No, they are not racing.
Understanding why truck drivers do the things they do, is half the battle. It’s hard to imagine, while behind the wheel of a car, what it’s like from the truck driver's perspective.
This is, by no means, a one way subject. There needs to be more understanding on the part of the truck driver, too.
To better understand what’s going on with that truck, up ahead, imagine two little boys hauling a wagon load of rocks up a steep hill. One is older than the other and bigger. The younger boy has fewer rocks to haul. It would seem pretty much a match.
Both of them know the hill is going to be quite a task and the first thing in their minds is getting as good a run, at it, as possible. So they start trying to run, building up speed as fast as they can. They both hit the bottom of the hill at the same time. The older boy is stronger and holds on to his speed longer and winds up pulling over to pass the younger boy. As the hill gets steeper, the older boy begins to feel the weight and starts slowing down, while the younger boy is holding steady. The results are two boys, side by side, fighting to hold on to all the speed they can. In the meantime, all the bike riders behind them are becoming frustrated because the two boys are blocking the path.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The point is to show you how it is. Those trucks have no intentions of holding up traffic. In fact, they feel badly about it but are really in a position of no choice. Just imagine a heavy truck losing all momentum, while attempting to climb a hill. We’re talking a dead stop on the highway.
Have you noticed that the truckers turn on their 4-way flashers while climbing? Usually they will do this any time they drop below 40 mph to announce to oncoming traffic that they a slow moving.
Fuel costs are climbing, making it harder for a truck driver to make a living. Can you blame the driver for wanting to maintain steady speed? Every time they run up behind a slow moving vehicle, only to discover the traffic in the next lane is packing together to prevent him from moving over, he counts dollars going straight down the drain. I will never understand what 2 or 3 seconds could actually mean to those blocking off the truck. Is it truly that important?
Count the cost. The more that truck has to recover speed, the more costly it is to operate the truck. The more the costs go up, the more freight charges need to go up and that results in higher costs for the goods, sitting on the store shelf. Why not give up mere seconds to help a truck maintain momentum?
Why is that truck in the fast lane?
Out on the open highway, you’ll notice the trucks try to stay to the right except to pass. As they enter congested areas, such as through cities, many times you’ll note that the trucks will either head for the center lane or the far left lane. Some city situations allow for a truck to use that far left lane and in some of those cities, it's the safest lane.
Truckers are taught, from day one, to use the ‘lane of least resistance’. It’s a safety thing and all depends on the habits of the local drivers, the way the freeway is set up, and the speed of the local traffic. Most times, it's the center lane that provides the safest haven. You see, it’s that far right lane that is used for entering and exiting the freeway. The more activity and lane changing, the more that trucker wants to stay away.
When forced by law, the trucker will remain in the right lane but in no way does he want to be there. Utmost in the trucker's mind is safety and the farther he can stay from possible harm, the better.
On ramps are a touchy subject, especially when its a short ramp. The problem arises when a car is trying to get onto the freeway and is faced with 70 foot of moving vehicle. Most times the car will try to outrun the truck.
What really spooks the truck driver, is not knowing what the car is going to do. Sometimes the car will speed along, appearing to try to outrun the truck, only to slam on the brakes at the last second. The trucker doesn’t know what to do, slow down or speed up, to help out. It’s at times like this, the trucker gets really frustrated with traffic to his left that is squeezing together, tailgating, to prevent him from moving over.
Rule of the road: Hold your speed steady.
The truck driver is making decisions based on the present time situations. He will see a slow moving vehicle up ahead and begin to make plans to move over to another lane, early if possible to avoid causing congestion, rather than becoming trapped behind the slow vehicle. Here’s the makings of one of the most frustrating situations, as about half the time the trucker will be in the process of passing that slow vehicle only to realize that same vehicle is speeding up, trapping the truck in the passing lane. And there you have it, mile after mile and this truck driver, having no intentions of staying in the passing lane and thereby actually becoming a road block is now that road block and not a thing he can do about it.
