On our way home the other night from a bloated schedule of kid events we rounded the corner on the gravel road and almost ran into a newer model Chevy Tahoe rolled on its side. It landed smack in the middle of the road. A young, inexperienced driver told us everyone was fine, except for the truck, so we headed home. It was a good life lesson for our kids to see firsthand, but it also reminded me of a story about a rolled vehicle. It goes like this.
A year or so ago I was spring scouting and staying with a rancher friend of mine. He said a buddy of his wanted to meet me and was driving over late that evening for a quick visit. Tired, but polite, I waited up, but he never showed. Finally my friend called and got a hold of his buddy via a cell phone. He had an accident, but it wasn't a normal accident. He was driving a school bus and rolled it on a dark, greasy, country road.
Rushing to help my friend got his tractor and we jumped in for a short drive up the road in the dark to see if we could roll the buss back over. When we arrived it was quite a sight. There, on its side was a monstrous school bus with the emergency door flung open and the driver sitting in the ditch.
Why a bus? The driver was obviously inebriated and with a cloudy state of mind grabbed the first vehicle with keys in it he could find. He was a pheasant outfitter and used the bus to move hunters from field to field; a common practice in the Great Plains. Rain had slicked the road and in the dark (not to mention the booze) the driver overcorrected and rolled the bus.
He just missed going off a steep embankment. The wheels on the bus would really have gone "round and round" if he pulled that stunt off.
My friend and I wrapped log chains on the frame and unbelievably rolled the bus over on all four tires to get it out off the road. The driver's girlfriend showed up and gave the guy, (who was nursing a huge lump on his head) a ride home.
The obvious lesson here is to not drink and drive. Learn it and live it. The other lesson is to leave the bus for mass transportation needs. It's not a jeep.