There's something soothing about hitting the road and driving, driving, driving, sometimes to parts unknown, the wind in your hair and the sun in your eyes.
Long haul truckers know the roads best and they're used to an often solitary lifestyle. They often seem very self-assured, always knowing where they're going at any given moment.
But what happens when you see something while on the road that you think you shouldn't have? Things get downright weird, especially late at night.
Truckers shared their stories with us after Redditor CaptainGood7548 asked the online community,
"Truckers of Reddit, what was the weirdest thing you’ve ever experienced on the road?"
"Creepiest is seeing..."
"Creepiest is seeing people walking along the shoulder of the highway when it's pitch black out and there hasn't been a town for miles and miles and there isn't one coming up for miles either."
chadwaylon
Nooope. That's horror movie stuff right there. Just keep driving.
"Driving home from a trip one night..."
"Driving home from a trip one night, something told me to merge over, so I did. About a quarter mile later there was a guy sitting in the middle of the lane I was just in and it freaked me out like nothing else had."
Ineversaidthatok
Pretty freaky indeed, especially late at night!
"Driving through an abandoned section of Baltimore at 3 in the morning, my CB radio turned itself on and crackled for a bit. Out of nowhere some voice over the radio said in a deep southern drawl, "I ain't got no panties on."
"I could see up and down the interstate for miles and saw not one set of headlights..."
THREEkoalas
Nooo thank you. Not anything I'd want to hear at three in the morning.
"Driving through a national park in the middle of the night going through a slow stretch at about 30km/h."
"Every so often I think I see something out the window and beside me. Just a glimpse of movement. When I Iook though I don't catch it. Finally on about the third time I whip my head around and this time I recognize its a huge black wolf following alongside my truck just off the highway."
"I only saw it for a few seconds before I had to focus back on the road but it was absolutely lovely yet unsettling."
skilganon
Nature can be quite beautiful but I admit I'm happy to keep my distance.
"The biker had..."
"My Dad said one time while driving at night, he was behind a motorcycle when he saw its lights suddenly disappear. He slowed down and came up the biker on the side of the road. Apparently a deer had run across and the biker hit it causing him to crash."
"The biker had pretty gnarly compound fracture in his arm but I guess the adrenaline and/or shock caused him to not feel it. Dude bummed a cig from my dad while they waited for the ambulance to show up."
FearTheKeflex
I can only imagine how much that hurt afterward!
"Guy hopped..."
"I drive for one of the big ones. Guy hopped in the wrong truck. Went back in the sleeper and everything, took them good 10 minutes before he realized he was in the wrong truck."
jtai14
But why didn't you say anything?
"The tree ghosts..."
"The tree ghosts and shadow people come out around 0300. Sleep deprivation sucks."
[deleted]
You definitely should be stopping to sleep before this happens!
"My husband..."
"My husband is the driver but, he reports that the strangest thing was when he was stranded in the middle of the road due to lake effect snow, all vehicles were. And after like six hours, a lady in a car in front of him got out and pooped in the snow where everyone could see her."
SnooHobbies7109
Hey, hey... no judgment. When you gotta go, you gotta go.
"A giant pile..."
"A giant pile of potatoes. Like eight feet high. In the middle of a parking lot."
Tiredtruckermomma
When potato trucks tip over, the product is pretty much forfeited. I wonder if that happened, someone gathered and placed for others to take.
"I was driving on 81 Northeast of Tennessee towards Virginia when I spooked a Mallard duck as I was coming around a corner over a small creek. It tried flying off and got lodged in my sun visor outside the windshield. Immediate kill. Poor thing was pretty too. I had to pull over and use a stick to get it off my rig."
Nairbis79
Nooo! Poor creature. Sorry you had to deal with that.
Truckers have a fairly straightforward job but they do see all kinds of things on the open road. Might be worth listening to a few stories from the next one you meet. They are true observers of all the crazy things one sees on the road.
Have some stories of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
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