Trucking World Records
That’s why we’re looking at some of the greatest world records ever set by trucks and truckers. We’re not talking about entertaining or challenging yourself with records like ‘Most Red Cars Spotted in One Hour’, ‘Slowest Crawl in the Fast lane During Rush Hour’ or ‘Loudest Playing of Absolute Radio While on the M25’, although all of these would definitely earn our utmost and everlasting respect.
We’re talking about breaking the sort of records that would impress Roy Castle, and have Guinness desperate to feature you in their annual book. Although some world records on this list are just so nuts you’ll be questioning your own sanity. Records like…
Most Whistle Blows at a Truck in 10 Seconds
We’ve all been at a bit of a loose end, right? Just sitting there, in front of our trucks, and wondering, ‘What ridiculous record can I set today?’ Well, if you’re Andy Pelphrey from America, you count how many whistle blows you can perform at a truck. Why a truck? Why ten seconds? So many questions which surely would be answered with ‘Why not?’ And for the record, Pelphrey managed 38 blows of the whistle in 10 seconds. The truck looked suitably impressed.
Largest Truck Convoy
There are few things more majestic on the road than seeing a convoy of trucks roll across the tarmac like a herd of graceful gazelle. Back in the dark ages of 2004 – remember those days? – 416 trucks, all driven by female truck drivers, gathered in the Netherlands for the largest truck convoy ever seen. And you thought rush-hour was bad; imagine being stuck behind that back-log.
Fastest Jet-Powered Truck in the World
Earlier this year saw the unveiling of the Shockwave. Loaded with three jet engines, it can reach speeds of up to 400mph – that’s faster than the Japanese Bullet train! This truck can cover a pretty staggering quarter of a mile in about 6 seconds, effortlessly hitting 36,000 horsepower. But before you think about investing in this four-tonne beast, remember that it burns 180 gallons of petrol per run. Still, if your company pays your fuel expenses…
Longest Distance Reverse Driving an Articulated Truck
Have you ever had one of those days where you don’t know where you’re going, but you know exactly where you’ve been? In 2008, Marco Hellgrewe did what any sensible chap would do; reverse an articulated truck for 39.7 miles. Non-stop. For 5 hours 21 minutes. So no nipping off for a quick coffee, a bite to eat or even a toilet break – that in itself is pretty impressive.
Fastest Package Loading and Unloading from a Truck
And you thought you were quick. Over in Turkey, in 2009, fifteen employees of Aras Cargo got together to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the courier company. And by celebration, we mean, an attempt to set a world record at packing and unpacking a truck. They managed to do it in 16 minutes 38 seconds. No word on whether they received a performance bonus for their hard work though.
Heaviest Truck Pulled by Hair… and Teeth
If you ever meet Montystar Agarawal of India, our advice is to just be polite. Not only does he hold the world record for pulling the heaviest truck by his luscious locks, a month after setting that he made a double-hitter by pulling the heaviest truck with just his teeth. In the first case the truck weighed a colossal 5,952lbs. He managed to drag it 102 metres. But he obviously wasn’t content with that performance, and was chomping at the bit to pull a 7,055lbs truck with this pearly whites.
Most Miles Safely Driven in a Commercial Truck
William Coe Jr. of Florida must be the coolest man alive. Or at least possess the coolest head. He got into the truck driving biz way back in 1986. After 23 years behind the wheel he was honoured, on March 14th 2009, with Most Miles Safely Driven in a Commercial Truck. Chilled out Coe had, at the time, managed to clock up an amazing 3,001,276 miles without a single preventable accident.
Here at FuelTek we’re always impressed with the feats achieved with trucks – they’re amazing machines, after all. We’re seriously passionate about the business, that’s why we provide tons of different fuel tanks, including bunded fuel tanks. For more information on the fuel storage tanks we offer, please contact us on 01254 291391. We’ll be glad to help.
