SWIFT, Speed/lane restrictions apply to you too

There's a very good reason why they have signs posted at the top of those mountain passes that say "Trucks must use low gear"

 

It's Gross Combined Weight.

 

Ok , ok, my mistake, if sign was saying "all vehicles above 26 000 pounds , speed 35" , then I would be right, but if it's a saying all vehicles with GVWR 26 000, speed 35 " then I guess you right...

 

You must be new in the industry

 

I see many drivers going down steep long grades blowing past riding their brakes. I can understand going abit faster if you’re light or empty but in general you want to be going at a gear that maintains a constant speed while not speeding up or slowing down if possible. I doubt that overdrive gear or direct drive gear is enough at 6% or higher when you’re loaded. Seen many megas blow past me leaving me with the smell of their brakes especially on i70 CO.

 

Flow of traffic, in my case. Other trucks go faster, I join them up to a point because being an obstruction can almost be more dangerous than running a bit faster. That said, I refuse to go faster than about 50 on any of these given hills, with 55 being the point that I hit the service brake and bring it back down to 50.

Threshold for excess speed violations in a Swift tractor is currently 72mph, which must be maintained or exceeded for at least 60 seconds to initiate a critical event. That said, my truck has gotten up there once or twice... and the only reason I've never been hit with a violation is because I'm usually smashing the service brakes at that point to slow it down NOW

 

I don't give a #### how bad the short, pot bellied, super trucker in the Big Pete behind me wants to get down the hill...I'm chugging down, saving my brakes so I have them when I need 'em.

I will get there alive, with cool brakes, and no "OH ####S!"

There isn't a load worth dying over.

 

I laugh at the super truckers who speed on the flats, complain about not enough power or the hills, then crawl downhill so slowly they are almost stopped. I am not suggesting anyone go ripping down a hill in high gear while your gross weight is 170,000 pounds, but come on people find a happy medium will you. These little piddly 5 axle loads that weigh diddly, going down some meager grade not even worth mentioning because they are less than 10% do not require such ridiculously low speeds. I generally pass a few trucks every day going down a hill, then only to see it behind me somewhere else on the flats while I am doing the maximum speed limit. I actually called one guy on the radio last week and asked if he had a mechanical problem, I assumed something was tragically wrong since he had a string of traffic behind him that was impressively long, and he was barely moving. He zaid everything was fine but hills scare him...OMG did I laugh because we were on a beginner grade of only about 9%. Go back to the flatlands was all I could think. I've gotten to dislike flatlanders in my old age. These are usually the same idiots who are not carrying enough sets of triples in the winter to get up a hill, so have the hwy blocked off. They should have to run with a trainer for the first month if they come to BC and plan to head north of Hope, and should always be packing triples for every axle, and singles for the steer, then there boss makes them put them on and take them off a dozen times in the yard before they leave.

 

Sorry for the above rant...just tired of the BS I see daily from clowns that can't drive.