Just before I lose my mind

I saw a short segment on GMA a couple of weeks ago where they were trying to portray truckers as habitual speeders on the highways. A reporter rode in a police helicopter that was watching traffic, but they didn't actually find any speeding trucks. But the discussion between the reporter and observer LEO still managed to paint a negative picture. Then it switched over to the reporter talking to a driver who claimed he was being forced to drive tired. They recorded a call between the driver and a weekend dispatcher, and the dispatcher threatened retaliation against the driver after the driver told him that he couldn't complete the assigned load due to fatigue. So the facts that were presented in the segment clearly showed that the driver did the right thing by refusing the load, but the company was the one pushing for unsafe operation. Yet the segment concluded by pointing the finger back at the drivers. Unreal.

 

i wish they would stop using ferrow's over exaggerated crash numbers.

 

Hi BAYOU, I was bothered by that segment, as well. You have to remember, news is big business, and they always go for MAXIMUM results, and everyone that watches the news and drives a car, has experience with trucks, so it's a big win for the news people to report on these events. Quite frankly, I don't think public opinion for truck drivers could get any lower than it is right now. It's never really been very good to begin with, but with the internet and news shows like this, they bring every problem to the kitchen table, like motorcycle crashes or snowmobile deaths, but rarely focus on the millions that never have a problem. BTW, I believe they fudged the deaths, as being 4,000 some a year, where I think the actual number of deaths have gone down in recent years, not that it's any consolation to those that actually lost loved ones to a truck crash.
The best thing you can do, being a truck driver, is to strive to not add to that stereotype, be courteous on the road, help people, if you can. A little goes a long way.

 

To bad you can't talk like an adult on here because I sure want to!! Big bad words.

 

I had to take a bike safety course a few weeks back, it was mandatory for me to do something different - its been the same old crap for the past three months.

Well anywho ... right there in the literature was a comment about a majority of accidents involving a motorcycle are caused by trucks and cars. I pointed out that this was actually wrong to the instructor who seemed to think that I was full of it. He went on a rant about how dangerous it was for motorcycle riders and how truck drivers don't seem to care. I countered this with the fact that when I drive everyday, I get cut off (meaning less than a car length) an average of four times a day. I explained that even with the No Zone designation, there is more to the safety of those around the truck and the truck itself then the NO Zone. AND I said blind spots are not where the accidents actually happen, it is when a bike or a car doesn't understand what the truck is doing or cares to understand and decides to move in front of the truck to do something like pull into a gas station (had that happen to me on a road that has a 55 mph speed limit). I told him and the class what I do, I haul multiple heavy objects that weigh on average 20k lbs each which is not easy to do in traffic so I have to anticipate everything all the time. I gave a couple examples of problems like it is hard for me to anticipate and to react to a biker's need to get in front of me to make a turn within 100 feet of the turn when there is nothing behind me THEN stop to make a right turn. I told him I've had fellow Harley riders who are pacing me in the next lane and have for the most part seem not to see a HUGE truck and the thing that is called a trailer behind it ... just get over into my lane with no signal, no intended movements to move into my lane. I almost lost one part of the load because of him, I slammed on the brakes so hard that the dunnage split up and moved so the entire piece slammed against the bulkhead of the straight truck I was driving.

Then I got the comment about straight pipes saving lives, I said it is hard for some to figure out where that noise is coming from, especially for some of us who have a spatial sound issue. On top of that, I asked him how could I hear straight pipes on a bike from behind when travelling at 65 with the wind noise, loud exhaust and a truck cab that has no insulation or sound deadening material to speak of?

 

your post is related to bayou's post. and lots of posters on this sight. also point the fingers at that very driver. for even accepting the load. saying he set the company up. most on this sight, think what the driver did, was wrong.

 

I gave up on people in cars along time ago. They neither surprise me or infuriate me. I follow the rules and pay attention. If you can't do the same I can't change that. Or the fact you may get in an accident.

 

The point I like to make to those types is that I don't have A/C in my truck, so in the summer I roll with the windows down. Even then, a motorcycle with "loud pipes" is next to my drives before I can hear them. They've got to pass up to 53' of trailer before their "loud pipes" are noticed. Yes, they are loud and obnoxious...but they direct that noise rearward...AWAY FROM the person who would need to be aware of their presence in the lane beside them. Bottom line, if I haven't seen you in my mirrors, you could be dead long before the "loud pipes" reach my ears. Even with my windows rolled down. Now most trucks have A/C, and the drivers use it...which means their windows are rolled up. Newer trucks, just like newer cars, are getting better and better at blocking out road noises. Add a radio playing inside the truck...even quietly...and your "loud pipes" won't be noticed until you are already in front of the truck where your tailpipes are projecting your obnoxious noise directly at the truck you just passed...a good 75' or so of truck that could have killed you that you had to pass before your "loud pipes" did ANYTHING to draw attention to the fact that you were there.

I ride a motorcycle, too. Making yourself VISIBLE will do far more to save your life than annoying everybody behind you. But, I guess in a way they are correct...loud pipes cause communities to consider motorcycle bans, and if you don't have anywhere to ride I guess you can't be killed on your bike.