When you see that situation, we beg you, please don’t jump into the slower lane, come up behind that slower car that the truck was trying to pass. Want to know why? Because now, you too have become the block wall preventing the truck from finding its way back into the slow lane. Honestly, that’s all the trucker wants. He just wanted to pass a slow vehicle and now he finds himself ‘hanging out there’ in the ‘show-off lane’. Car drivers are getting frustrated because of the truck, which is now a road block and it seems this is when the cars do just about everything possible to jam up the works, keeping that truck in the passing lane where he’s literally trapped.
The best thing to do, is to get behind that passing truck and simply wait. I promise you he will do everything he can to make his way back into the slow lane. As long as you have a car in the slow lane, matching the speed of the truck, there is no way around them except to trust the trucker.
It sounds bitter on my part, but in truth there are people who will do this on purpose and I have yet to figure out just why. The upshot is, if you are moving slower than the rest of traffic, please hold a steady speed instead of speeding up and slowing down, trapping a truck in the passing lane. You have no idea how tempting it can get to just bump that spastic vehicle right off the road just to put an end to a nightmare.
One thing, every truck driver will agree to is that there is no such thing as an accident. Every accident is preventable. Better to call it ‘mistake’. Cooperation would cut down on those ‘mistakes’.
One of the most dangerous things to do is torment a truck driver for no good reason.
And I do mean torment. Most car drivers are courteous and safe but there are those in the crowd who, in my opinion, have no business being behind a wheel. If they haven’t killed somebody, it just hasn’t happened yet. Can I share with you, a couple of my own experiences?
I was driving west on I-80, through Wyoming. My trailer was heavily loaded and as I began to climb a hill, I noted a slower truck up ahead. There was very little traffic but I noticed a car about a quarter mile behind me moving fast, so I waited for him to pass on by before pulling out to pass the other truck. The timing should have been perfect but as soon as the car was side by side with my truck, the driver slammed on the brakes and matched my speed to prevent me moving over. There were no other cars in sight so that wasn’t a factor. This driver simply wanted to torment me, just for the kicks. Don’t you know that as I sped down the other side of the hill, I envisioned driving right over that car.
On another occasion, on a freeway, traffic had begun to move over to the left, as a stream of cars came down an on ramp. I checked my mirror and saw that the nearest vehicle in that left lane, was about an eight of a mile back and traveling at my same speed. I turned on my left turn signal and began to move to the left, when I noticed that vehicle speeding up rapidly. He was aiming for my trailer and accelerating, while I was moving over. I was half into that next lane, when he approached my trailer then slammed on his brakes and swerved back and forth and essentially put on a huge scene. My mind flashed back to my ex-husband. Boy do I know that type. Would you believe he called my office and complained about my driving? I had cut him off.
Here’s a dangerous scenario and happens all the time. Never, never jump in front of a heavy truck while still building up speed after having climbed a hill then topped over to the downhill side, then jump on your brakes. That’s just plain insane. Ever hear of centrifugal force? There is weight, lots of it, in that trailer behind the truck. As the truck is climbing the hill, that weight is shifting to the rear. Then, especially on a hill that is up and then down, with no level span between, the weight begins to shift forward, as the truck is topping the hill and then going downward. It takes more brake power to pull a halt to that weight force and speed, than on level ground. It’s sure not the time for a car to speed past the truck, pull over in front of that truck and then slow down.
When a truck is headed downhill, and you have a need for the lane he is in, either wait and pull in behind or keep your speed up. The truck driver is judging the safety of his speed, by the traffic moving around him. When you change the factors too quickly, your life is literally on the line. It’s not the time to tempt fate.
A truck drivers biggest nightmare is damaging property or worse, hurting somebody. It’s tops in our minds, every second behind the wheel. We do not want to hurt you. We do not want to die. We are very aware of the possibilities and it seems we are the only ones.
