If someone gets between you and the other truck, you have no choice but to back off. Tailgating in a heavily loaded truck is extremely dangerous, there isn't anything else to be said about it - if the truck/vehicle in front of you slams on their brakes, you are probably going to eat the rear end of the vehicle, or run over the top of it, and your life is going to be changed forever (for the worst, I might add).

Here is an example that had happened to me only 1 month after getting my license. It really woke me up to following distances.

I was going north bound on I65 at milemarker 18. I was catching up to another truck who was following another truck who was following a slow car. Now in a semi I alway try to follow the speed limit. I really do not want to get a speeding ticket in a truck. I was trying to pass but could not pass because another truck was passing me. So I took off the throttle and let the jake brake start doing its magic. By this time I am at mile marker 19 which is the henryville exit I believe. I see the brake lights come on in the truck in front of me. Now my jake brake is still going, but now I am really catching up to the guy in front of me. So I hit the brakes. I am still getting closer even though I am on the brakes. By this time I realize that he is on the brakes really hard. Meanwhile the hammer lane is still moving smoothly. I almost locked up the brakes slowing down. So there we were doing 35mph on the interstate. Next thing I now the CB is blaring from on of the drivers in front of me at a tree triming truck that got on the interstate without picking up any speed. This guy went on a three minute cussing speel. I was a little shaken up about coming 15 feet away from rear ending the guy in front of me. I learned right then that I should leave a lot more room in front of me. People tend to think that they will be able to recognize when they need to stop in a hurry, the truth is you can't. If you are following to closely then you are S.O.L. because you are most likely going to wreck.

I've seen too many truckers create a "car sandwich" where a truck is riding literally feet from the car and the car is likewise doing the same to the truck in front. Seven seconds for trucks and two seconds for cars! Wake up people! Do you enjoy putting yourselves in danger?

And I'd like to stress that seven second following distance for trucks, so this is to all you four wheelers out there. Stop interrupting my airspace! I leave that big gap for a reason. Don't go "Oooh! Look at all that space!" and jump in front. How much time did you really save? Would it be worth it if I drive over your car if an emergency happened?

Then their truck speed ought to take care of that problem!

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My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

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I'm gonna kill the next SOB who tells me I look stressed out.

--Unknown

If nobody will say it I will. You took it too far. You are right when you say you've caused this accident. This person can no longer walk because of you. Not because of his actions but because of yours. You could have slowed way down to shake him or even taken a coffee break. But you didn't. You took an action that was so drastic it cause a vehicle to have an accident all for no reason. You're extremely lucking charges were not filed against you or any liability. You might want to keep your mouth shut on this case because I'll tell you right now if I would have know the person that YOU crippled I'd make sure you never drove again and I'd make sure you paid and did some time.

It was just too stupid.

Yeah - well the point is that tailgating is no laughing matter when it comes to semis being the vehicle that is doing the tailgating. Nothing might ever become of it - granted - but it only takes that one "special" incident to change your life forever. I see this stuff in Phoenix traffic every single day of the week - trucks camped on the tail of the truck or car in front of them. Considering moderate to heavy traffic, I just think that plain stupidity.

I couldn't agree with you more. Driving a gasoline tanker in Las Vegas I had to deal with it every load. But we go through training for that and there are ways to handle a tailgater beside running the guy off the road. As far as I'm concern that driver should have been charged for the accident and for him to have such an obvious attitude is even more disturbing.

I agree, I definitely do not agree with intentional, premeditated acts that are designed to cause another driver harm, injury or even death.
As far as dealing with it - I know a driver that simply pulls over whenever anyone is tailgating him - but that's out on the open road. For me, to "deal" with tailgators would mean to have to - stay off the freeways - trucks and cars alike do it. Cars can get away with it easier than a truck.
I guess the really alarming thing is that new "trends" for stupidity are created more and more often. You see someone doing something you've never seen before (a stupid and at least potentially deadly maneuver) and then all of a sudden, within a month, there are 100's or 1,000's of them doing it.

Now? It's nothing to see 3 and 4 cars continuing on through a red left arrow light. The light turned red - yet up to 4 vehicles are still entering the intersection.

I saw the aftermath of that today - it was obvious a person had attempted to turn left and that that attempt resulted in 2 terribly trashed out cars.

I dunno, I just don't understand why people have to do all of this stuff out there - the end result isn't worth it.