What is the most terrifying thing that taught you a lesson?

skyking1 said:

example of where not to walk through
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Not sneaking through here either.
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The worst "squirrel" nutcase I had to work around lately thought nothing. He thought nothing of just stepping up to the machine from my blind spots without warning me.
It was the fiber job above, and i was stripping some heavy sod off with a cleanup bucket, so i would have clean fill for the backfill.
I was moving fast, stripping about 3 bucket widths and moving right along. He just stepped up from behind and took my tape measure by my toe glass without warning. WTF?

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Hate those pointed fences after watching the news where a deer was impaled jumping over one. Horrible!!!
Close calls I had was on my MX track. Had the skid steer out to do a quick repair of a big hole. Had someone at the finish line to wave anyone off and stop riders from going on the track. 5 minutes in I backed up and a very inexperienced kid and then his dad were right there! Holy suite!!! Then another rider... the guy supposed to be stopping riders from going out!!! High tailed it back off the track and no one at the start. I asked the idiot and he thought it was OK or got bored or something.
Other time a similar type deal. Was taking a load of material out to fix another hole. 5 ton truck. Asked a guy to stop riders till I got back. Driving backwards on the long straight had a bike coming toward me. Tried to back in fast to dump load and caught a branch which broke a small piece off the fiberglass hood! *&^%$#@ Got back and asked the other idiot and he forgot. HE saw someone riding so figured it was OK and he was the 2nd rider I saw. I should have banned him for life! He also bought a season pass and tried to sneak his neighbors on without paying and got caught because helping at the track was out during the week and the complete moron showed up on the weekend. Let's see 30,000lb. truck vs 225lb. dirt bike, Hmmm, who's going to lose. Then he said riding into a pile of sand would be bad! The sand is one side of the track and you know exactly where it is and have 10ft. to ride around it!!! Personally hitting a pile of sand appeals to me more than hitting a 5 ton truck.6

Clearing snow and having idiots pales in comparison. New policy is no track work unless track is completely blocked off with signs and somewhat intelligent people keeping riders off till work is completed. Has to be a major problem like a tree fell and could get hit in order to go on track when it is open for riding. Still scared me a little.

I've got more than a few, but one sticks out at me as unusual. I was a brand-new blaster's helper at an underground limestone mine in Kentucky working up in the man basket of our UV-11 loading a round. The ANFO pots were pneumatically charged to blow prill into the drill holes and would throw out several pounds a second at high velocity out of a heavy HDPE hose. After charging one hole, we shut off flow to the hose - but the flow continued. One of the control valves had failed, which wasn't a big deal until the hole was filled to capacity and the hose forced itself out. I was 25' in the air wrestling with this hose as it was spewing ANFO and the blaster dropped the man basket down so he could kill the engine and get the thing under control. By the time he shut the engine down, we'd spewed several hundred pounds all over the drift floor.

Looking back, I wasn't in much if any actual danger, but it was an adrenaline rush with how green I was.

Other than that - the usual near misses associated with running equipment in bad ground at surface mines, and working at heights around processing plants.

Admittedly several of my lessons have been brake related due to my ignorance about their workings.

But the most terrifying lesson I learned was the Quebec train disaster where a train engine that was in need of repairs was left parked, unattended and running to keep air supplied to the brake chambers. The engine caught on fire, fireman came, shut the engine down, put out the fire, left, the brakes lost pressure, and with this brake design, there are handbrakes that were not sufficient to hold the train of 70 some cars, which rolled and then raced into the town, still unattended, with disastrous results and dozens dead.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac-Mégantic_rail_disaster

My takeaway is don't epoxy an engine back together, don't leave it running unattended with the engine not performing right, make sure the brakes are sufficient to hold the load without the engine running, if you mess with someone else's stuff, it's on you.

The CEO of the train company was a complete and total a-whole too when he opened his mouth. Trying to save his job or something. They should have put him in jail. Ultimately he's in charge of making sure the trains are safe and the required maitaince is done. Horrifying derailment!

Welder Dave said:

It's no different than idiots in cars when you're clearing snow or they see a skid steer on the street. They have no clue to wait for the operator to acknowledge them and figure they'll just sneak behind them. Utter stupidity in my opinion. A car will always lose against machinery.

