The Pony is not totally unlucky. Sometimes The Universe does not exactly smile upon him, but at least does not thumb its nose. The Pony had to work late on Friday. He sent me a text at 2:30 that he would probably be out until 6:00. Two hours overtime. So I shouldn't worry if I hadn't heard from him at the regular getting-off time.
The Pony also revealed that a fellow worker had been involved in an accident the night before. On the same road The Pony travels every day to and from the office to his route.
"If you go by the auto shop we use, you might see the wrecked LLV (Long Life Vehicle). A rural carrier rolled it over on the big curve by the tracks last night. Someone was in his lane and he overcorrected and it flipped. He's fine. Maybe bruised, but the manager said he was feeling/doing okay when she talked to him this morning, since he had his seatbelt on."
"So glad he's okay. People drive crazy there."
On Saturday, when The Pony was waiting for a tire to be replaced on his Metris, he got some pictures of the wrecked LLV.
The LLV is the square little vehicle that you probably think of when you imagine a mailman driving around.
I blocked out the serial number part of the vehicle identification. Still, you can see how the top dug into the dirt in the rollover.
It held up fairly well, I think. The LLVs were built in the 1980s. They were supposed to last 20 years. Many are still in service today. The Pony was lucky enough to get a route that has a Metris assigned to it. It's a mini van that has AIR CONDITIONING and a heater that actually warms the vehicle. Hopefully, it is as safe as an LLV! That workhorse did its job in protecting the driver.
what happened? It looks like the damage is pretty bad. Pony, be careful.
ReplyDeleteLike The Pony said, a car was coming around the curve in this guy's lane. He swerved to avoid being hit. When trying to swerve back onto the road, the LLV flipped over and rolled down a little embankment.
DeleteThe Pony is a cautious driver, but you never know when you'll have to avoid somebody who's not!
It sure does look wrecked! I bet it was a scary moment for the driver and I am glad he is okay.
ReplyDeleteOnce the driver realized he was still alive, his first worry was probably over getting fired for an accident! I doubt that will happen, unless he was still in his probationary period when they don't need a reason to let somebody go. It's always a relief when a driver can escape injury in such a crash.
DeleteGetting an ac and heater would be all the luck I would need. Well, after no dogs. Will the driver get demerits for not wearing a seatbelt?
ReplyDeleteYou never appreciate having AC and a heater in your vehicle, until you don't!
DeleteThe driver WAS wearing a seatbelt. The Pony said that. It's required every time they get back in the LLV (or Metris, or ProMaster). Not saying all the drivers follow that rule when stop-and-going from house to house... but this guy was on the way back to the office, a drive of several miles, so he likely didn't think twice about buckling up.
IF a driver has a wreck and is proved to not be wearing a seatbelt, that is grounds for dismissal. Usually after ANY vehicular accident, they have to go back to driving school before being allowed to drive again. Even if somebody else hits their parked vehicle.