Let me tell you a story from the road — one of those “you had to be there” moments, except I was there, and I still don’t believe it.
We were running wide — 16 feet, 11 inches, if you can believe it. Somewhere in the Idaho mountains, coming down I-84 near the Utah border, just before Snowville. Classic mountain weather: a mix of snow and rain, nothing sticking to the road. Not ideal. Not terrible. Just… one of those days.
Now, when you’re escorting a load like that, you’re not just driving — you’re planning five moves ahead. And that’s when Mr. Impatient in the green Camry shows up behind us.
He’s tailing hard. Bumper practically sniffing Loretta’s rearview. Keeps darting out like he wants to pass — despite us doing the speed limit, in the snow, with a two-lane mountain highway and jersey barriers on the left. Not exactly NASCAR conditions.
We’re in lane 2. Fog line on the right, then a few feet of gravel and a slope. Barely room for a shoulder. But this guy decides that’s his moment. Guns it — tires half on the road, half off in the muck — and starts passing us on the right shoulder like he’s got somewhere to be and the laws of physics don’t apply to him.
Now, Loretta (my fellow pilot) is no rookie. She edges over, trying to keep this joker from making a move that could kill someone. But he goes anyway — driver’s side tires on the edge of the pavement, passenger side chewing up gravel. He shoots past me, then the lead pilot. And just to complete the class act? The passenger leans all the way out the window, both arms outstretched, flipping off the lead pilot as they fly past at 90 mph.
You’d think that’d be the end of it.
Nope.
Ten minutes later, same car — only now the woman’s driving, and the guy’s in the passenger seat. They must’ve pulled over, swapped places, and got right back behind us. And this time? They pass us the right way — calm, clean, legal.
Now why in the world would someone pull a stunt like that — risking lives to pass illegally, only to end up behind us again?
I don’t have an answer. But I’ll tell you this:
Out here on the road, you never know what people are gonna do. That’s why pilot car drivers like me do what we do — to keep everyone safe when things get unpredictable.
Stay sharp. Stay safe. And if you must pass — maybe don’t do it half on the road, half on a cliff.
See you on the next run,
Uncle Mike
