Here's a scenario, I'm driving in my car have my cruise control set at 75mph. I see a 2 18-wheelers in the right lane. At the very last second the one in back makes a lane change at the very last second front of me, sometimes causing me to slam on brakes. I hate this....why can't you guys just wait until I pass? I don't like riding beside of 18-wheelers either but I know from driving a truck that you get that moron that rides beside of you for miles when you have your turn signal on.

Next thing is..say you move in front of me. You passed truck you wanted, but instead of getting back into the right lane you stay in the left lane to try to pass a truck a half mile ahead.


My next question is if you guys are merging onto the highway or changing lanes and I slow you let you in... Do you prefer I flash my Hi beams or no?
Sometime I'll do it and it seems like you guys are scared to move over. Or what about night time....I'll just turn off my headlights and turn them back for a for second. I have bi-xenon headlights which are bright as hell, so I don't want to make you see spots.. but which do you prefer?

I think the answer to your first question is momentum. Once you lose it in a big truck, it takes alot to get back if you have a heavy load. We judge where our truck will be once that car gets to us, and if we will be able to pass the vehicle in front of us while staying ahead of the upcoming car. Some judge later than others which is why you see trucks "jumping in front of you". Ive slowed for a vehicle in front of me because there was an upcoming car in the left lane. Next thing I know, Im down to 50MPH and am now holding up even more traffic than just one car, trying to get back up to speed. Though its aggervating, Id rather do it than getting rear ended by the car I just jumped in front of.

Once again, its about momentum and trying not to lose it. If a trucks moving faster than the two vehicles hes merging inbetween, he will have to slow down and may get boxed in between the two vehicles.

Question two: I appreciate any response I get from a car, but with your question, Id prefer you flip your lights off then back on. Its easier on the eyes. If it seems like were scared to move over, its because we are still responsible if we hit you making a lane change, even though you signalled it was clear.

Ok, cool. I like that you guys have a special switch to say thank you. Car or truck to say thank you to a courteous driver I just hit a hazard lights a couple of times.

I question your actual trucking experience here. Half a mile in the left lane? How long was the line behind you? Maybe he saw a "boxed in" situation in the making.

Simple math will prove to you, that your car will accelerate faster than the truck, go right, flash the "driving" lights...pass. I say this...cuz most new cars have driving lights. Which are 10 times dimmer than the high beams.

If I move back over, with a rather lengthy buildup behind me. Then I'm forced to slow back down. The vehicle I just passed...will most likely jump out as the last CAR goes by. Forcing me to pass the sorry SOB again.


I prefer that you move over, if you have space. Scared to move over?

It's a judgement call on my end. If there's room, and you don't move. It's gonna get very scary, very fast for both of us. If I see a potential "multi" car accident in the making, I'll back it down or run the shoulder, I'm not stopping. That's even more dangerous.

__________________
.
Team Players.....
It's hard for me to play professional team sports. On a minor league salary.

How can he tell if its a boxed in situation if can't see how many cars are behind. I understand if its a long line, but most of the time its just me behind. When they move over I pass them as quickly as possible so they will not get boxed in.


If sometimes I see that they will get boxed in or if they're merging and I can't move over. I'll slow down first..... Then flash my lights. When I say scared it could be a tatic but they would faint to the left or wag the trailer in my lane.

If I took a survey. My guess is over 90% of the drivers on this board will tell you. The SECOND they hit a blinker, the clown 50 yards behind them, hits the gas, and is bearing down hard.

Just because you zip on past...doesn't mean the other 20 cars won't try to do the same.

I don't faint or wag...I come over. That's what my blinker TOLD you I was doing...I'm doing it.

__________________
.
Team Players.....
It's hard for me to play professional team sports. On a minor league salary.

i think the reason you are looking at it like that is because you KNOW it is you and what you are going to do. we don't recognise it is you and know not what you might do.lol my wife sometimes means one thing but does something else, so that is my answer, i know what i am going to do, but don't know for sure what you are going to do.

Give the person a break..... I as a truck driver have experienced the same thing many times over... Sometimes drivers just don't get back over into the right lane.. They see a truck way way ahead of them and decide they are just going to hang out there till they pass them.. A few times I got back into the right lane just to get out of the way of traffic just to notice that there was plenty of room for me to accelerate my 70,000+ lbs truck and completely pass the guy on the right.. And you know that takes a good distance to do.. I am with the poster on this one.....


That comment is not necessary.... the poster did not say anything about having room in order to move over.. The poster was simply stating in the case that they did let you in...

You should lend this person some respect... They are trying to learn to be a safe driver and work with trucks..
More then what the other 99% of 4 wheelers ever do.....


To the poster I am sorry you had to read that...

Anyways to you questions..

why can't you guys just wait until I pass

Well many reasons here..
Same as in 4 wheelers there are bad drivers.. Some wait till the last second to even check thier mirrors.. When they do they see a space and go for it.. Happens to me as well when I am driving my truck.. This always happens to me, I will be comming up on a pack of trucks, soon as I catch them the very last truck will jump out in front of me.. LOL happens about 50% of the time.. I am used to it and usually laugh it off.. Sometimes it ticks me of when I have a good 10Mph on them and they do it and cause me to slam on my breaks.. Big difference from a car to a truck when it comes to hitting the breaks hard...

