The Non-Professional "Trucker" On The Road Gripe Thread

[Ron-MARS Trucking]

I hate coming back to CAL, or rather SO-CAL from out of state.



Gripe #1
Going down the "5" around Avenal when this "driver" pulling a dolley runs past 6 trucks doing 75 Mph or better, then takes the Front Door and slows down to 50 Mph.
I pass hiss sorry a-z-z along with 4 other drivers then he does it again passing us again pulling the same stunt.
Miles down the road I pull into a rest stop and see him and I was about to ask WTH was that *&^% back down the road and he doesn't speak English.

Gripe #2
Headed Eastbound on the 60 and it goes from 5 lanes down to 4, container truck "driver" comes up from my blindside, on the shoulder, and proceeds to cut me off and no apology, no flashing the "tails".
I got on the CB and chewed his a-z-z out..no answer, not even a "You drive your truck and I'll drive mine"

Pull up along side this second sorry excuse, and he has a cellphone shoved in his ear, not even paying attention.

Alright, I feel better airing this #**& out.
At least I didn't go off and "gone postal" on the road, no, I didn't even yell at the kids or kick the dog....

Ah, another day of driving in CA along with the "pretenders".

[NealinNevada]

You know I use to think that there were areas in every state where the drivers were markedly poorer than other parts of the same state...I have, since coming back to trucking after a "brief" absence, come up with another theory:

Anywhere there are drivers, there are people who prove that Darwin was incorrect in his theory of evolution!
and the addendum to this theory is: It will only get worse over the years to come.

Every morning as I drive into the Reno area, I am cutoff and runoff by the local yahoos with their phones pressed to their ears or text-messaging (and this includes truckers too)...they don't make eye contact...they simply don't care about anything or anyone other than themselves. I don't even begin to become upset - it would be like getting upset that the sun came up in the morning...it is the way it is. Give me dodging deer and elk on the backroads I drive, over drivers anytime. I love backroad driving !

[Joetro]

I use the term "driver" or "hand" for those that are and "Steering wheel holder" for the rest. Drivers and Hands are becoming more scarce.

[JolliRoger]

Originally Posted by Joetro

I use the term "driver" or "hand" for those that are and "Steering wheel holder" for the rest. Drivers and Hands are becoming more scarce.

Joetro-Neal-Ron,
I think the current "steering wheel holders" are the product of an "age".

This age is their "age". Everything is good, everyone is making money, life is good (recreation-football outings-clubs) etc. The typical has had little if any responsibilities or exposure to situations requiring responsibility.

The difference is in another "age "and may be in yours that growing up you had chores,duties, and gained experience.

Example:
A boy raised on a far learned hard work right off, so later in life it was not a problem.A father who was a craftsman taught you the "tricks" of trade.
He saw crops planted and calves raised and learned it takes time to get what you want somtimes
If you had a tractor, combine, or hay press-You knew you have to check it out and grease it before you started in the field. If it made a funny noise, you stopped and found out why. Mechanics were "in town" and expensive. You learned a lot about repairs from having to do it yourself.
As you grew older, you were conservative in debt and looked at the possible results of actions you were about to take. Marriage, kids, etc.

That is usually why a 55 to 70 O/O is usually rocking right along in these difficult times. He planned his equipment purchases, their financing, their specs for his needs. He maintains them well (usually himself on "off days").

The current crop came along some way with out being exposed to these "principles". And if exposed, very little attention was paid. Read the ad, Drive Big Trucks, Make Big Bucks, go to truck driving school and get the CDL, hire on and hit the road.

Then I see them see them sitting on the side broke down. It just stopped.
It won't go. It made a helluva noice. No idea what is wrong or why it went wrong. At worst, rolled over in the ditch... No judgement on weight vs curves or hieght estimates.
Times have changed. I don't mean to back you guys into my old "fossil" age.

