What (Most) Truck Drivers Don't Know About Runaway Truck Ramps
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- What Most Truck Drivers Don't Know About Runaway Truck Ramps. In this video, Dave talks about the 5 W's regarding runaway truck ramps, that most truckers aren't aware of.
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Hey there Driver. Thanks so much for dropping by to catch today's video. Have you had any experiences you'd care to share with using a runaway lane or witnessed a truck using one? If you were in the situation would YOU take the runaway lane? It's a scary situation all the way around! Love to hear your thoughts.
Is it possible to pop the spring break when you come to the top of the first safety ramp you was talking about
You can go down a mountain too slow a million times, but you’ll only go down too fast once.
I don't recall my school teaching us about runaway ramps. I trained in the southeast and never went down a mountain. Yet my first trip as a solo driver was across Colorado and Utah in the middle winter. Thank God I took the time to watch videos on driving in the mountains.
I was taught by my grandfather to always drive a truck like you didn't have brakes then you was prepared and had it under control
They touched on them briefly at my trucking school. I saw my first one in the mountains of Virginia. I was working for a mega carrier and was out with my idiot driver trainer. Of course for him I was a free co-driver more than a student. I was driving through the mountains at night, my second week on the road, and thank God we were not heavily loaded. I was nervous as could be and was driving well below speed limit. I'm almost glad he was asleep in the bunk, because he would have been screaming at me for not going as fast as possible. A super trucker if there ever was one. I learned more from Dave than I ever learned from this guy.
Best advice I ever got from an old man. This was 44 yrs ago. Never let your right foot get your a$$ into something that your brakes can't get you out of.
Here in BC, the way the runaway ramps are designed, the theory by the MOT is you are suppose to use the runaway ramp before you are completely out of brakes so you have enough to hold the truck when it stops. Nice theory but not the way it usually works out.
I can not remember where I saw it, but I remember seeing a sign that says no fine for using runaway ramp. I think that is a great ide and may incourage more drivers to use it if they need to rather than avoiding it to try to avoid a fine.
If you drive a truck with a properly working 3 stage engine brake you can actually make it down these hills without ever tapping the brake pedal. Need to be in the next gear or 2 down at the top and you can adjust your speed by selecting the correct stage of the engine brake. Many of these hills especially out east actually have slower posted speeds for going down the hills
As a retired mechanic what you said about the slack adjusters is very true.Water and dirt will get into them and the they fail.
I'll tell you what my trainer told me nearly 30 years ago when i started when it comes to E-ramps. "Either take the first ramp early or the last ramp forever. Because if you overconfident the first, you'll be too scared to take the second and by the time you get to the third your a dead driver anyway so just save the lives of others."
my school teached me to go downhill that speed when you use only jake brakes... braking is for emergencies... In my first year working as truck driver I used brakes only 2 times a trip usually... when starting and doing complete stop☺️... in traffic I roll slow and use jake brakes for 99% of the time
I used to train drivers. And I always told them that you will go down the hill a 1000 times too slow but you will only do it once too fast. And I'm from Southern Utah where grades start at 8%. And grades 12 and 13% are common. And most of them are well over a mile long. Also most of them don't have runaway ramps because there is no room to put one.
In the 10 years I have been driving, 3 years reefer, 4 years heavy haul, 3 years currently with UPS I always use my Jake before I touch my break pedal.
I can't stop watching your videos i love watching older guys talk about there experience
In South Africa, our runaway lanes are filled with loose gravel that not only brings the truck to a controlled stop but also prevents the rolling backward issue this gentleman is explaining. I thought all runaway lanes use loose gravel? Makes more sense than having a truck roll back again.
My primary rule for hills is treat each trip down as if you are loaded, same speed down loaded or empty. Always bugs me when I’m loaded on the lighter side say 50000 lbs gross and easily pass other trucks going up the mountain. Then as I’m taking it easy on the backside downslope those same trucks are blowing past me
Great video. When I went to truck driving school I don't recall any mention of runaway lanes. However, I was familiar with them. Driver trainers, I pointed them out. The thing I remember most about mountain driving from school was once you get to the top, you have to be able to stop the truck going down the other side. And this was best achieved by going down in lower gear than it took to go up. I was passed by a lot of trucks going downhill, but I never had burning brakes at the bottom either.