Another reason is what one already said, momentum.. It takes a lot of fuel to get that heavy truck back up to speed.. And you know how fuel is priced nowadays..



Next thing is..say you move in front of me. You passed truck you wanted, but instead of getting back into the right lane you stay in the left lane to try to pass a truck a half mile ahead.

Well I talked about it above, no reason at all one should stay out there if it is going to be awile before you pass another vehicle.. I do know what you mean..

Now I myself will stay out there if there is nothing for you to really gain by passing me.. I judge the distance of the next vehicle I will be passing and the distance the next pack of cars are in the left lane.. If I am catching that left lane traffic and it look like I will be up to them about the time I will be passing the vehicle in the right lane I stay out in the left.. Why? Because it is hard to get a 4 wheeler to let you out.. Not all pay attention like you may and they just don't care.. So I will be stuck in the right lane behind the slower traffic.. I hope that makes sense, but if your not to really gain anything I stay out.. I traffic was open where you was able to cruise on down the road I will get over..

Another reason would be some people just get cuaght up in the bore of driving.. They just basically starring off into space and really not paying attention that they should be getting over.. Its not that they mean to but it does get boring sometimes...

Another reason that ticks me off to no end is cell phone...

Another reason is well they are just jerks...

Many many many reason here.. You seem like a decent person so just have patience keep your distance behind them hang to the left a little and eventually they will get over..

My next question is if you guys are merging onto the highway or changing lanes and I slow you let you in... Do you prefer I flash my Hi beams or no?

During the day please do flash high beams.. During the night just turn your lights on and off a few time, driving long periods during the night makes your eyes pretty sensitive to bight lights..

Sometime I'll do it and it seems like you guys are scared to move over.

You bet.. You drive 11 hours a day every day you see a bunch of crazy things.. Most will not move over till they are absolutely sure they are clear.. See something that people don't realize is that this is our job, this is how we provide for our families.. What they don't know is accidents no mater how minor can take all that away from a driver.. Every little thing is recored by the company and it stays with a driver for 10+ years.. So, even if its not his fault a driver has a few accidents, it will keep him from getting a job at another company.. Cause companies share that info..
So when you see a driver that seems to be very cautious, think about what he is doing, he is making sure he is going to keep his recored clean so he can keep bringing that pay check home to his family...


Well I hope that help you and thanks for trying to understand Truck drivers.. I wish more of you would actually take time to learn.. Driving is a life and death matter and people should take it much more serious then they currently do.. Please share what you learn with your family and anybody else that you think needs to improve with thier actions around big trucks..

Unfortunately, you misread my "Scared to move over".

He asked is we were scared to move over. I was making a point...No I'm not scared. Maybe I should have explained it better.

But I REALLY dislike coming over in front of someone when it leaves only a few feet between us. Not a safe move at speed...period.

And I do give a person/4-wheeler a break. I don't hang in the left lane. Unless there is only a truck length or so between me and the second vehicle. I AM going to have at least 150 feet between me and the vehicle in front and try to do the same for the driver I am cutting back in front of. Especially at night.

My primary concern (aside from overall safety) is my LIFE.

Hanging to the left...IE putting that left headlight out there where they can see it. Only serves to blind a fatigued driver even more. Now he has 2 right and one left hitting him full on. Bad idea and recommendation IMO.

If I fall back in, and the driver in front has to dive into the brakes...where does that leave me?

But what the hell. It's only a dumb trucker...right? The 4 wheeler got on down the road, to his house in time to watch "American Idol". While the family of the "nice" driver gets to make funeral arrangements.

Courtesy is NOT the issue with my thoughts/rant. Safety...my personal safety. If I am safe, that means Everyone AROUND me is safe. Unless someone else, gets in too big a hurry and hoses the whole thing.

A little FYI: Newer cars can not turn off their headlights. So they are left with only 2 options at night. Blink the driving lights on and off. Or blind you with the high beams. I do this as a matter of courtesy when I'm in my car..the driving lights at night. It works great. And nobody gets white spots.

__________________
.
Team Players.....
It's hard for me to play professional team sports. On a minor league salary.

This one is simple. We're sitting up much higher than you. So we see things you can't. While you may only see 2 or 3 cars. We see cars AND spacing. It true, it could be a couple of cars. But, is there enough space between car number 3 and the 4th car, who may be travelling at an even higher rate of speed than you and the 2 or 3 in your mirror.

We have to account for all this. Spacing, speed, speed differentual, road conditions, and potential road hazards ahead, that you may not see.

If you do a Google search, about the Troopers in Oregon doing ride alongs with truckers. One of the first comments the Trooper made. Was how much MORE he could actually see going on.

It would be wrong of me to think that ALL people who were on the highway were just dumb. Just like it would be wrong for you to think that a driver was mearly hanging out in the left lane, to make your day worse.

A PRIME example of this (what we see and hear). Sign says "No Trucks Left Lane". But EVERY truck you see is getting in the left lane. That should be your first clue, to stay in the left lane. Many will just dive into the right lane, and hammer away...right up to the stopped and blocked lane.

For that, I thank you, as do many other drivers.

__________________
.
Team Players.....
It's hard for me to play professional team sports. On a minor league salary.