since changing my commute to work, i am now strictly highway driving. i have noticed a huge increase in the number of trucks that will drive in the middle lane(3 laners) or 3 third lane(4 laners) regardless of driving situation. these trucks will be driving at 10-15 mph slower than the posted speed limit and even slower than the overall speed of traffic.
why is this becoming the norm?
at first, i thought the explaination would be so the trucks wouldn't be bothered(slowed) by traffic merging onto the higway.
can someone enlighten me?
thanks
why are trucks driving in the middle lane(s)?
Discussion in 'Questions To Truckers From The General Public' started by squid, Jun 20, 2007.
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Canadianhauler21, Odin's Rabid Dog, Trucker61016 and 23 others Thank this.
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The most common problem truckers face is with merging traffic---or rather, 'poorly' merging traffic!! Happens almost daily!! A heavy truck weighting up to 80K lbs (40 tons), or more if a heavy hauler, at lengths of typically 70-75 ft long (longer/wider if 'Oversized), are going past an entrance ramp with traffic coming on. It's up to that traffic to successfully merge!!!! Many times, a car will come on, not adjust speed to merge either ahead of the truck, or after, and meet that truck at the 'end of the ramp!' Many cars expect the truck to do 'something! The only option that long, heavy truck has (if traffic on his left side in adjacent lane) would be to slam on their brakes and let that poorly merging car in. That would not only damage the cargo inside, but also pretty much cause an accident taking out many vehicles!! If I see other trucks or RV's coming on, or multiple cars in rush hr traffic, I will slow my speed down to let all merge at 'my expense' of losing speed & momentum! This is a very dangerous situation that happens almost daily!
BTW, L.A. rush hr drivers are the 'best mergers' of any place I've driven---they get on at a good speed, usually ahead of the truck, since they know the successful way to drive in heavy traffic! They also let trucks into traffic cause they know that they will need the 'wall of trucks' to let them in/out when exiting/entering....Trucker61016, truadvocate, slim6596 and 16 others Thank this. -
Always watch the ramps drivers, and don't forget the fact you can go down a hill many times too slow, but only one time too fast!
Thanks Cybergal. You do good work in here.Trucker61016, truadvocate, Brickwall and 3 others Thank this. -
Steel Dragon Thanks this.
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As mentioned, although very annoying (especially in the states that have "no truck in left lane law) trucks drive in the middle lane due to the fact merging traffic is done very very poorly. Example: you have cars trying to enter the interstate at 45mph when traffic is moving 65Mph. You have (90% of people merging and not looking at traffic they will be merging into till they hit the bottom of the ramp and expect a big truck to move right over for them.
I wrote a posting about what truck drivers like and don't like (general safety) and this is the section on merging.
Majority of truck accidents are due to lane changing.
You or anybody else for that matter will not understand unless you take a ride around a major city during rush hour in a big truck. This would give you knowledge on the idiotic things people do around big trucks and have no clue how close they just almost became another statistic on the road. You would need to feel how the a truck breaks different and get the feel for how long it takes to make sure when you change lanes it is safe to do so, and even then it still isn't because you may have some idiot 4 wheeler jump out behind you and cause you to swerve back into the lane or somebody from the 3 rd lane try to beat you for that lane......
Truck drivers have been talking about making the 3rd lane for slower trucks and middle 1st 2nd lane for cars. this would help the flow of traffic keeping trucks out of the merging lane.Brickwall and Steel Dragon Thank this. -
the way it sounds then is that the truck drivers are only concerned about their well being and not concerned with the fact that they are impedeing the natural flow of slower traffic to the right and faster to the left!
this wouldn't neccesarily be a bad thing if all trucks used this philosophy. however, what i see on a daily basis is the 'old' style truckers that travel at slower speeds in the right lanes along with the 'new' truckers who travel at slow speeds in the middle lanes. so now what you have are two lanes being used by slow moving vehiclesjammer910Z, Canned Spam and x#1 Thank this. -
Trucker61016, TRKRSHONEY and HTDemetrius Thank this.
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you also need to rember that car that you are driving came in on a truck. It may have been first on a train but utmatily it gets to the dealer on the trucks that you complain about.
If there were no trucks there would not be anything to eat, drink, wear etc.
If you do not like big trucks then go to a little rock in the middle of the ocean. But then you will be complaining about all the ships, barges etc.
jcmaster5, Trucker61016, slim6596 and 2 others Thank this. -
that seems to be very single minded thinking. what, just because you haul the goods to the stores so we can buy it means that you can drive however you want?
i work in law enforcemnet. that means that i should be able to cut you off, slam on my breaks and pull out in front of you while traveling to my job because once i get there, my job will be to protect you..........correct?Canned Spam and luvtheroad Thank this.
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