I've heard a big downside of the pea gravel or sand runaway lanes are they don't work when precipitation infiltrates them and freezes. I only drive in the south east, but I"m the guy in the right hand lane going down the hill in a lower gear, with the jakes set to maintain my speed all the way down the hill without touching the brake pedal, being passed by the super truckers.
Hard to believe they don't know about them. Ive never driven a truck in my life and Ive known about them for thirty years.
Thanks, Dave for being one of a handful of professional drivers out there today and sharing your knowledge. Transporting construction equipment is 50% of my job, I live in Illinois and never have to go farther than a 100 mile radius or worry about runaway ramps but I still found this video informative and interesting, I was kinda thrown into it at 21 year's old and not properly trained, but I would just take my time and pick the brains of experienced driver's as yourself.
Best one I’ve seen (tongue in cheek) was somewhere that if the uphill incline didn’t stop you the solid vertical mountain at the end of the ramp definitely would 😀
I try rarely ever have to use my brakes going down a mountain. Always try to position my truck at a slow enough speed and low enough gear based on weight so that my engine brakes can take care of braking and keep me at a manageable speed without ever having touch the brakes. Of course there are those times I have to brake. But because I prepared my truck going down the mountain in a low gear and a slow speed, the amount of times I have to touch the brake its greatly reduced, greatly reducing stress and wear on the brakes
Really interesting video for some who doesn't drive trucks. It's surprising that driving schools don't teach more about that.
Some lanes in Oregon have an “Occupied” sign that becomes illuminated if there’s a driver or recovery crew working in the lane.
I’m glad I never needed to use one, sometimes I stop somewhere to allow my brakes to cool.
Living in Denver, I had a senior driver who was teaching me how to pull a 2-3-2 told me "you can come down the mountain thousand times to slow. You will only come down the mountain once to fast."
LOL. I will never forget two guys in a big black Lincoln that drove into the pea gravel of the only runaway lane in MI. I come down the hill with my 79 Chevy big block 4X4 Detroit locker pick-up. They had drove well into the pea gravel drunk laughing and asked me to pull them out. I warned them numerous time I could damage their car, but they had no problem and being a knowledgeable mechanic I hooked to their rear axle (not the bumper) and yanked over and over until I got them out. Last I saw them, they were headed into town waving thanks out the window. Man what a truck, I have lots of stories of what that truck could do, and saved a lot of peoples mistakes.
I pray I never need to use one
The ones in Tennessee are the sand kind an it's fucking brutal hitting them also you have the knowledge that it's 10k if you have to use the runaway lane... So totalled truck usually plus a 10k fine for hitting the lane
You are correct I was driving west on 160 in Colorado first time ever and didn't realize I was climbing until I was 10,800 feet above see level and came to a brake check
Thank God I was 7,000 pound's in the box. And I saw
Two hair pin turns 6 miles down the road.
I have been driving for several years and never came through their. All ways respect All down grades.
And check your brakes.💯👍
Like the old saying goes, you can go down the mountain too slow a thousand times. You can only do it too fast once.... I also learned a long time ago that whatever gear you topped the mountain in , drop one more gear and start down the mountain.
We didn't learn much about the use of them but in my school, I was told do your diligence on checking your brakes and you will never end up in one of those lanes
I was coming down the Grape Vine & saw a 4-wheeler stopped at the entrance of a runaway ramp & the family went walking up the ramp! They were 1/2 way up it when I went by.
Having run cross country through the mountains, I can't fathom not checking your brakes. 9/16 inch wrench kept in the door pocket, and a few minutes time, if they're not frozen, and you're good to go.
And yes, you can adjust automatic slack adjusters. Just don't overtighten.
