Murphy's World

High Marks on Murph-o-Meter

Dear Murphy,

I had a three-day run in Iowa that I was going to unload in two days (ha!) and get back to Chicago early enough to spend some time at home. It started on a Monday, and everything was going quite well when all of a sudden, boom—a steering tire blew out.

By the time I could stop, the tire was already off the rim. No big deal because I had my cell phone—oops, out of range. Another driver gave me a lift to the nearest town. I called HQ on a toll-free number from a pay phone, but the phone kept charging me 50 cents per call. Four hours, eight telephone calls and $4 later, dispatch sent someone to help me out.

As I was walking back to my truck, a sheriff stopped and offered to give me a ride. I got into the truck and asked my driving partner—who had stayed with the vehicle—why the
engine was off. He said the engine died about an hour after I had left.

Because of the flat tire and the road shoulder, the truck was at an angle. Yep—the truck ran out of fuel with a half tank still available on the right side. The left was bone dry.

Nathan Valles
Crystal Lake, IL

Dear Nathan,

If Murphy’s World had wanted truckers to get where they needed to go without any problems, we wouldn’t have invented dispatchers, bad directions, dead cell phone areas and flat tires. Lucky for us and this column, we have plenty of that stuff around here.

Your first mistake was believing that you could complete a three-day run in two. Hello. This is Murphy’s World we’re talking about.

Class, repeat after me: If it involves a truck driver, everything that can go wrong will—at the worst possible time. And just when you think it can’t get any worse, it will. You really thought your phone would work just because you really, really needed it? Please. Running out of fuel with a half tank left ranks especially high on the Murph-o-meter.

Regards,
Murphy and Lucky Dog