I know that most folks behind the wheel of a car, think the truckers are arrogant. Well, sometimes they are. They forget what’s its like from your prospective and I’d like to address that too, before I’m finished with this writing. I do understand where the truckers get their attitude. It’s like a war, out there on the highway, sometimes. And sometimes, it seems to us, people are trying to die on the road.
I’ve seen the results after a car ran under the rear of a semi trailer. I’ve seen the results after a car careened from one lane to the other, trying to squeeze between two trucks, into the next lane. It doesn’t always work out the way they planned.
There are children in these cars. There are elderly in these cars. Hopefully, what I’m writing here will help to keep them all alive.
Short warning about those huge tires.
As soon as my daughter was old enough to drive, I began to educate her about the do’s and don't s around trucks. One danger that I know most folks never think about is tires.
From a block away, when a tire on an 18 wheeler blows out, it sounds like a small bomb. Can you just imagine that happening right next to your drivers window?
You can’t help but pass right by those tires and I’ve never personally witnessed an event with a car but what are the odds? My advice? Just don’t hang out right next to any of those huge tires for no good reason at all.
So far it sounds like a series of Don't s
It’s not really as bad as all that. What I’ve been talking about so far, are those things that a few drivers do to simply mess up the works. In my opinion, its just plain dumb to challenge an elephant with a toe stomping contest.
It really doesn’t take all that much to coexist with the big trucks on the road. Just give them all the space you can afford at any given situation. That’s all.
Now to clue you in on those potential, out of control type dangers.
You’re sitting there at the red light, minding your own business. Along comes a semi that seems to be slowing, perfectly under control and all of a sudden you see in your rear view mirror, this wall moving gracefully right toward the rear of your car. Panic? Oh yeah! What can you do about it? Start moving. If there is any way for you to move forward, now’s a good time. If other cars are in front of you, lay on that horn.
You see, the most precarious thing on the road is an empty semi trailer on wet pavement. Even snow is better because the driver is already prepared for that trailer to travel but on wet pavement, that fickle trailer will act just as steady as you please and then all of a sudden, without warning, the tail end will start to move off to one side while the trucker is slowing down. His only defense is to let up on the brakes but what if there are stopped cars ahead? So that explains why it seems the truck is creeping along, sneaking up on that red light. Yup. There’s a reason. And for sure this isn’t the time to jump in front of him and slam on your brakes.
On snow and ice, if a trucker is stuck with an empty trailer, he has the sense to either get off the road or drive like the trailer is out of control all the time. Believe me, he’s barely breathing.
A heavily loaded trailer on ice and snow is a whole other story. I’ll trust my life driving next to a heavy trailer before I’ll trust a car, any day.
How can you tell the difference? You can’t. Not really. That’s the time to trust that the truck driver is using good sense.
Another danger to watch for? Have you seen those retreads all over the highway? Well they don’t just flop off and onto the pavement. Sometimes they will cling by one end and , flapping around and around and tearing up the floor of the trailer, slashing electrical wiring and in general raising havoc, before finally flinging into the air looking for a victim to attack. Don’t be that victim. Truly, at high speeds, its prudent to hang back a little. 100 feet of space won’t kill you but 10 feet might.
When you see every truck in sight, suddenly move over to the left, its advisable to just join them and find out why later. The trucker sits up much higher and can see things down the road that the car driver cannot see. So moving over with the truckers is simply trusting their eyes when you yourself have yet to see what the problem is.
Truckers move over, in a group, for several reasons. Most times, it’s because of a vehicle parked on the shoulder. Have you ever been standing on the side of the highway when a semi flew by? That’s reason enough. People standing on the ground, that close to the highway is pure panic for the truck driver. Who knows what they might do? And the big ‘what if’. What if the trailer has a blow out just then? What if something were to happen, causing the truck to swerve? Nope. Much better to get as far away as possible. Ever hear of a police officer getting hit by a runaway car?
The point is, I can promise you that no trucker deliberately blocks traffic just for the fun of it. A safer road is one where the drivers of the smaller vehicles trust the judgment of the truckers and watch what they are doing.