TN has the ramps that go up the mountain with the gravel, ive seen trucks stuck on them at mteagle. The gravel works to keep the truck from rolling backwards.
I was going down Cajon Pass a year or two ago and I saw a couple cars parked next to the runaway ramp. Then I saw a group of people taking pictures on the ramp
My trainer (32 years of driving) always told me nobody ever died from going too slow down a hill
I'm not a trucker, but I've always wondered about runaway ramps. Great video!
Here in Virginia on I 77 south has run away ramps on fancy gap. These ramps also have sand,usually one, two trucks a month use them.
I drive the mountains of British Columbia almost every day. The best advice is slow and steady going down don't over drive the engine brake. As far as brake checks I wouldn't crawl around on the ground after everyone has stopped to have a piss.
The GRAPEVINE hill n/b, on i-5, California needs lights at the entrance of the runaway ramp because at night by the time the truck is running away your going to fast and don't see the entrance in time to use it !
My truck driving school never mentioned runaway lanes. There were a lot of things that they didn't talk about. 😡
Nice of you to include the MTO video demonstrating that drag net runaway ramp in North Bay. There is also a brake check area before the slope. Could be used as a rest area but there is a proper truck stop nearby.
The training I got is to get into the right gear before downhill, let engine ride up to 2000rpm, full brake until engine comes down to 1000rpm, let off the brake to let it cool, rinse and repeat. Supplement with full jake all the way is what I learned on 17 - which has no runaway ramp anywhere.
It's generally considered as a failure when the brakes are used. Being in the right gear and using the jake break to regulate your speed is considered safer than using your brakes. Brakes are to be reserved for an actual emergency . . .
Much respect to all you truckers out there. You guys keep the world running.
It'll be interesting how tests involving self driving trucks and loss of brakes on a downgrade, handle that situation, should they ever be conducted, OH, if you've bad universal joints, or other issues with those components, and they break, you just lost your engine braking.
When I first started driving most company trucks did not have engine brakes. In the training I had we learned to check and adjust the brakes before going down a mountian. Thankfully trucks are safer now. I have never used a runaway ramps although had some close calls smoking the brakes out west.
Can you explain exactly what I'm looking for when I get under there to check the brakes.. Thanx in advance if you do answer me
ive seen this in west virginia and always wondered if they actually got used. this video answers a lot of those questions. thanks!
this comes from experence. once you learn your truck how it reacts with different weights and grades, when you are at the top of the hill, you select the proper gear and jake brake settings, a driver can just about coast down a hill and use very little brakes. some drivers think that they must run the speed limit down the hill but that is not the case. there have been many hills that i have gone down at 30 mph. when i get down to the end, my brakes are in good shape and the rest of the truck is in good shape.
I drive Mont Eagle a lot. It has two on the east bound side. It's a combination of the first two types.
Great PSA I wish more people were safety first minded.
I just finished my first week at Sage truck driving school Caldwell Idaho I have three more weeks of training. Thank you so much for the video our school gave us the video and the talk about runaway ramps and the importance of them. And this is cool cuz we actually get a video with you I don't think yeah we watched a lot of videos this past week so. But I've already familiar with a runaway ramp I've got truck drivers in my family and I've got friends and I've seen him on the sides of highways. If you use a runaway ramp which is recommended special if your brakes are gone. It's very good. And you're right the one with the gravel or sand or whatever in the middle is the better one All the other ones leave your truck damaged. But they save lives and that's a plus
Don't forget to test your Jake Brake "Before" you hit any hills/mountains on your route.
If you find you are going to fast down a hill for the jake brake and engine compression to slow you, you will have enough brakes to stop, but not to ride all the way down. So, stop if you have to but get into a low enough gear, ignore the angry people behind you, it may be their life you are saving at the bottom of the hill.
This was an interesting one, I always notice the ramps although I'm not a truck driver. He's a really good storyteller also. I can imagine that trailers can have really spotty maintenance on the brakes, too and you wouldn't know it.
