My poor neighbor

[dstig1]

Can't tell for sure, but I'm going with the "needs a wider driveway" sceanrio. Our town requires some specifics for turnarounds and such on longer driveways, plus min width and height clearance for emergency vehicles. But the first thing you would run into would be what your neighbor did - construction and delivery vehicles. They often aren't much different than fire trucks for size.

 

[Skyco]

I kinda wondered if he could have got himself out with the boom on the truck...I'd have tried it

 

[tommu56]

Can't tell for sure, but I'm going with the "needs a wider driveway" sceanrio. Our town requires some specifics for turnarounds and such on longer driveways, plus min width and height clearance for emergency vehicles. But the first thing you would run into would be what your neighbor did - construction and delivery vehicles. They often aren't much different than fire trucks for size.

The guy with the barn fire had most of the width ok when farm was original.
No one kept the treelines cleared back and they grew out and covered the drive not counting the drive was like slalom run.

tom

 

[Kyle241]

Could be either scenario, driveway too narrow or lack of attention by the driver. I agree that having a nice wide driveway for construction and emergency vehicles is nice but not usually first in one's thoughts when building a drive, especially a long one. Usually cost is the overriding factor and going from a 10' to a 12' to a 15' does add up. Many think a 10' is fine however that usually ends up being truly only 8-9' with the sides at an angle.

I'm no expert when it comes to driving big rigs but this guy appears to have been driving forward so I don't think he was paying enough attention. My 'expertise' if from driving a 40' motorhome and I used to back it in to my 1000' drive that twisted and turned through trees, etc. on my previous property. It was only 12' wide with 1-2' sloping off so it truly was only 10'. I never had a problem.

 

[jml755]

I agree that the tow truck would NOT have been my first option. A couple of hydraulic jacks and a few 2x10's would have been under the front of that truck. If he couldn't roll it out on his own, a pickup or tractor +strap would surely have been enough boost to get it out. I've got equipment out that was stuck worse than that by jacking up and throwing bricks and firewood into the hole and than just backing out. Of course, if the sheetrock guy is picking up the tow tab, it's probably cheaper for him than to risk good samaritans getting hurt.

My BIL also has a narrow curving driveway (barely 8'). He complains all the time about people going off of it onto his grass, but I just tell him to widen it or shut up.

My driveway? I'm putting in over 1000' of 16'-20' wide crushed concrete, 12" thick. Not cheap, but it'll hold up. The advantage of a wider driveway is you can keep the ruts down by not having to drive in the same spot all the time.

 

[whiskywizard]

I'd bet money the guy driving the sheet rock truck was on his cell phone at the time.

 

[jwstewar]

When we were building the house the guy delivered the engineered lumber for the floor joists. Where they wanted to put them was a bit wet (Dec. 30 his last delivery on the last day before a long weekend). I told him, if he started to spin, stop and drop the load. He didn't listen. Tried to see how far he could make it. Ended up burying both sets of tandems on that Freightliner. He thought he would be smart and drop the load. Well, problem was, it slid, but not off the truck. Weight was still on the truck, but he couldn't get the bed back down because of the weight of the wood. Not wanting to wait for a tow truck or pay for one (either of us), we decided to try to pull it out with my truck. A '99 Silverado 4x4 ECSB, with a rear locker. I put a chain around my hitch and put it in 4-lo. Ended up spinning all 4 tires and took a couple of shots, but I finally got him out. The guys there doing the framing stood there in awe. They couldn't believe that 1/2 ton Chevy pulled that truck out. The truck driver was glad because he was an hour away from the shop and wanted to get home.

 

[dmccarty]

I am curious which way the guy was driving. His rear wheels are covered in mud. Was he backing up?

Our driveway is curvy but I made the curves wide. The straight a ways are about 13 feet wide and we have two places that one can turn around. Actually there are four but two are not obvious. :laughing:

Some of my neighbors have some driveways I would not take my pick up on since the trees and brush intrudes into a very tight driveway. I doubt they have much more than an eight foot wide driveway. One of them gets water delivered but the delivery truck will NOT go up the driveway. The neighbors leave a car or truck at the road and the delivery driver puts the water in their vehicle.

You would think this would be a clue....

There are at least two houses like this and one is at least 200 feet off the road. They other house is at least 400. If they ever need firetrucks they are in trouble. If they need an ambulance, the time it takes to to the house from the road and back on foot could critical.

Later,
Dan

 

[jinman]

I also noticed the position of the wrecker compared to the sheet rock truck, maybe it's just the picture but it looks to me like missjudgement of the drive?

I can tell you that no matter how wide the road, some drivers will hug the inside on all right-hand or inside curves. A "Soft Shoulders" sign with the admonition added, "You WILL get stuck!" is probably not a bad idea. Unless you put up a physical barrier like a guardrail with reflectors, somebody will eventually cut the inside corner too tight and end up off the driveway and on the soft ground.

 

[Dutch445]

I am curious which way the guy was driving. His rear wheels are covered in mud. Was he backing up?

I bet that whole right set of tires was off the driveway for
quite a while, and finally the front dug in too deep.