I have a question for everyone who is a trucker on here (and for those that are not you can answer as well).

A little background before I ask the question itself.

About two weeks ago I was getting onto the freeway and had just moved over from the lane that was formed as part of the onramp and a class B truck had also gotten on but was still in the lane formed by the onramp. I had moved over to accelerate past him and in the lane to my left was an 18-wheeler. About the point where I was half-way up the length of the B-truck he decides to put on his blinkers to move left apparently without either remembering that I could have been behind him a few seconds ago and could have gone into his blind spot. I had just barely gotten a foot or two in front of the 18-wheeler when the class B decides he wants to move into my lane. In order to avoid getting hit I swerved into the left lane ahead of the rig and also applied my horn. I remember the Big Rig also used his horn, but fortunately I was able to put on some serious speed as I was driving a manual transmission and just narrowly avoided hitting the front bumper of the Rig.


I believe the driver of the B-truck realized he should have looked first before moving over since he moved back to his lane and then moved over in to the lane he needed to be in.

My question is should I have hit the brakes instead or did I do the right thing?

p.s. if the driver of that particular rig happens to frequent this forum (a longshot I know) I apologize for creating a hazardous situation on the freeway that day

Well there was no contact of metal so I suspect you did something right. What I dont get is, was there just an on ramp that merged onto the freeway lane or did the on ramp continue on with it's own lane? Beings you on his left side I doubt you were in his blind spot. If you passed him on the on ramp he probably did it on purpose, his thinking (and mine also) is that you should have a little patience and just wait your turn. If its the other where there was two lanes who knows, maybe he seen you or maybe he didnt, could have just been a mistake.

Sounds like the B-truck was ahead of you when you were both entering the freeway, right? And you did not exercise patience and decided to pass the B-truck in the far right lane while he was still merging.

I suggest you slow down and not do anything that stupid again. You could have gotten yourself or somebody else killed.

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I was trying to pass him on his left, not the right. So it should have been him who checked his mirrors more carefully.

And the onramp is two-lane but after the rush-hour lights turns into one lane that goes for about half a mile or so before exiting again. In order to stay on the freeway you have to merge over to the left otherwise you'll wind up getting back off.

I'll just say that merging is probably the most dangerous activity on the interstate. I'd recommend anybody just be patient and wait. Once you're in the flow, then proceed to pass or what not. Nobody was hurt and no damage was done, but as a driver I feel I spend most of my day trying not to kill those around me. I have to drive for me and them, so just those couple extra seconds of patients could save a life.

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If you were going up the ramp behind him, most ramps are one lane until you reach the highway. This is where the ramp, sometimes will continue for a while this is called (in some states) the acceleration lane. If you tried to pass him from the get go then your at fault, you should have exercised patience. This is one of the reason we drivers get irritated on 4-wheelers.

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Hello Ahutchi1 you neglected to mention what time of the day this happened. The negligent bobtail driver who failed to yield you the right of way was obviously getting paid by the time clock, unless he was an O/O (owner operator). Time is a factor b/c most bobtail drivers start their day at 5 or 6 AM, and complete all their deliveries & pickups by 4 or 5 PM. In contrast, if the big-rig truck you had cut off had a sleeper bunk, he's OTR (over the road), getting paid by the mile or per load. Unlike the bobtail driver, OTR drivers are not entitled to overtime pay. I always try to steer newbie OTR drivers to leave OTR, & settle down to an hourly-paying local job b/c mileage & per-load pay is an incentive to falsify logbooks.

As a driver begins his day, his mental alertness is at its peak. Around 3 to 4 hrs into his day, his alertness slowly begins to decrease, which is why labor laws mandate a meal break after 4 hours into a shift, & a 10-minute break after 2 hours. With truckers & bobtail drivers, they're under pressure to complete all their pickups & deliveries, so they neglect to take their 10 minute break. Thus, fatigue sets in, and they make critical errors, like not checking the blind spots in their mirrors, which is what the bobtail driver had done in your case.

Another factor to driver fatigue, is if this incident had happened on a Monday morning. Some of the local drivers I work with show up tired on a Monday morning, because they had stayed up late playing the casinos, taken a short 2 hour nap in the parking lot, then clocked in with only 2 hour's rest, spending all of Sunday playing at the casino. They drove to work after leaving the casino.

Brakes are the most powerful device on a vehicle, not the engine. In a hazardous situation, no matter who has the right-of-way, apply the brakes. If brakes had been applied, the eighteen-wheeler would not have been involved. By the way, the blind spot I would be concerned about was at the right front corner of the eighteen-wheeler. The eighteen-wheeler was probably in the straight truck's blind spot because he was two lanes to the left.

Putting too much braking can result in a jack-knifed rig. If you carefully look at photos of jack-knifed semis, you'll observe either the tractor had remained parallel to the road while the trailer is perpendicular; the trailer had remained parallel to the road & the tractor is perpendicular; or both the trailer & tractor had loss control. In the first scenario, the trailer's tandem axle had loss traction with the pavement, as the trailer's tires were stopping faster than the speed of the vehicle. In the 2nd scenario, the trailer's tires were consistent with the speed of the vehicle, but the tractor's wheels were stopping too fast, resulting in loss of traction with the pavement. In the last scenario, all 18 wheels had loss traction because the entire vehicle was slowing down too fast. The wheels were turning slower than the actual speed of the vehicle. This is usually the case in slippery conditions, such as rain and snow conditions.

I think he was referring to the 4-wheeler braking, not the truck.

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This is my winch bar. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me my winch bar is useless. Without my winch bar, I am useless.