You said about maintenance on Company Owned Trailers.... I have a really bad habit of using trailer brakes all the time instead of wearing the ones down on my tractors.... "Wink-Wink"....
I had to use a Runaway Ramp many years ago... Somehow the Service Line come off... I was pulling a raggedy assed old Fruehauf Flatbed with a Load of Steel, and I was probably a little on the heavy side.... Anyhow, it was one of the Ramps made of Limestone that was stacked higher and higher the farther up the hill you went.... Let me tell you something, it was not a Picnic!.... It didn't hurt the equipment any but it sure beat me up!....
Back when I started my career my father told me if I loose my brakes to take the shoulder cause they have made stabilize soil to help slow down the truck.
I was working on road construction and personally seen this stuff in the winter months this stuff doesn't freeze it stays loose I used it for traction and keeping my trailer from Jacknifeing.
I never had to use one in the 24 years I was out there but just know if I did I’d have left skid marks in my fruit of the looms no doubt!!!
Best rule of thumb in my opinion is go down the mountain where your Jake's can hold you back
If your brakes are fading and it's a mountain take the damn ramp.
I run heavy wreckers. Guys who take the ramp live to tell the tale. Guys who go down over the guardrails at 80mph don't. Or you could be like the guy in Colorado and kill innocent people and end up in prison.
Mountains are scary! Be safe fellas.
Remember, self adjusting slack adjusters never work. Should be called automatic self un-adjusters , since most loosen up after they are manually adjusted.
Dave
The best info n the greatest stories
Be safe
Roll on
😎
That Wolf Creek Pass is no joke although us locals love it when a beer truck does go off free beer
Back in the late 80's early 90's I was a beer hauler out of Milwaukee, we never went West as we were a Midwest company with all the distributors in the Midwest. Miller Brewing gave us a bunch of accounts in Colorado and I learned how to drive the Rockies with out a Jake, it was an experience for sure.
Also check your tires on a regular basis. I like to check mine several times a day.
Hey Dave, I ran the mountains for a very short time. I would get these really serious headaches once i got to anything about 12,000, so I kept to the eastern seaboard and midwestern states.
Wow. Thanks
I’ve been driving 7 yrs and never known how to use them. JUST USE THEM😂
First time hearing to “jump out” at top to prevent injury
Pray I never have to use it
Great video and alot of great comments, good to see knowledgeable drivers share their wisdom , brings back alot of enjoyable memories as well ..
GOD Bless you brother of the road. Condolences to your family. You'll be missed.
Dave this is a good subject to cover one thing to mention is to clear out of the ramp if it all possible someone else may need to use the ramp a few minutes behind you if there is space move to one side
Thanks for that detailed description. Lots of important info there!
One wonders, on the first type of ramp, maybe a good compromise between jumping out and injuring oneself and riding the truck all the way backwards back to a jackknife, would be to wait until there's barely any momentum left and then steer off to the left or right into whatever's on the side of the ramp.
Even if you wind up in a bunch of trees or something, probably won't cause more damage to the truck than the jackknife and roll-over, and that way you get to stay inside the cab where it's nominally safer.
27yrs of truck in" I need Dr used the sandbox.I'm proud of that.
Better to run up a truck runaway ramp than a one way ride off the side of a mountain, and perhaps take others with you .
I went to a company to work and they took us out to a skid pad and they had had small hills set up and the instructor took us down them and taught us what to do and we got to use run away truck ramps there in a controlled environment. I learned more from them than I did in CDL school. Or my trainer.
This video is so informative and your correct , this wasn’t taught in school or by my mega carrier . Thank you
When I went through truck driving school, the instructors preached, when you are in an area with runaway ramps, and you have no brakes or control of the vehicle, take the ramp. They're philosophy was, equipment and loads can be replaced, lives can not. When I did power only, I did not trust the trailer brakes, unless I knew and inspected them to ensure they were properly adjusted
I'm so glad I've never needed to use any. I've seen many trucks use them. I wish dash cams were invented back then. Retired now and loving it but miss the road
My first down hill pull with a frac pumping unit I missed a gear and roasted the brakes. Had to take the runaway ramp. Quite a ride.
