Tiller fire trucks need extra space on freeways and this Kentucky fire crew near Louisville was sure to let motorists know that, strafing across three lanes.
Drivers expect to see small vehicles like cars and even large vehicles like Semi-trucks to drive in normal straight lines. But when this Kentucky news reporter caught this tiller fire truck hogging up three lanes of the Watterson Expressway earlier yesterday (Mar. 28, 2019) after he got over his confusion, he whipped out his smartphone and got to filming. Shared by WLKY’s Mark Vanderhoff on Facebook and with a question if this is purposeful or accidental, he quickly found out not only the why but the how.
Check out the amazing bit of footage for yourself below.
In the video, we can see the tiller fire truck driving straight forward but with the length of its chassis in a diagonal orientation. To the untrained eye, not only is it kind of disorienting, it’s almost unbelievable.
Tiller operator Derek Andriakos dropped this gem in the comments, offering an explanation for the confused,
“As someone that rides and drives on that exact apparatus in the video, we are not confused on how she operates. When people are being turds and trying to pass, when planning for a turn, and when preparing to slow/stop traffic for our approach, we do this maneuver. Its referred to as a “moving road block”. It’s an incredible apparatus, and when an emergency is involved we own the roads with due regard.”
With the ability to carry large ladders in order to get on top of fires, tiller ladder trucks like this one are extremely long. As such, the rear of the ladder truck has it’s own separate set of steering wheels that can be pointed in any direction. Mostly, this is to facilitate tight turns which can’t be negotiated with a normal fire truck with a fixed rear axle.
Keen eyes will notice that as the front of the truck moves over to the rightmost lane, the rear tiller steers in the opposite direction and deftly steers his part of the truck to the leftmost lane. It’s a balance of communication and steering that makes this possible.
Check out a couple of videos on YouTube showing just how nimble these tiller trucks are.
When it comes to a matter of seconds in dangerous situations, emergency personnel use every technique up their sleeves in order to gain that competitive edge. Strafing across a freeway, taking up three lanes, is just one trick fire trucks use.
The next time you see a tiller truck traveling like this, take the hint, give them space, and maybe ask your passenger to film this once in a lifetime occurrence.
Have you seen something like this tiller truck technique in real life? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: WLKY’s Mark Vanderhoff
