Being a dump truck driver is definitely a job that requires more skill than the average person would give it credit for, but like many jobs it can be boiled down to a few essential duties. Drive safely. Deliver the load. Lower the bed when the dropoff is completed. That last one is especially important, as one unfortunate driver discovered in Houston, Texas on Thursday.
ABC13 Houston reports the driver of this 18-wheel dump truck was cruising along the city East Loop Freeway with the long bed raised like a defiant middle finger to road safety, managing to cover a surprising distance before the inevitable happened. Two witnesses in a pickup truck even attempted to alert the driver by reaching out of the window and gesturing to no avail.
As the men filmed while driving behind the big rig, the bed finally smashed into an overhead sign for Exit 26A, flipping the truck and raining twisted metal down onto the roadway. Despite several vehicles (including the camera car) traveling far too close to what was obviously a dangerous situation, it appears only the dump truck was caught up in the wreckage.
ABC13 Houston notes the condition of the driver is unknown—the men filming certainly didn't stop to find out—and it took crews hours to clean up the mess.