Orignal vs Freightliner

Depuis quelques années je suis les histoires anecdotiques d'un vieux cammioneur Canadien sur un autre site et parfois il en a des bonnes comme cette courte histoire pas-pire.


Moose Tales
« on: October 24, 2015, 08:07:57 AM »

As some of you know, mooses are big and nasty, and you shouldn't mess with the moose!

In my travels, I've seen a lot of mooses, many many mooses, and the aftermath of those who did mess with them.
I'm going to tell you a few stories about them, and hopefully give a few helpful tips.
Here's the first one, others will eventually follow, I just can't say when.

Dont Mess With The Moose

So…….., there I am early one morning back in 1977, the sun was just peeping over the horizon, I'm west of Vegreville, heading for Edmonton, at Elk Island National Park to be precise, and in the distance I see flashing lights, road flares, police cars, and a truck sitting on the highway.

I could have passed by, but I was curious and parked well back from the commotion with my 4 ways on and got out to stretch my legs a bit.

The first person I come across is an RCMP officer and not knowing when or what had happened, I asked if I could help in any way.
The officer told me the truck had a fight with a moose and the truck lost, but no one was injured, and I should take a look at the front of the truck.

The truck, a Freightliner COE, was hooked to a loaded flat deck and was flying Arnold Brothers colours and decals.
As I walked by the rig I noticed the drivers door was open, I could see antifreeze on the ground, and when I looked at the front of the rig, there was a big pair of moose antlers stuck in the front of the truck, but no moose!

I'm standing there wondering what happened, when the driver of the truck wanders over and bums a cigarette to calm his nerves, and tells me the whole story.

It was still dark when he got to where he was, hoping to grab a few hours sleep in Edmonton before he delivered, when he saw two large animals standing on the road ahead.
At first he thought it was a moose and a horse, then realized it was a "BIG" bull moose and a cow moose, who might have been dating one another.

He stopped the truck and waited for them to step off the road, which the cow did, but the bull turned to face the truck and didn't move.
He yelled at the moose and banged his hand on the door, but the moose changed his stance and stamped his hoof a couple times, which is not a good thing, which this driver may not have known at the time.
(I was about to learn from his mistakes)

That driver was getting impatient and blew the electric horn which got a response from the moose, so he blew the air horn.
At first he thought the moose was going to move, so he blew the air horn again, which is a very bad thing where mooses are concerned.

Next thing he sees is an angry moose with its head down, charging full speed at the front of his truck, then WHAM!

The antlers had gone right through the double cab skin and radiator, (yes, double skin), he could hear the fan blades hitting the antlers as it spun, and he quickly shut the truck off.
Then the moose started tossing his head back and forth, because his antlers were stuck in the front of the truck, shaking the cab violently from side to side, but the driver couldn't get out and run, because one antler had his leg pinned to the doghouse and he couldn't move!

He was hollering on the CB radio for help while being flung around like a rag doll inside the cab, when suddenly both doors sprung open, (cheap freightliner doors), his leg came loose, and he was flung out of the cab and onto the concrete, suffering a few scrapes and bruises.

Luckily, a local CB'er with a base station picked up his distress call and phoned the police.
The police and wildlife people were quick to respond, the moose was tranquilized, they sawed off the antlers and hauled the moose away from the highway.

The truck was a mess, but at least he has a great story to tell his grand kids, and a cool memento to hang over the fireplace at the cottage!

The End
Logged
The first rule of the road is:
"If anything can happen, at any time, it will!"