After delivering our load of cellphones, we had about 4 hours to spare before our next pick-up appointment. I sat in the jumpseat & used my smartphone app to guide my partner to the nearest comfortable place to park our 70-foot truck - which was a tollway oasis.
Most navigation programs are designed with cars in mind; not trucks. Being aware of this, we have to keep a shape eye out for low bridges & restricted routes. We can usually negotiate such nuances without too much difficulty.
As we approached a typical-looking overpass, we saw a "no commercial vehicles/ no trucks" sign at the base of it. To comply, we took the only plausible route - which was a left, onto the tollway service road. The post office, to the right, was not an option. Just a single curve into the service road, we saw another prohibitive sign. "Authorized vehicles only." Why didn't they post this sooner? Also, why didn't they post the previous "no trucks" sign prior to where they did - to give a driver a chance to alter his route before it was too late. This isn't fair. It's a sadistic oversight by the state of Illinois. So, our only option, at this point, was to continue down the service road, to the end, and hope it will be wide enough to allow a tractor-trailer to turn around. The "end" turned out to be an employee parking lot for the travel oasis. The parked cars severely narrowed our path of maneuverability, but we persisted anyway. My partner struggled & repositioned the truck for about 10 minutes in order to get us pointing the other way. I stood outside & spotted for him - in the 16° wind. The windchill was much colder, but I didn't pause to consider how much my body was fighting to stave off hypothermia. I was fully focused on the task at hand. We got it turned around. Just a short while later, we managed to properly arrive & park at the Lake Forest oasis, on the other side of which we struggled.
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