Watch a Crazy Steep Runaway Truck Ramp in Use and See What Semi-Truck Drivers Are Saying About It
For days, a viral video of a dash cam recording a semi-truck with failed brakes is circulating. The truck barrels up a runaway truck ramp at breakneck speed. Once the semi whips up the sand-laden hill, it starts rolling backward toward the highway at a nerve-wracking pace. Today, the video landed in r/Truckers and has collected over 450 comments.
I first saw the 23-second clip on Instagram reels a few days ago. You can watch the exact reel embedded below. After remembering to take a breath, I had questions. Apparently, so did hundreds of other folks. Truck drivers all over are obliging the flurry of wonder with responses.
Namely, we’re all curious about what the heck the truck driver is supposed to do to prevent the semi from rolling back and reentering the highway. The best technique seems debatable, according to truck drivers on Reddit.
Some said that the driver should have used their parking brake at some point. Once you crest to a stop on the ramp, you pull the brake to prevent rolling back so quickly. However, others chimed in that depending on the brake fault, the parking brake would be useless.
Another pointed out that it looked like the driver was in neutral. They would have popped the truck into a low gear to provide an oppositional fight moving downhill.
Yet another said that it looked like the driver purposely rubbed the truck against the ramp’s edge to slow it down.
One commenter said they would aim for the ditch on the side of the freeway. This would prevent reentering the public roadway, which would be disastrous for oncoming traffic.
On top of the logistics of the scary event, many truckers mention the fines associated with using a runaway truck ramp. One commenter says they had to pay $9,000 after using one.
Others responded that yes, the fines are very high, but they’re worth using over risking an accident with or without other drivers if you skip the ramp.
One Redditor lamented about runaway ramp fines despite tax-funded services “spending thousands to save lost day hikers and beach swimmers sucked into rip tides.”
Overall, the most upvoted response was a simple one. “That’s why they are there. Did the right thing.”
Commenters on the Instagram reel say that this particular runaway truck ramp is located in Colorado on the I-70 Silverthorne/Dillon Interchange near Vail. A couple of truckers confirmed being very familiar with the stretch of highway and that while the views are spectacular, it’s a white-knuckle ride.