Ever notice the reactions of the big trucks right after an accident has blocked a high speed highway? Four way flashers and sometimes swerving back and forth to let you know you need to slow down. Some car drivers take note and slow down until they can figure out what’s going on. Some car drivers get mad and try to race around the truck to get in front of him.
A message to the truck drivers
This is TOO CLOSE at 70 mph!!
I too contend with the bullies of the road but you know what keeps me calm? The thought that could be my own dad in that car, or my mother or grandmother. Works every time.
And please remember the guy next to you can’t see what you can see. You’re looking over his head at things going on 20 cars ahead of him. Cars the same size as his?
You have the advantage and should use it to help, not bully.
Winter Driving
Not long ago, I was crossing over Donner Pass in California, in a blinding snowstorm at night. Chains were, of course required, but for about 15 miles we needed much more than that. The snow packed on the windshield so quickly, it was impossible to keep a clear view.
I noticed, in my mirror, a car traveling very close to the rear of my trailer. I didn't get angry, as I realized the driver couldn't see anything but my tail lights.
At 20 mph, I had the tendency to slow down but I knew that the driver behind me wouldn't notice, right away, that my speed was changing so I kept a steady 20 mph for him. Little could he know that I could barely see the road, myself. When I saw that we had arrived to the area where we were to remove chains, I turned on my 4-way flashers to make sure he knew something was changing. Then I gradually slowed down until I saw that the car behind me had pulled over to the side.
Just a note about such a situation. If you find yourself under these conditions and depending on the trucker to guide you through, believe me that driver knows you are there and realizes your trouble. Help the trucker by making sure your headlights are within his sight. As long as he can see you without taking much time to find you in his mirror, he will take care of you.
That's my mirror to the right. See what I see?
You can see the trailer wheels at the rear of the trailer, to give you perspective.
You don't have to worry about thanking the trucker. If you are hovering against the rear of his trailer in a blinding snowstorm, he already knows you are grateful.
My view, through the windshield, during bad snowstorm in daytime.
I know that you have noticed trucks traveling as fast as 70 mph on a snow packed road. I need to explain a couple things.
The trucks you see speeding along when it seems insane, weigh almost 80,000 pounds. Add to that fact, there are 18 huge tires, and you can see the differences in the vehicles. The lighter your weight, the easier it is to lose control.
The problems come when the trucker just is not thinking. Mixing it up, on the highway with all sorts of vehicle sizes and weights, is not smart. When there is no traffic, only other trucks, we can drive that way because truckers understand trucks but it's just not safe to drive this way when there are cars all around.
It's also unsafe to drive this way when there are varying conditions. When the packed snow and ice is below 20 degrees, its mostly like hard pavement but when the temperature rises and the pavement is varied in temperature, from one mile to the next, we just might hit a 'slick spot' and that's when the trouble begins.
The car driver is wise to keep an eye out for those wheels at the rear of the truck. We call those 'drivers' or 'drive axle'. On a slick road, anytime you see those wheels slide out to one side or the other, just get out of the way. Depending on the experience of the trucker, he may not even know yet, that he is headed for a jack-knife. From your point of view, if those wheels slide out toward you, the front of the trailer is going to be in your lane. If those wheels slide out away from you, the nose of the truck will suddenly be in your lane.
Worse than that, if the truck jack-knives in front of you, you don't want to be trying to stop suddenly on an icy road. If the truck jack-knives right behind you, it's liable to speed up.
The problem is, when the truck winds up sideways to the direction of motivation, as in trailer straight but truck sideways, those rear wheels are no longer rolling but instead are sliding sideways. It's the same action as slamming on the brakes.
Especially on a slick road, give the truck space. It's better to get there alive than to find yourself being straddled by a trailer, with the nose of your car under the trailer or a truck in your trunk.
Believe me, if the pressure was not on that driver to get to his destination, he wouldn't be out there on the road at all.
Parents
Dad, you will understand the reasons for what I’m going to say next. Maybe you can explain it to the women in your house.
