I was driving home on Thursday afternoon, and about 3/4 of a mile away from my house on our gravel country road, I stopped abruptly because there was a huge (~3′ long) snake in the middle of the road. I got out of my car with my camera and iphone and proceded to take a bunch of photos while I slowly herded the harmless gopher snake out of harm’s way. Just as she (?) reached the safety of the far shoulder, I heard a strange rumbling noise, and then all of a sudden, a propane tank truck came barreling around the corner, headed straight for my car (with my two kids in the backseat) that was idling in the middle of the road. I about had a heart attack and went running, flailing my arms in an attempt to get the attention of the speeding truck driver. He slammed on his brakes and was able to stop before reaching my car without losing control. I jumped in the driver’s seat and headed home with my heart pounding.
There are only seven houses serviced by that particular stretch of road, and there’s never a whole lot of traffic. I’ve parked IN the road many times before, but this time, I learned my lesson and will not be rescuing any more snakes without first pulling off to the shoulder in the future.
Read/see more about gopher snakes in this archived post.
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YIKES. I have saved a couple of turtles that were doomed, with similar lack of forethought re: possible collisions by other drivers speeding toward my vehicle with child inside. Glad you saved the snake, BUT yes no more risks in future. Especially with heavy trucks rumbling—they see less, hear less from the outside, and require far more time to come to a screeching halt. Whew.