cutter99
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Yes, and it would not let me edit.Do you mean 12.30AM....00.30h...as in, just after midnight?
Yes, and it would not let me edit.Do you mean 12.30AM....00.30h...as in, just after midnight?
This! I don’t think anyone would be comfortable pulling a trailer loaded with piggies off the road - even a little. Whether it was an experienced driver like David, or someone who had no clue how to drive it.The road the truck was found on doesn't have shoulders to pull off onto. It's a narrow paved road with grass and ditches at either side. IMO if you drove onto the grass there's a good chance the truck would become stuck in the mud and not drive out again. It might even topple over.
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This is Hwy 71 just north of 20 where they have said the truck was found. Based on the images of the road the truck was found on there isn't really much of a shoulder to even pull over on per se it's just a small amount of gravel. It looks like it might be the width of only one truck tire and would still be basically blocking the entire lane. IMO he images to me just suggest there isn't any space to even pull off the road let alone enough that the truck would appear to be pulled over.He didn’t even pull the truck “off” the road, though. That seems to me the weirdest piece. If he met foul play, you’d think the “perps” would have not wanted to draw attention by leaving the truck and potential crime scene right in the middle of the road! And it makes no sense short of medical catastrophe that David would himself leave it stopped in the roadway.
So strange. Prayers for his safe return. All MOO
Exactly. Veering off past that gravel "strip" you're in an incline and will tip. So yes it's odd he or someone parked there when there are side streets they could have turned into, which are probably less traveled than N14.Based on the images of the road the truck was found on there isn't really much of a shoulder to even pull over on per se it's just a small amount of gravel. It looks like it might be the width of only one truck tire and would still be basically blocking the entire lane. IMO he images to me just suggest there isn't any space to even pull off the road let alone enough that the truck would appear to be pulled over.
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The road the truck was found on doesn't have shoulders to pull off onto. It's a narrow paved road with grass and ditches at either side. IMO if you drove onto the grass there's a good chance the truck would become stuck in the mud and not drive out again. It might even topple over.
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The Iowa DOT has recently revised its paved shoulder policy for National Highway System(NHS) roads to provide a two-foot paved shoulder on new two-lane construction and 3Rprojects. Iowa rural freeways and expressways provide for a two-foot paved right shoulder but no paved shoulder on the left side. However, if the average daily traffic (ADT) is greater than10,000 vehicles per day (vpd), full-width paved shoulders are considered.
When it comes to semi truck dimensions, there’s a bit of variety. On average, semi trucks in the United States are around 72 feet long, 8.5 feet wide, and 13.5 feet tall. They can have a gross weight of up to 80,000 pounds.
It seems to me since the truck was there late at night into the early morning hours there'd be very little traffic on that rural road at that time as most people are likely asleep. But if other truckers were on the road and saw it I'd think they would have for sure checked on the situation or at least radioed in as you might suspect something was wrong and if they had would have called it in. If someone other than a fellow trucker came up on that I'd think they'd assume a possible mechanical issue the driver was already handling and just drive around it not thinking it's anything nefarious MOO.I’ve thought that sense I came to understand the truck was just stopped in the driving lane of the highway! How did LE not get many calls about it, considering there were no safety cones, flares, etc., set out as if the truck couldn’t be moved for a mechanical reason.
Hmm, it seems they paved all the roads since I posted earlier today@Sillybilly The link you included takes you to an intersection that is near Prescott IA, which is in southern Iowa just north of the Missouri boarder.
Here is the intersection you want: Google Maps
If you pan to the left a little you will even see a truck with a cattle trailer coming towards the intersection. David's truck was found about .2 miles further north of this intersection.
It's interesting to note there doesn't seem to be any skid marks or tire marks anywhere on the road, from the photos we have seen posted.
That probably indicates a chase, erratic driving, or harsh speeding and braking wasn't part of this truck incident.
So, it was driven to its place at a normal speed, and stopped safely, in a straight line on the road, no funny angles.
BBM.
It doesn't appear to have been driven quickly or erratically, but the truck did potentially take a bit longer than expected to travel from Hwy 20 to where it was found. It possibly took 22 minutes (from 12:18am to 12:40am) to travel just a few miles along a quiet rural road.
It isn't confirmed, but it's possible the truck might have been driven *more slowly* than would be considered normal.
All good points. I hadn‘t figured in the time of night now that you mention it, etc. I just don’t recall ever encountering a large truck just stopped in a lane of traffic without flashers, cones, etc. It keeps me hung up on the part about if it was something/someone nefarious, they’d try to make the scene as low key as possible. But being so rural/at night I think that changes things, like you suggested!It seems to me since the truck was there late at night into the early morning hours there'd be very little traffic on that rural road at that time as most people are likely asleep. But if other truckers were on the road and saw it I'd think they would have for sure checked on the situation or at least radioed in as you might suspect something was wrong and if they had would have called it in. If someone other than a fellow trucker came up on that I'd think they'd assume a possible mechanical issue the driver was already handling and just drive around it not thinking it's anything nefarious MOO.
Thanks so much for the handy images and good points. I was clearly picturing an actual shoulder on a highway.This is Hwy 71 just north of 20 where they have said the truck was found. Based on the images of the road the truck was found on there isn't really much of a shoulder to even pull over on per se it's just a small amount of gravel. It looks like it might be the width of only one truck tire and would still be basically blocking the entire lane. IMO he images to me just suggest there isn't any space to even pull off the road let alone enough that the truck would appear to be pulled over.
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I live somewhat near a road just like you describe - the southern portion is paved while the north turns to gravel. It’s a through road, so actually “heavily” trafficked for gravel, but most people wouldn’t question passing a parked semi on their way to work. Farm semi use is much different than commercial semi use, at least in my experiences in this part of Iowa.North of D15 is only paved for 3 miles and then is gravel. Having grown up in rural Iowa on gravel roads, they're usually not used as through-roads. If you live on gravel, you take the shortest route to a paved road and then continue - you have to (or should) drive much slower on gravel and it's dusty. I lost control on gravel when I was a dumb high schooler driving too fast and wrecked my dad's car.
That makes N14 north of D15 way less travelled than the southern side, so the truck was left in a place almost equivalent to a side street anyway.
The only traffic would have been the few farms nearby going to work that morning, and if you see a truck out in the country, you usually assume they're doing something farm related anyway and just go around them, it wouldn't have been unusual enough to report, so the friend probably didn't think of it until info came out about where it was found.
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