[TrooperRat]

I watch people texting or talking on cells every day on the freeways. Doesn't matter what they're driving - they could care less what's going on in front of them, beside them, behind them, their conversation with whoever on the other end is far more important. I see truck drivers doing this crap all the time. Today - just for an example, I see a truck drifting to both sides of the lane he was in - a center lane on a 12 lane freeway - 6 lanes in either direction. I was contemplating how to get past this moron as he was driving 55 in a 65 zone. I get beside this freak and his truck comes INTO my lane. I'm crowding the lane next to me to avoid collision, cars over there are moving to THEIR left. I get up to the guy - he's paying absolutely no attention whatsoever - babbling on the phone. I have my own ideas - the old ways - of how to deal with "drivers" like this.........

[Ron-MARS Trucking]

Originally Posted by TrooperRat

I watch people texting or talking on cells every day on the freeways. Doesn't matter what they're driving - they could care less what's going on in front of them, beside them, behind them, their conversation with whoever on the other end is far more important. I see truck drivers doing this crap all the time. Today - just for an example, I see a truck drifting to both sides of the lane he was in - a center lane on a 12 lane freeway - 6 lanes in either direction. I was contemplating how to get past this moron as he was driving 55 in a 65 zone. I get beside this freak and his truck comes INTO my lane. I'm crowding the lane next to me to avoid collision, cars over there are moving to THEIR left. I get up to the guy - he's paying absolutely no attention whatsoever - babbling on the phone. I have my own ideas - the old ways - of how to deal with "drivers" like this.........

We all know what texting did to that Metro-link engineer and his passengers now don't we...

[Ron-MARS Trucking]

I still would like an answer how someone could possibly get a CDL and not speak English or was that driver just playing the "role"?

[Ron-MARS Trucking]

Has anyone ever dropped down in the Otay border on the 905?
Damn, the container truck drivers think it's the Brickyard for pity's sake.....

[DannyB]

Ok folks, read my story and tell me which of us was more unprofessional. I know I'm still a rookie and I'm asking for some honest input here.
Ok, I was running up I65 between Elizibethtown and Louisville the other day in the granny lane, 65 is 3 lanes through there.
A four wheeler crept up and ran right beside my drives for 3 or 4 miles. Eventually he speeds up fractionally and passes me. As soon as he cleared my grill, he moves over in front of me, close enough that I couldn't see his taillights. Naturally, he then slows down.
So I signal and move over into the middle lane. Said 4 wheeler then speeds back up, I'm going to guess 1 or 2 miles an hour.
Noticing this, I wait for him to clear the lane so I can move back over. Welllll, the Quality Carrier bulk truck that had been drafting me in the granny lane proceeds to follow the 4 wheeler, blocking me from moving back.
Now I'm governed at 60, going as fast as I can. Speeding up is not an option for me. I do not like running the center lane for this reason.
Eventually the 4 wheeler and the bulk truck get far enough ahead that I can move over. I signal and start to move over when another truck comes flying up, almost rear ending me as I complete the lane change.
He was just barely visible in my mirror when I put on my signal, so he was a good ways behind when I put on the signal.
Anyway, this driver swings into the merge lane on our right and proceeds to pass me on the right. As the back of his trailer gets even with my mirror, he swings back into the granny lane!
Luckily, there was no one in the center lane, I had to jerk it over pretty hard to keep from eating this unmarked trailer!
I thought about grabbing the CB and expressing my thoughts on all this, but then I thought, well, you're the rookie here, maybe you done something wrong and it's your fault.
Had there been a vehicle beside me, there would have been a bad bad wreck, so, I'm asking, was I doing something wrong in all this or do I have a legit gripe here?

[JolliRoger]

Sounds like you got some good experience of what you might expect from the "public" and todays "drivers ??????".
Also seems like you kept your cool and may have avoided a more dangerous situation by not "retaliating" verbally or otherwise.
There are all kinds of ???? out there. Has been since 1953.
Keep your cool. Drive safely and sanely. Remember an old slogan: YOU CAN ALWAYS UNLOAD TOMORROW - If you are still able to get it there.
Thats a busy stretch of road. I sometimes go up there but turn off on the Blue Grass before Etown to go over to Lexington. Good luck in the future.