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Years ago when I was driving dump truck I had a nice new Sterling dump truck with a high lift gate on the back. This gate had some pretty small lift cylinders that were plumbed to the main hoist lift valve with a diverter that would put the full flow of the pump to the lift gate and it would open FAST with those small cylinders and all that flow. Even with the engine at idle would this thing fly open. One day I was delivering a load to a jobsite and had backed into where I was supposed to dump it. The operator of the excavator on site was nowhere to be seen. I got out of the truck, made sure the area behind and around the truck was ok to dump this load of whatever it was. Still no sign of the operator. So I got back in the truck, flipped on the PTO, unlocked the dogs on the tailgate and opened the gate. As the gate came up I saw the operator of the excavator come flying out from behind the truck through the air in my rear view mirror. He had been in the outhouse and heard me coming, finished his business and came running to tell me to dump somewhere else and ended up right behind the truck when the tailgate opened. Since this tailgate moved so fast he went for one heck of a ride. I appologized to him and he appologized to me, he realized there was no way for me to see him from where he was coming. Thankfully other than a few bruises he was ok...

Aug 26, 2015.
The accident part was one thing. Sure, I could have died and even worse...I could have killed innocent people. That didn't happen. The nightmare started after I showed the doctors this video. They contacted DMV and the rest was an absolute ......... lets just say that it was bad.
Dealing with DVM the way they insist on kicking you and keeping you down when your already down only made me into an angry , pissed off man. They suspended my license for 5 years and didn't give a $h!t as to how in the world I would survive. Unable to work, behind on my house payments, turned down by workmans comp and unemployment @ $450.00 a week? That wasn't gonna make a house payment. But it bought the alcohol. Out of desperation I took a job as a mechanic while using my own truck. I ended up getting stopped which got my truck impounded.
Long story short, It took 2.5 years of going back and forth with the DMV, my doctor and many hearings to finally get my class C back.
And to think....this all could have been avoided had I not tried to do the right thing by showing the doctors this video in hopes of getting me back in the saddle a little sooner.
Had I told the doctors that i was texting my wife or reaching for a drink.... I would have still had my license, my job and we wouldnt be having this conversation.

Lesson learned... hell yes.
I will never, ever volunteer any information to anyone....especially the DMV. And if they do ask me anything... I'll look them straight in the eye and lie thru my teeth. And that goes with anything related to federal, state and local governments. Once you are down, these people's sole propose in life is to keep you down. It sure seems that way.
Good or bad, thats how I feel. Wright or wrong, thats how it is.
Had I been a wet back and jumped the wall, I'd have everything one could wish for simply handed over to me. But if you work hard and try to do the right thing, you suffer and you get screwed over by those who you pay to help you.

I'm pissed off again now...
need a drink.

Damn

Wow, so that’s where your screen name comes from.

Spud_Monkey said:

Wow, so that’s where your screen name comes from.

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Actually not. He's been Rollover Pete for a long time before that incident happened. On his work pics thread, near the beginning somewhere, he mentions the origin of the his screenname

You have quite an amazing memory, Colson !

It didn't scare me, but I think it may have gotten the apprentice's attention.
I was grading a slope on a river bridge job, UNDER the pile caps. The tool was a pc400-LC5 short arm and stick. I had to track in under the cap to work the slope below. Apprentice was tasked with hauling away spoils behind me, and was told to stay out from behind me as I would be backing blind while sloping. He said OK, I will stay out of your way. There was room to do so.
You know I did not even feel that 966 as I pinned it between the tires and slid it sideways. The superintendent was literally palm over face when I got out and asked just WTF was going on. He saw the whole thing from the abutment above. He said the kid's eyes were as big as saucers. I don't recall that guy's final disposition, but he was an ironworker who wanted to jump into the operators. He sometimes did what he was told, but other times not so much. Most notable was staking, you could lead him around by the nose, show him the staking and it was wiped away by the end of the shift. I showed him how to pull dirt back with the edge down, did not matter. He went in go ahead mode till it was no longer an issue.

Spud_Monkey said:

Wow, so that’s where your screen name comes from.

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The name was given to me by some friends from San Diego 4 Wheelers that I was jeeping with. Since this was the first of many, it kinda stuck.

