You're at an intersection. The light's green and you want to make a right turn, but you can't go because of a stack of people in the oncoming turning lane. What's the best way to go about this? Do you inch forward and make the whole darn stack back up? Or do you wait until the lanes clear and possibly risk making a turn on a red light?

The Reality is: there are too many variables in any given circumstance to give "the" answer. But, worst case scenario that I was taught. Start your turn as you're supposed to, when you're supposed to. Stop before you hit anyone, and intimidate poor four-wheeler into backing up. Now, if he's in a column of cars, I'd prolly try and stop early enough to give him some room to go to his right, and get past me. And if a cop has to come out to clear up a mess, so be it.

what i was taught was never run a red light. trust me the 4 wheelers see you coming the will scramble. just make sure you make your turns safely and do traffic checks while making your turn. dont allow any room for a 4 wheeler to squeeze in while making a right turn. keep your trailer tight to the curb but dont hit it or run over it. good luck to you.

My problem is I'm too polite. XD I live in an area where it's possible to wait until the traffic clears and turn on a red because some of the intersections are broad. I'd probably be stuck there forever if I was deep in an inner city.

What I have done in the past is make your turn when you should and just stop short of going into anyones lane. Don't try to make them back up because you'll have more problems. Just wait and you'll find out someone along in the line will stop back far enough for you to finish your turn. Driving a super tanker (85foot) around the city I've found myself in all kinds of situations like this. I've learned from the old timers that you never want to force anyone to do something they might not like. If you pull out and wait calmly you'd be surprised on how many drivers will help you. But you also have to be ready to fill a gap when you need to. But above all just stay calm and you'll get there and you might reduce the number of fingers you see.

very good advice gas hauler.

First thing I learned about driving enormous vehicles, driving swing on small film sets in L.A.; a more experienced driver told me, just go for it, they will move, they think they have no choice. I stopped being intimidated by my own truck after that.

Now I was frustrated by little cars not letting me get into their lanes, but the same thinking still applies. He said that I should just start to drift on over. The cars will either change lanes or slow down to avoid getting hit by truck ten times bigger than their car.

You know you have to share the roads with everyone else, so do I, but they don't know that. I have never been rude or driven dangerous, never given anyone the finger; but if I have the biggest rig, I have earned the right to be assertive. No?

There is a VERY fine line between assertive and aggressive. And yes, I too use the lane check method when absolutely needed. The biggest danger in being assertive is that it can quickly turn into aggression,leading to a sense of entitlement, and then everyone must get out of your way, including other trucks. What follows is tailgating, pushing cars, etc. and we all know how dangerous those habits are.

An example: today on the PA turnpike, I found myself having to deal with an extra annoying 4-wheeler. It seems he must have been loaded very heavy, because on every grade, he would slow down to 60-62. So me, in my 65 mph truck, would pull out to pass, only to have said idiot speed up (or crest the grade and pickup speed on the downgrade) and run right next to me( i was MT). So I backed out of it and jumped in behind him. After having this happen more times than I care to count, I was really getting steamed. And I found myself ready to push him, or lane check him (or just plain check him off the road). But I realized that I am the professional driver, and must adjust my driving to make my life easier. So I backed the cruise down to 63 and low and behold, no more annoying 4-wheeler. He ultimately PO'd another driver by puuling the same stunt, said driver was not very understanding- he did a lane check and almost ran him off the Beaver River bridge.

Agreed. Truckers cannot push too hard, no doubt. I'm just saying remind the four wheelers that they need to help you out. Most of them will respect that you are in charge of the situation, you have taken control.

As a four wheeler yourself, is it not disconcerting when the person driving the very large vehicle clearly has reservations about what he/she is doing? Even the soccer mom in the Escalade who takes five minutes to figure out how to back out of a parking space?

The soccer mom in the 'slade needs to downgrade to a minivan. Most of the idiots I see scare the hell out of me.
But yes, sometimes a gentle reminder to the four wheelers of basic driving etiquette can make everyone's day easier. My biggest reservation is what I said above, of just letting everything get to you and next thing you know, you're a supertrucker.SCARY!!!