how often do people try to cut you off?

I've been cut off a few times by those 'wrapped' vehicles,or by a company vehicle...with their PHONE NUMBER advertised all over..and I have called them up right after they cut me off and gave them a good piece of my mind! I mean if you're gonna tell the world who ya are ya think you'd be a better driver!

 

You are so on the money, GasHauler! I give plenty of room to vehicles where I see the driver stretching to reach things in the car... talking with the phone to his/her ear... zipping up behind me... braking (even lightly) at exits/intersections... or even just talking animatedly with other riders/passengers. The way I see it, they're distracted and not paying attention to the road, and hence more likely to either stop suddenly, swerve erratically, or make sudden lane changes.

Excellent point -- keep your eye on the vehicle (for sure), but just as important, the driver!

 

The first time I was cut off was by a big rig. I didn't really give it much thought because he didn't slow down. He continued to pull away. I was doing 60 so he was probably doing 63 or so. The other students in the truck ranted and raved. I guess it is about perception in some cases. If he had put his brakes on my perception would have been different.

I believe if they developed a portable photon torpedo that it would be a big seller among truck drivers.

 

Try driving a fuel tanker on urban expressway interchanges. You will get cut off 6-10 times before each ramp.

 

i have bee cut off alot thay are bad it texas

 

I'm beginning to hate 4wheelers.

 

i heard that thay make u mad sometimes

 

There's lots of drivers who fly around willy-nilly and expect everyone else to get out of their way. And it's not just four-wheelers, either, I see truckers doing it too. The fact is, once you have that CDL in your pocket, you've become a professional. Part of being professional is being safe, and if that means watching out for the folks who aren't watching out for themselves, so be it.

I agree with gashauler that it is better to have no accidents at all than to have some that aren't your fault. And at fault doesn't count with most companies anyway, they go by preventable/nonpreventable which is completely different than fault/no fault. Someone once told me even having nonpreventable accidents on your record can raise a red flag in the safety department.

You will be cut off, you will be tailgated, you will see drivers crossing into your lane while they are passing you. Be prepared at all times. Leave as much space as you can. Always know what is going on around you. And keep in mind the only vehicle on the road that you can control is the one you are driving. Other drivers are going to do stupid things. It's a fact of life.

If you constantly get upset and cuss out other drivers and flip people off and cop a bad attitude with the idiots, you're driving experience will not be very pleasant. Try instead to accept that some drivers just aren't real bright, some drivers aren't very experienced, and some drivers are distracted for one reason or another; keep you're mood positive and think of them as children that need protecting because they're not wise enough yet to protect themselves. Some of those drivers are children. How many stupid games did you play when you thought you were invincible?

Above all, have a way to de-stress at the end of the day. This is a tough job, and if you're going to last, you need to relax. The drivers who are always tense and worked up get burned out real quick.

 

That's okay, Nana. I'm sure that for every four-wheeler a trucker hates, there's a four-wheeler that hates truckers as well.

(Not me, though. I don't hate truckers. I don't hate four-wheelers either. I just don't like some of the stupid stuff they do -- four-wheelers and truckers alike.)

Now... back to our regularly scheduled program...

 

This brings to mind the Shell commercial with the little talking cars. I can see the spokes car saying.... "Its not the four-wheelers fault, its the drivers fault."