Everybody knows that it can be dangerous to drive in snow or ice, well, almost everybody. Also, everybody knows that it can be dangerous to drive in rain, or on hills, or in heavy traffic areas, well, at least some do. But what have you heard about wind? You don't hear much about it, but wind sure is dangerous too, just as dangerous, maybe more so because it's so sneaky. People in certain areas know about wind though, they know all about it. But the rest of us, I think, don't give it much thought. 

Take Wyoming for example. Please. Just kidding, I love Wyoming. It's beautiful and has a rich history (and the best zoning laws in the country- none at all, in some counties). But it sure is windy there! I'm from Chicago, the Windy City, so I thought I knew wind. That was before I went to Wyoming one fine windy day. It was just like the Santa Ana Winds in California, only, it didn't have a special weather name like that. It was just a regular, kind of windy day to them. Since then, every time I pass through Wyoming, it is always so incredibly windy that I just can't believe it. They tie everything down there, because if they don't it will blow away. They all have shutters and it's kind of like a wintry hurricane climate there. These people know how to hunker down. If you take your hand off your hat for one second, you'll never see it again, unless you can run and dodge like Bruce Lee. I'd be willing to bet you a dollar that you could find a hat in Wyoming, on any given day, if you just look around for one. There's always a trailer-ban in effect too and when it snows there, forget about it.

Yeah, me and wind go way back. I remember one day in Grapevine, California during Santa Ana. I was southbound on I-5 one super windy day, watching the biggest tumbleweeds I ever saw blow across the highway, one after another. These things were the size of big cars. I demolished a few of them. A van was passing me and he ran into one, at the exact moment when he was next to me. It stayed on his front-end for a few seconds and then slowly fell apart. First half of it fell off, then, a piece half the size of a car clung to his windshield for at least a half mile before it finally broke away. Luckily he didn't panic and just held it straight until the tumbleweed fell apart. That was a close one.

Then there was my buddy Paul, who got blown off the side of a mountain. His truck rolled over several times and somehow he didn't get hurt, much. This is an ironic story in itself. You see, Paul never wore a seatbelt, never did, never will. I'm not condoning that, I always wear mine. But Paul won't and he swears his life was saved by that fact, when he got blown off the side of that mountain that day. What happened was, his truck rolled to his right, tossing him onto the passenger floor. Then, with the next part of the roll, the roof of the cab flattened down onto the seats. Anybody sitting there would have been smashed.

Luckily, he was tossed into the only small square area of the cab that didn't crush (in front of the passenger seat, on the floor). He had to be cut out of there by the Fire Department and the Jaws of Life, but he was conscious the whole time and climbed out of it, once they cut a big enough hole to get him out. I tried to tell him that he was lucky that day and that he should wear a seatbelt, simply because of the odds. His accident was a rare example and usually a seatbelt helps the situation. But he simply won't. Anyway, (getting back to wind) it was a severe and sudden wind gust that blew his truck off the road that day. He said it was an extremely windy day and he was on a winding road, so when he was going in one direction, the wind wasn't bad, but then when he rounded a bend, the gust just blew his trailer right over, which yanked the cab along with it.

I tried to search for some statistics on accidents caused by wind, but there were none. I found everything else, statistics for distracted driving, aggressive driving, drunk driving, rain, snow, animals, everything, even stats for accidents caused by cell phone yappers, but no wind stats. But I easily found plenty of news stories about people being blown off the road, or things being blown into traffic. I've been hit by blown garbage cans a time or two myself. Just last month I creamed a plastic picnic table (you know, those little Playschool plastic ones that stand about knee-high). I first saw it on the shoulder, sort of scooting along, but staying in its lane. Then, when I got close to it, it scooted to the left and right in front of me, so I flattened it, I had no choice. I had to wonder how that thing got blown out of a kids' backyard and down the road to the entrance ramp and onto the highway, all the way to where I was (over a mile from the nearest house). I could picture it in a left-turn-only lane, waiting for a green light, making a right, then a left, paying a toll. (Of course it could have fell off a pick-up truck, but that was no fun to think about.) Anyway, it weaved in front of me like a drunk driver, and without even a turning signal.

I didn't use to think about wind, but I do now, when I notice it being strong. Wind sneaks up on you. You can't see it, so it affects your senses in a weird way. The constant noise of it can sometimes dull your senses to the point where you have to turn your radio up full blast, just to hear it. It's physically exhausting too, driving in strong wind. It wears you out, fighting a steering wheel that keeps trying to turn. Plus, it literally moves your vehicle, especially if you have a big van trailer with a light load. It's a hard days work, dealing with winds like those all day. Avoid it if you can, but when you must, just hold on tight and pay attention, because you have your work cut out. Please be careful out there. The life you save could be mine.

1. Understand Traffic Waves
2. Prevent Traffic Jams
3. Stay Calm
4. Do The Math
5. Be Predictable
6. Time Traffic Lights
7. Expect the Expected
8. Compensate for the Ignorant
9. Teach Others
10. Make Sure an Accident is Never Your Fault
Read more

Here are some satisfied customers-
*Old Dominion Freight Line
*Plastic Express
*Dart Container Corp.
*Van-Pak Trucking
*GD Eastlick Trucking Inc.
*Alex Express
*Kenny Smith Trucking
*and many more.