Why do people speed up when you try to pass them?

Very simple. They're contentious. It engraved in their autonomic brain (brain stem). They react that way. Respond that way. Live their lives contentious.

 

The super two lanes are horrible for this behavior. Idiots lollygag on the two-lane stretches, take off like you hit them in the ### with Muleskinner's Lightning Stick when there's a passing lane, and blow through the towns at 10+ over the limit.

So you have to fight like hell to get around them, only to have them fly past in the next town. I pretty much refuse to run US54 in SW Kansas because of this crap. I'll jump up to 56 and enjoy a much less stressful drive, even if it takes a bit longer.

 

The one that gets me is I am driving at 71 mph come up on a line of big trucks get in the hammer lane and then another truck will cut me off to pass the truck in front of him and barely can get by the truck heck sometimes after trying for 5 miles or better will give up and pull back to the right

 

Try driving a Mack and blow past a Pete!

 

Never had any of these problems back in my chicken haulin daze.
All those white Volvos and Crapcadias saw was a streak of chicken lights fly by and their windshields hit with chicken juice from that shiny hiney!
Hammer down!

 

Aint no plastic or duct tape truck that has tons of torque. My 3406 does. They might drive faster than me on a flat road, because they are trying to get where they are going before the ELD runs out, but when it comes to a hill, that old cat will walk away from your choked up truck with an automatic transmission.

 

that’s all fine and dandy if somebody else is paying the fuel bill! And of course running any engine harder than necessary will shorten its time to rebuild. Sure You can have a little fun for a minute and give it the beans to get out of a jam up but other than that smooth and easy and treat her like a lady.

 

you can spec big power in anything, it’s just super uncommon to see a plastic fleet truck that way unless it’s speced for triples or turnpike doubles. Really isn’t necessary for 80k on-highway use. Same with the 13 and 18 speed Fuller transmissions. Nice to have but cheap companies ain’t paying for that when they are placing an order for dozens of trucks.