Why I never follow to close or drive in packs

Because going 80 in a crazy cross wind with snow in the ground is your safest option?
Why not just increase your following distance and arrive alive?

 

no CB and auto braking on slick roads.

 

Driving to fast amd following to close???? Say it aint so!!! Who could have possibly guessed that??? I mean does it really take an investigation to tell that???

We all said that was the cause the first time we saw the videos.

 

Oh man. I never win anything. *POUTS.

HEEEEY I can sue the associated dispatchers for demanding the routing through Wyoming and the time of arrival in salt lake next morning 7 am without fail.

Accidents? Not my fault. RAM that truck though.

 

My sincerest condolences to friends and family of the deceased.
This just proves its serious business out there, boys. (And girls.)
Pass me out if you must, but I don't drive headlong into where I can't see.
They were in a hurry - to do that?

 

How in the hell can someone just sit there getting their precious youtube video while people (yes even truckers) are being wounded, maimed or killed? Simply driving ahead flashing lights wildly may have helped prevent a collision or two. That SOB should have been sodomized with that phone.... while someone taped it for a youtube post

 

Driving in packs isn’t really a problem, unless you do not have proper following distance, especially when the roads are wet or icy.

The real problem in the case of WY is that drivers tend to follow too closely when they are forced to drive slower than their usual speed, say, 50 mph on a 75 mph speed limit road because of congested traffic. So this behavior transfers to winter when roads are icy, particularly the left lane. Some drivers want to pass the vehicle on the right, but decide not to because the left lane may have more ice, the lanes can sometimes be difficult to distinguish, and plus they’ll need to drive faster to pass the vehicle. My point-of-view is that it’s okay to remain on the right lane and follow the pack, but increase your following distance and be alert for any sudden slow downs.

 

Come to think of it, another problem is that some drivers don’t know how to deal with icy roads. NEVER brake hard when the road conditions are wet, icy, snowy, or with packed snow. You can jackknife your equipment, and you may not be able to recover. Then the guys behind you will freak out, and there goes the domino effect. You want to start braking slowly and gradually increase the braking power while watching your equipment to see how it responds. Any signs of your trailer turning means you are braking too hard.

 

Which is exactly why you shouldn't run in packs, unless you're at the front. Don't be a Domino!

You can have all the following distance in the world. What you can't control is the clown behind, and right next to you. The guy next to you touches his brakes, slides his trailer into you or the ditch, and everyone behind is now in a panic.


I'm not perfect by any means, but I'll say avoiding the packs running nose to tail, side by side, has served me well over the years. Although it is getting harder to do here in Pennsyltucky with the increase in warehouses and more truck traffic.

 

I’m not proposing drivers should stay or leave a pack going through icy roads. Do what you gotta do, but be safe about it by having proper following distance and driving at a safe speed for the conditions. I’ve seen many driving really fast in the left lane, and it wouldn’t surprise me that these same guys are causing some of these accidents. Sometimes it’s best to remain in the right lane until the left lane clears a bit.