Wow, I never realized you had to bail out the ramp style ones, I figured they all had gravel. And I'm a driver going on 7 years with a lot of mountain experience. Thanks for the lesson!
True, true always check your trailer and truck brakes..
I drove a truck 40 years . I thought I was the best. One day I came off Donnor Pass to fast 70mph .I had been down that Mt 100 times and thought I WAS THE BEST. TO FAST I COULD NOT GET STOPED, BUT FINALLY DID BUT MY BREAKS WERE ON FIRE. LISTEN TO THIS GUY!!
Thank you for taking the time to do your videos, priceless information, God bless you sir 🙏
I am just an old guy you are a cool old guy, thanks for your insights and comments.
Haven't had to use a ramp yet. You can only go down the mountain to fast once. Jakes help some
Thanks for the video! Very informative
I have to tell you what happened to my 72 year old Dad in 2012 after picking up a trailer preloaded with beer in Creston BC. He had started working for a company that had junky equipment and was heading west on Hwy 3 down towards Salmo when he lost his brakes on the trailer so he took the first runaway lane all the way to the top of the ramp in the middle of the night, so no one witnessed him up there. So he sat up there for hours without cell phone service to call anyone so he got out and realized how badly the brakes were out of adjustment so he adjusted the trailer brakes and was able to back her all the way to the bottom hoping no one else needed the ramp. But when he was near the bottom another trucker phoned the RCMP who came and had a chat and was able to help him get safely on the shoulder. But the officer could smell that distinct smell of burnt brake pads so he called the DOT (MOT) to come and check the adjustment of his brakes. So the DOT did a quick level one inspection said everything was good carry on. So the beer got delivered and he retired from trucking Nov. 2022 at 82 yrs old but will drive for me when I’m in Mexico for one month in April hauling food products in Delta BC.
Saw these on a trip to Asheville, was wondering about them. Thanks!
I absolutly love your Honesty,🙂
Old school, what ever gear you when up is the gear you go down. Maintain 10 psi.👍
"And remember: nobody ever died descending a hill too slow". (Dave)
I hope that more countries and territories around the world use runaway truck lanes because mountainous roads are not restricted to just Canada, Alaska and the contiguous United States.
I treated my brakes like they were made of gold ! Every step cost big bucks ? With all that precautions. I did smoke em a little, but very little. You can feel them getting spongy. When they first do feel . It is time to down shift 2 gears, and cool em off fast !
I have taken a break from driving, but since returned. And both times I have met old drivers and I have met bold drivers but I have not yet met an old bold driver. You get over a hundred chances to get it wrong but you only get one chance to get it right.
I had a new driver ask me if the engine brake could burn out while in use and I realized, I had no clue. I don't own my truck so I use the engine brake on every mountain and only use the footbrakes when the engine brake isn't enough. I never want to have to use one of these damn things though.
Back in the early 80s I was hammering across Kansas in my R Model Mack, loaded to the gills, and lost my brakes. I used one of these runaway truck ramps, only it wasn't much of a ramp. It was more like the side of Interstate 70. Wasn't scary at all.
Our host is an excellent communicator this was an excellent video.
Hey I don't know how often this happens but I had a self adjusting slack adjuster slip on the front they re adjusted it and it seams to be okay but gotta watch your brakes all the time. I teach my students if your jack goes put to immediately pull over because you're not going to the bottom on brakes alone!
Appreciate the information about The and thank God I've never had to use I do a lot of mountain driving as well and I will geer going down Jake brakes on take your time going down be safe drivers
I've seen the drag net system. Cool stuff.
Whoa man, you been all over. LoL I love exploring the land, maybe I should be a truck driver but I love my job too much I just dont make nearly as much as you guys do.
In our city, cops have been seen sitting at the top of a runaway lane looking for speeders into town. Hope it never is needed while theyre up there