Mad Max 2 Original Truck Driver

[Taipan]

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I don't think the compounders knew about the truck, Max is the first one to tell them where it is and he can bring it in.

[TheDarkOne#1]

^^That thing will haunt me in my dreams

[Shadow94]

^^That thing will haunt me in my dreams

As a matter of fact, I used to be so scared of that scene I didn't watch it again until I was 14. (I saw it the first time when I was 8 or so.)




If I remember correctly, that's the Toecutter's eye-popping stunt dummy and he's been remade to look like....whatever that is.

[MWFV8]

Wow. These are amazing theories.

I have a new question for you then related to this exact topic:

I don't think he was wounded in the stomach. However, the question is:

Why was he mortally wounded with two crossbow bolts to the neck when no windows are damaged? This suggests to me either:

1. Oversight.

2. He was hit outside of the truck.

3. The marauders opened the door, shot him, and then closed the door for some reason. I think, though, that when Max checks his shotgun before confronting the marauders when he first retrieves the truck, that we can see windshield damage level with his neck. Could just be rock damage.

I could be oversight. Or it may have been a production concern. The crew might simply have avoiding smashing any glass where they didn't have to. Especially in an area the lead might be parking his butt in scenes. But then this is RoadWarrior, that would be a very petty concern in the big scheme of things. After all there's later scenes of glass smashing right by Max's head.

Although the Marauders don't tend to reuse their crossbow bolts, they would have had a limited supply, especially in the heat of battle. It would make sense to open a door to shoot someone from the perspective of preserving ammo and getting a clean shot. There's also the chance they want to capture the driver alive. They most likely wouldn't have known who the driver was during the chase. It could have been a woman like in the later buggy capture. However it would also be a very risky move too. The driver could have been armed with a very effective close range weapon hidden behind the door. But then these are the Marauders, they are supposed to be animal like. I can certainly buy into the concept of them storming the cab and looking the terrified driver in the eyes before killing him.

[Shadow94]

That could possibly explain the startled expression the driver seems to have. Well that and the bloating.

[Shadow94]

Some websites claim that the body is that of a child, however very clearly the dead driver is a middle-aged man.

[MadMatt]

Mabey he ran out of fuel in the rig so basically he was munsoned in the middle of noware and when he heard the vermin on machine coming he jumped back into cab only to be shot at close range and vermin looted his trailer etc.. Also vandalizing it with "the vermin have inherted the earth" Simple right? Also the other cars could have been his family and/or friends. Mabey he saw them get killed and he was saying his goodbyes in the cab of the truck waiting for his own demise?

[leadcounsel]

And of course that's the biggest piece of illogic, there is simply no way the Mauraders would have left the truck in any capacity to simply fuel up and drive away. Especially knowing there's a nearby compound looking for that very last piece of the puzzle. But then we wouldn't have much of a movie.

The Marauders knew the rig was there. They must have been the gang to loot the rig and kill the driver (appears dead for about a week). They also must have been the gang to destroy and set fire to the two cars in the opening chase.

It is interesting that the Marauders didn't try to use the rig to smash into the compound through that gate. They either didn't have the diesel, or didn't consider it, or didn't want to destroy the rig because they wanted to have it intact. I believe they saw the value in a working rig which they would need to be able to transport that fuel in the future. They could have disabled it by taking out the plugs or other necessary parts, however, to prevent the compounders from finding it. But the odds of their getting the rig was probably so low as not even to be worried about by Humungus. Alternately, the rig may have had diesel, but Humungus took that for his diesel vehicle.

Some really great theories presented in this thread for discussion.

Here's how I see it. The two wrecked and burning cars Max swerves through in the opening chase and the Semi could have been a caravan. It makes sense. These 3 vehicles were traveling with most of their possessions in the Semi. The marauders almost certainly chased them down. It's been recent (hence the freshly bloated corpse, and the fires are still burning on the cars. The marauders come upon a parked caravan of 2 cars and a semi, the semi driver gets shot OUTSIDE of his rig, and the cars flee. Driver gets in the rig, but dies before he can drive off or perhaps it's empty. The cars are run down and sacked. Marauders make their way back, driver is dead. They pillage the rig and leave the driver for dead or to die. They drive on and encounter Max a few days later. Max gives chase, right back past the scene of the Semi from where they just came.

The next afternoon, there is a scene where we see Wez and Humungus interacting while Max watches through his binoculars. I believe Wez is telling Humungus about the rig and they should disable or get the rig and use it. Humungus is telling Wez he disagrees and not to touch the rig.



The person in the rig may not have been the driver. He could have been a survivor looking for transportation.

Maybe the Semi was abandoned because it was out of diesel. A wounded survivor from the cars or perhaps someone else made his way to the Semi to take shelter, or try to get the rig going. While he sat there, waiting to die, he played the music box.

I wonder if those two smashed cars were possibly two compounder cars that fled, and were captured and destroyed and that's how the marauders learned of the compound?

[MWFV8]

The arguing Max sees between Wez and Humungus isn't mentioned in the original script, in fact Humugus isn't even present in that scene. There is the whole sub-story of the power struggle between them which is building to the original ending.

If the marauders wanted to ever utilise the semi then it begs the question why they wouldn't just tow it somewhere secluded or at least form a camp in or around it. They could have even pulled it across the road and made a roadblock using the trailer. We know people are using the road since Max is travelling on it and there's wrecked cars along it. We also know it's a good vantage point since the location is called Mundi Mundi Lookout.

The truth is it's contrived for the sake of story.

[Anklecranker]

The Mack would not need batteries to start.

Listen closely. When Max returns with the diesel, it's very clear the rig uses an air starter. It sounds like an air wrench, even on screen. The batteries are only used for the signals and lights. An old style diesel like this had no electronics. The only way to stop the engine is to shut off the fuel. I have a truck like this and a dozer. Both shut off the same way. Even modern diesel have fuel shut off switches , but they are operated electronically.

The air started would be the way to go in a post apocalyptic world. It's possible to re-pressurize the holdover tank with a bicycle air pump. It would take a while and a lot of work, though. Older diesels like this would also be very tolerant of sub-standard fuel. The filters would need to be drained regularly and re-installed. I'd dust out the air filter at every stop. Dirt coming through the intake will kill a diesel engine.

Regarding the sand in the tanker. Given the same situation? I would load at least some sand or weight of some kind before going into a battle where other vehicles would try to slam into my Rig. We see the Bat Wing car trying to push the Rig at one point, unsuccessfully so.

I'll take weight and protection over speed any day.