STUPID DECISION

There I was - crossing a 10 ton bridge with a 40 ton truck.  How did I get myself into this...

Driving an 18 wheel over-the-road truck is an interesting experience.  By the very nature of the work you run into a wide variety of situations you have never experienced before.  

My dispatcher said "This load is over the legal weight limit but we want you to take it anyway.  The customer needs the product.  Try to dodge the Dept. of Transportation weight scales if you can.  We'll pay the fines if you get caught and make sure it does not go on your driving record."

I made it all the way across Oklahoma and Kansas with no problem.  Now here I was in Missouri and approaching the toughest weigh station of them all.  Three times before I had troubles with this particular weigh station.  Once they made me redistribute the load by hand just because the weight on the rear axle was over the limit by less than 200 pounds.  Once they held me up three hours.  Once they made me pay a big fine.   What would they do now that I was over the limit by 8,000 pounds. 
I had stopped at a rest area and studied my  road map before coming into this state.  I found what I was looking for.  The map showed it to be a paved road going North to another highway that would miss the weigh station.  Great.  I took this road.  It was wide and well paved for the first 20 miles or so.  Then it started to get narrower by the mile.  After another five miles the road became so narrow that I could not find a place to turn around and go back.  I kept on driving and looking but found no place big enough for me to turn around and go back.  Six miles further down the road I came to a narrow wooden bridge with no railings.  The bridge led across a creek and swampy area and was about a city block long.  By now it was around 3.00 in the morning.  I had two choices.  I could try to back the tractor-trailer in the dark six miles back to where I could turn around or I could cross that bridge.  I pulled up closer to the bridge.  There was no other traffic at that hour.
I looked at the bridge pilings and cross timbers, all wood.  I looked at the planking, twelve inch wood planks running crosswise to the bridge and another layer running lengthwise of the bridge.  This top layer was in two rows for the wheels to run on.  Should I go ahead or go back??   I edged up closer to the bridge.  My headlights showed no sway or dip in the bridge but no railings of any kind.  I had a previous experience with a similar bridge but with an empty truck and a much shorter bridge in the daylight.  I could hear the frogs in the creek singing their croaking song.

I thought about it again for a while and then, seemingly without making a decision, I drove out on to the bridge slowly.  Slow and steady I thought.  That's my only chance.  I crossed that bridge uneventfully but have had nightmares about it ever since.

Think about it.
1. I did not know whether or not there were still similar bridges up ahead.
2. I could have backed up the six miles, even if it took all night.
3. The company had agreed to pay all costs of getting caught overweight.
4. What would it have been like if only one wheel broke through and stranded me on the bridge?
5. If I had damaged the bridge I would be charged with the cost of repair and loss of use.
6. What if I drowned.  etc. etc. 

Crossing that bridge was not a good decision!!!!!   How many similar decisions have I made??
What is wrong with me that I could make such a stupid decision??

Have you made decisions that got you into problems?   There is no gift more valuable than the ability to make good decisions!