Passing at slow speeds etiquette?

No... But im sure not to help someone pass that should of never bothered trying to pass in the first place. They can sit in thw left lane all the want and block trafic. They made the choice to do that. Im going to maintain my speed and my lane.

 

I always let off the fuel or bump cruise down a couple miles an hour, it always seems in my experience if i stay on it and participate in the slowest drag race ever then when the guy finally gets passed its a game of how fast he can take off my bumper... I just slow down let em pass, if somebody is that much of a hurry better them than me, i think anybody that thinks going 2 mph faster than somebody and drag racing for 6 miles is not a driver that understands that 2mph at the end of the day makes 0 difference and i really dont want a driver like that anywhere near my truck... My favorites are the owner ops that blow my doors off along with my ### hair @ 85 mph only to stop every 50 miles and proceed to blow ur doors off about 6 more times throughout the day and end up parkin next to u at the same truck stop when ur finished lol i always get a good laugh about that

 

I ease off the fuel and let them go by however if they power out on the next hill I’ll bump er up 5 mph and open a gap to stay away from them.. btw most companies set their trucks up with soft cruise which is all over the place on real world speed so someone with a hard cruise gets annoyed and passes due to the 5 mph variance soft cruise has..

 

A few heart beats off the hammer or cruise will sort out the blockage of a slow pass.

All this was a problem dating back to the mid 90's when trucking companies started throwing down 60 mph governors on the trucks, creating a issue in the midwest, say cincinatti two lane interstate where it needs 10 miles to pass someone too slow or be passed by a 61 or 62 mph truck. Creating a hazard.

The trucking companies continue to be obtuse and difficult on the governing when our interstate reached 70, 75 (Our state once signs go up someday) and 85 in Texas etc. Your 62 mph rig is a hazard.

Now for the medicine.

You do not get to decide to make a block on everyone around you by keeping your foot on the floor. I don't care who you are or where you come from. You back off a few moments and let the other fella past you and be done with it you will be back against your governor soon enough for another 8 hours or whatever is left in your driving HOS. You are not in any hurry. You will get there when you get there.

In the old days of no governors anywhere, we sorted out by horses. The fast and empties up front, most in the rocking chair and the drags to the caboose. All of us had a particular job in convoy by the time we hit upgrade to cross a mountain range or whatever. It was no problem at all.

Again companies made a problem of it all by putting governors on the rigs to save insurance money and so on.

One last thought.

If you cannot sit back at 62 for 11 hours and be happy, you will never be happy at 110 or 55. There is a problem somewhere in your work situation that needs to be resolved to eliminate the mental tension and need to stay on the governor regardless of what anyone is doing around you. Life is too precious to burn out on something as simple as speed you have no control over.

 

The problem is max speeds for fleets is all over the place

Lots are 65 but then there’s plenty at 63 and 67 and 66

Pick one...

• 65
• 70
• Or unrestricted
• !!!!!!

None of this 64 or 66 or 67 bs near reasonable options

Also many of the newer trucks have eco-cruise where it will cut power (coast out of gear) near the tops of hills to a lower threshold that may be 2-4 mph slower than it could have maintained if the foot was kept in it

Then there’s the morons who are merging onto interstate in rural areas. You move over to help them out. They merge in alongside and quickly match your speed verbatim (slight downhill or they’re empty or light) and leave you stuck out there looking like an idiot. This are as often truckers as motorists.

 

If you really wanna franken power problem on mountains try the so called 2/3 or 4/5 satellite assisted to transmission that uses GPS to know when it's on a grade. (Maybe.) Might not yet be into the heart of the #### thing.

I get insulted personally when I think of that techno crap telling ME when I am on a upgrade and how to shift for me from space of all things.

 

And when they finally do pass you, there are 200 angry 4-wheelers doing stupid 4-wheeler tricks to make up the time they spent stuck behind you.

Brake checks. Extreme acceleration. Rapid, unsafe lane changes.

Is that 5 minutes of being unwilling to be courteous worth a wreck? You are supposed to be the professional.

Let that driver pass you. Slowing down by 5 miles per hour for 30 seconds will cost you almost nothing, and can save lives.

 

The technology (terrain-aware and e-coast) is good and it works (to save fuel without compromising long-term average speed) A driver just has to know to keep the foot in it if there's nearby traffic pacing behind while cresting a hill. At least Freightliner has it right. I can't speak for Paccar or Volvo