lonely To relieve some of the solitude, it’s not unusual for a driver to pick up a hitchhiker to help them while away the time
When you spend the major part of your waking life in the cabin of a big rig (or even a little one for that matter) fulfilling contracts for haulage companies, it can sometimes get a little lonely. To relieve some of the solitude, it’s not unusual for a driver to pick up a hitchhiker to help them while away the time. It’s nice to have the company, and some drivers even forge lasting friendships with people they have met on the road. While it pays to err on the side of caution when it comes to picking up hitch-hikers, sometimes a driver is not always aware he is giving someone a free ride. Here are a few of the more unusual stowaways that have been reported.
A Slippery Character
One driver on a 200 mile round trip picked up his uninvited guest as he delivered a load of heavy machinery to a farm. When he arrived back home in the dead of night, as he climbed down from the cabin, he narrowly missed stepping on to a one-metre long grass snake which had attached itself to the running board. Now, the mystery is twofold: How did the snake actually get on to the running board which was at least 60cm off the ground; and even more admirable on the part of the snake, how did it manage to stay there when the truck had been powering along the motorway for nearly 100 miles? Neither question of course will ever be answered and the snake certainly wasn’t telling! The legend will just have to go down in haulage companies history; but what happened to the snake you ask? Well our animal-loving truck driver coaxed it into a bag, took it to have a holiday at the local vet for a week, and then drove it back up to the farm the next week when he had another job on. What a tale that snake had to tell the folks back home!
Hare today – Gone Tomorrow
Slightly further from home, a Russian driver who worked for a number of British haulage companies was delivering his load out along a quiet road, when from nowhere a huge hare leapt out in front of his truck. He slammed on the brakes and ground to a halt believing he had hit the hare and, in all likelihood, killed it. Wanting to make sure the hare was not suffering, he got down from the cabin to move it off the road, but it was nowhere to be found. He searched the area for a good few minutes then deduced that he must have just clipped it or it had been completely lucky and escaped altogether. It wasn’t until the next morning that the truth was revealed. As he went to climb into his truck a movement caught his eye and upon closer inspection, he discovered the hare, alive but not so much kicking, trapped in the radiator grill. How it survived we will never know, but survive it did, and after a delicate operation to remove the grill at the local garage, the hare was released. Chances are he’ll look next time he wants to cross the road!
Wrong Way Go Back
The worst kind of stowaway, as far as haulage companies are concerned, is the human kind, and it can be all too real a problem on international routes. But one has to spare a thought for an unfortunate would-be stowaway who climbed up behind the wind guard of a lorry in Calais which he thought would catch him an easy ride into the UK. The truck was facing towards ol’ Blighty at the time, but unbeknown to the hapless hitcher, it was in fact bound for the Balkans. After about 50 miles he realised his error and began banging frantically on the roof of the cabin. The shocked driver helped the shaken man down but he didn’t stick around for too much of an explanation. He mumbled, “Very sorry”, and scuttled off into the French countryside. One can only speculate as to where he ended up...
A Slippery Character
One driver on a 200 mile round trip picked up his uninvited guest as he delivered a load of heavy machinery to a farm. When he arrived back home in the dead of night, as he climbed down from the cabin, he narrowly missed stepping on to a one-metre long grass snake which had attached itself to the running board. Now, the mystery is twofold: How did the snake actually get on to the running board which was at least 60cm off the ground; and even more admirable on the part of the snake, how did it manage to stay there when the truck had been powering along the motorway for nearly 100 miles? Neither question of course will ever be answered and the snake certainly wasn’t telling! The legend will just have to go down in haulage companies history; but what happened to the snake you ask? Well our animal-loving truck driver coaxed it into a bag, took it to have a holiday at the local vet for a week, and then drove it back up to the farm the next week when he had another job on. What a tale that snake had to tell the folks back home!
Hare today – Gone Tomorrow
Slightly further from home, a Russian driver who worked for a number of British haulage companies was delivering his load out along a quiet road, when from nowhere a huge hare leapt out in front of his truck. He slammed on the brakes and ground to a halt believing he had hit the hare and, in all likelihood, killed it. Wanting to make sure the hare was not suffering, he got down from the cabin to move it off the road, but it was nowhere to be found. He searched the area for a good few minutes then deduced that he must have just clipped it or it had been completely lucky and escaped altogether. It wasn’t until the next morning that the truth was revealed. As he went to climb into his truck a movement caught his eye and upon closer inspection, he discovered the hare, alive but not so much kicking, trapped in the radiator grill. How it survived we will never know, but survive it did, and after a delicate operation to remove the grill at the local garage, the hare was released. Chances are he’ll look next time he wants to cross the road!
Wrong Way Go Back
The worst kind of stowaway, as far as haulage companies are concerned, is the human kind, and it can be all too real a problem on international routes. But one has to spare a thought for an unfortunate would-be stowaway who climbed up behind the wind guard of a lorry in Calais which he thought would catch him an easy ride into the UK. The truck was facing towards ol’ Blighty at the time, but unbeknown to the hapless hitcher, it was in fact bound for the Balkans. After about 50 miles he realised his error and began banging frantically on the roof of the cabin. The shocked driver helped the shaken man down but he didn’t stick around for too much of an explanation. He mumbled, “Very sorry”, and scuttled off into the French countryside. One can only speculate as to where he ended up...