No matter what the community, there are the bad apples and there is some pretty scummy bad apples in the trucking world. For the most part, it’s bad language.
You already know that among the truckers, we use the CB radio to communicate. I listen to things I don’t want my own grown daughter hearing.
If you could hear some of the comments these guys spew out, concerning women in the cars around them, you would probably want to kill. No kidding. It doesn’t seem to matter what the age of the female, either. Insist that your women, especially your daughters, dress modestly while riding in the car. They are on display. You would be surprised to know just how much the truck driver can see.
Personally, I don’t see what’s so enticing about what is going on inside of other people’s cars but then I’m not a man. Better said, I’m not a low class, foul mouth, filthy minded man. There truly are decent men behind those steering wheels. It’s a bad few but enough that this sort of thing goes on hourly.
To show you the other side of the coin, I can’t put all the blame on those guys. Even I have been flashed by low class women, who haven’t bothered to check if it’s a man driving that truck. You’d be surprised to know what some women do while driving in their cars.
War rages on, on the highway.
The highway joke is that when a driver gives a trucker the middle finger salute, he’s actually calling the trucker ‘Number One’. This happens a lot and usually without legitimate cause.
And then there’s my own joke. Want to know how to get a four wheeler to speed up? You turn on your left turn signal. Want to know how to get a four wheeler to slow down? Turn on your right turn signal. Fact is, it’s not a joke at all.
99.9% of the time, as soon as I use my turn signal, to let others know that I need to move over to my left, approaching a slow vehicle ahead of me, the nearest car behind me, in that next lane, will speed up to prevent my moving over. I’ve had them nearly run into the back of the trailer, they are so insistent about it. The odd thing is, I’m traveling at the same speed they were and so it’s beyond me why it’s so important to them. Then there’s the guy I want to pull in behind. Moving back into the slow lane, to my right, sliding in behind another car, I’ll find myself slamming on the brakes because that car suddenly slowed down. What is it that motivates people? Why would anybody do this?
There is the explanation as to why it seems some truck drivers will cut you off in traffic, for real. That trucker has become so hard hearted from the constant battle with the four wheelers, he has given up being courteous. That’s too bad for all of us. Very sad.
Why sad? Because truckers are innate heroes. The truth is they love being the highway hero and will take such loving care of you, if not for the bitterness expressed to them an average of every 10 minutes.
It seems like war against the trucker and frankly, we don’t understand why. Where would this country be without us? Does anyone realize how long it would take to clean off every grocery store shelf and run completely dry of groceries, if the truckers suddenly stopped? Would you believe 2 days?
This is our Job.
For some of us, this is our life. Some truckers are local drivers, some travel from one state to the other and then most of us are all over the country all the time. While you are familiar with the main streets in your town, we are familiar with the interstates. We do this all the time. Is it any wonder it seems the truckers act like the boss of the highway sometimes?
We don’t mean to be that way, we just have a job to do and there are so many stumbling blocks. Imagine somebody walking into your office, interrupting your work and flipping you off for being there.
Truckers pay. They pay just for the privilege of using the highways. The fact is, the highway use taxes and commerce fees are enough in themselves, to pay for every highway in the country. Now can you imagine why the attitude sometimes? It seems to us, that the ‘four wheel’ drivers just want us to disappear, get out of their neighborhood, get out of their state and from our point of view we are the ones paying for that pavement while putting up with the abuse.
We are so grateful to that courteous driver, that driver who actually seems to want to help out. You wouldn’t believe how much you, that courteous driver, lift the spirit of that weary driver. Thank you.
Bottom line.
We all have to get along on the highway and safely. That’s all the trucker really wants. The vehicle is big but that doesn’t mean boss, in fact it means victim if we aren’t careful. Nobody wants to die and nobody wants to cause harm, especially the truck driver.
We have ridden in and driven cars. How I would love for every car driver to at least ride in a big truck just once. Just experiencing from the truckers point of view, would answer so many questions.