The accident part was one thing,
Rollover Pete, you said it was syncope, passing out due to low blood pressure. Did you get that resolved?
And otherwise, you drink when angry, is that right? Lots of folks drink to relieve pain. Could that be it?

I drink for the taste of it, and about the only pain aid that still works.

BrianGrenier said:

Admittedly several of my lessons have been brake related due to my ignorance about their workings.

But the most terrifying lesson I learned was the Quebec train disaster where a train engine that was in need of repairs was left parked, unattended and running to keep air supplied to the brake chambers. The engine caught on fire, fireman came, shut the engine down, put out the fire, left, the brakes lost pressure, and with this brake design, there are handbrakes that were not sufficient to hold the train of 70 some cars, which rolled and then raced into the town, still unattended, with disastrous results and dozens dead.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac-Mégantic_rail_disaster

My takeaway is don't epoxy an engine back together, don't leave it running unattended with the engine not performing right, make sure the brakes are sufficient to hold the load without the engine running, if you mess with someone else's stuff, it's on you.

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Friends have a family excavating business. Youngest son was in his 40s when he needed shoulder surgery. Gravel truck was only driven by him. A week of being parked, the 75 year old father decided it'd be a good thing to start it up, warm up the engine.
It is SOP to ALWAYS set the spring brakes. Unexplained, he left it in gear, no spring brakes. As air bleeds down, the spring brakes set themselves. Son hadn't pulled the knob, just left it in gear. Dad reached in took it out of gear & started it. He went in the office. Ten minutes later, the air built up, released the spring brakes. Truck rolled down the hill and through the office wall.

Chalk your wheels, set your spring brakes

BrianGrenier said:

The accident part was one thing,
Rollover Pete, you said it was syncope, passing out due to low blood pressure. Did you get that resolved?
And otherwise, you drink when angry, is that right? Lots of folks drink to relieve pain. Could that be it?

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I went to cardiologists, neurologists and took every test they threw at me for 2.5 years. The results were the same. All they could find was that I had a slight episode of some kind on the left side of my brain . That's it. Loma Linda couldn't find anything. Specialists at Eisenhower medical couldn't find anything. My own doctor couldn't find anything. Every test they gave me came out negative. Cat scans, MRIs, showed nothing. Blood sugar, pregnancy, drug screen, blood pressure and any other digital probe they ran didn't show a dammed thing. Nothing was resolved. As far as what I do when angry? Nothing. If I'm home, I hold it inside and let it build. Then when the wife runs off, I'll go in the closet and jerk off until my arm falls asleep. What the hell kind of question is that? You sound like a head doctor working at a mental hospital. So, no. I drink when I'm thirsty or when I feel like it. Alcohol does nothing for pain. I refuse to take any pharmaceutical drug. Something about the side effects. Instead, I'll smoke a joint or eat a brownie before bed. If I'm driving or working, I just deal with it.
Oh brother......
The "lots of folks drink to relieve pain, could that be it?" part literally made me laugh. Thanks, I needed that captain obvious. You should have been at the hospital instead. I'm sure you would have fixed me right up.

Now brother, please....take this with a grain of salt as I have. I wasn't in pain or angry when I passed out. Nothing personal but the part where "folks drink to relieve pain, could that be it " has got to be the most ridiculous thing I've heard s since 46 spewed on the evening news.

A good friend was bush hogging with his Ford 8N tractor years ago. While cutting, he felt something hit him in the back and felt the wet of blood on his shirt but not enough to matter. He finished his cutting and went about his normal activities of the day. That night, in bed, he asked his wife if she remembered the bump that was on his chest. Nope, that was not there before but after hearing of the day's events, off to the emergency room they went. Xray showed a chunk of wire at his chest about to protrude. Doctor made a slice with a scalpel and pulled it out. The chunk of wire passed through his back and was stopped by the skin of his chest WITHOUT hitting any vital organs or veins. Damn, talk about lucky.

I was working one handed after hand surgery (creek bank fall without gloves) running the bush hog on my own tractor because I was stir crazy and figured I could get something accomplished. I got into gravel and sent the back glass into the cab with the flying rocks. No, I can't see much out the back but I do have Lexan guards on both rear windows after my mistake and especially after hearing Ray's story. And yes, I do get nervous when passing ROW cutters on the roadsides. You never know what they will fling out. It's all about timing.