[UPDATE: More Photos] Truck Driver Nearly Shoved Off Highway by Slide

Obviously, slides are inconvenient. But people forget how dangerous they can be. Caltrans District 1 posted this brief story to remind us just how careful we need to be around them:

Caltrans District CT BlurSlides can be unpredictable, and our Fort Bragg crew was caught in a slide early this morning. At about 3AM they were responding to a slide about five miles north of Westport, setting up traffic control and lights to be able to monitor the slide in the dark. While an employee sat in a ten-yard dump truck near the first slide a second slide came down. Thankfully the truck was not pushed over the edge of the highway, it was stopped by a guardrail, and the employee was not injured, only shaken up.

We would urge the public to be very careful if they come across a slide before Caltrans. Move your vehicle FAR BACK from the slide; do not get close for photos! Stay safe.

[Click here for more information about the slides]

Update: More photos and information from Caltrans:

Caltrans District CT BlurThese photos add some more perspective to the precarious situation our Equipment Operator was in on State Route 1 in Mendocino County.

The Fort Bragg Maintenance crew was responding to another slide on State Route 1 north of Westport when a second, completely separate slide hit the crew’s 10-yard dump truck as it was being repositioned to better access the initial slide.

Please *never* attempt to go around slides like this prior to road maintenance crews arriving. Landslides can destabilize quickly and take anyone by surprise.

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19 Comments
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silverlining
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silverlining
8 years ago

Better get the largest loader and at least one dump truck.
Wait,…. that is a dump truck in the photo.
Why read when the picture tells the story.

veteransfriend
Guest
veteransfriend
8 years ago

Wow, that is one lucky man. He should buy a lottery ticket on his way home

hmmm
Guest
hmmm
8 years ago
Reply to  veteransfriend

Wait, isn’t he unlucky to have almost died?

Ullr rover
Guest
Ullr rover
8 years ago
Reply to  hmmm

Good Luck Bad Luck!

There is a Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer’s neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”

Then, when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”

Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck?

Who knows?

Author Unknown

old town observer
Guest
old town observer
8 years ago
Reply to  Ullr rover

now that’s a winner!
thanks!

next, someone can tell the story about How Fido Died.

paula leigh
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paula leigh
8 years ago
Reply to  Ullr rover

Awesome, love this one!!!

VHDA
Guest
VHDA
8 years ago
Reply to  Ullr rover

Awesome, it just shows life is all about attitude! Still I’m glad the
Caltrans driver wasn’t lost over the edge.

John Walker
Guest
John Walker
8 years ago
Reply to  veteransfriend

I always hear people say this in situations like this, but my thinking is that he just used up ALL of his luck in THIS incident, so there’d be nothing left for the lottery.

Guest
Guest
Guest
8 years ago

I bet the load in his under pants is of similar size

Ben
Guest
Ben
8 years ago

Straight down to the ocean here…

Xena
Guest
Xena
8 years ago

Great photos!

Ben
Guest
Ben
8 years ago

Good thing that is a high tech guard rail thru there…!

It's time.
Guest
8 years ago
Reply to  Ben

Should be careful standing on the slide debris. The weight that isn’t usually on the road makes very unstable conditions underneath the roadway.

Erin
Guest
Erin
8 years ago

Holy cow!! So glad everyone’s alright Amazing pictures!

trackback

[…] The slide north of Westport came across the road early on March 11 nearly knocking a Caltrans truck over the guardrail and into the ocean. (Click here for more on the story.) […]

Dale Ten Broeck
Guest
Dale Ten Broeck
7 years ago

Indeed, the equipment operator was very lucky. Had the slide been larger, the lateral pressure would have continued lifting the truck and rolled it over top of the guard rail. Maintenance people deserve a lot of credit as they work in some pretty dicey conditions. Saw one Caltrans truck sold with a boulder wedged between the frame and engine. The operator made a decision to retire.

David Fitzwater
Guest
David Fitzwater
7 years ago

The very same thing happened to me, only I was in an AW grader, and when I went to bail out the right hand door, I was looking straight down about 40 feet into the Feather  River in full flood, it was too late to back out, and I figured that was it. At that instant my slicker jacket which was brand new
and very stiff caught in the control levers and held me just hanging there in midair. Then I realized
 that nothing was moving and the old AW was just sitting there idling, so I squirmed around and pulled myself back in the door,and by using the four wheel steer and the mole board I was able to back out of the slide and away from the big rock that was upsetting my day. This happened in the 1955 floods.

Ed Anderson
Guest
Ed Anderson
7 years ago

Fitzwater, I have not heard of you in years. Where in heck have you been??? I have missed you.

I was in a big slide one time. I got out of the pickup and threw the rock off the road. It must have weighed at least 26 pounds!!!

Stan Louks
Guest
Stan Louks
7 years ago
Reply to  Ed Anderson

Awesome pics