Snackbar is chillin'....at Shaffer

Epictetus said "It's not the thing itself that matters, it is our reaction to the thing"

You made a choice to join a carrier that runs freightliners equipped with 'nanny features'. You knew this going in, so allowing it to stress you out is a choice you are making. Fighting it is making things worse.

The truck is set up to shift at certain points. Yes, the computer is going to make dumb shifting choices - so be it. Roll your eyes and keep rolling. Without a manual override, calling for shifts is just going to confuse the computer. Learn what the truck wants to do and change your driving style to encourage the truck to do what you want it to. I always told my trainees that when I had a manual there was one idiot driving the truck, now with automatics there are two idiots driving the truck - me and the computer.

When the engine brake is off, the truck will generally wait until 900-1000 rpms before downshifting. With the engine brake on, it will downshift between 1300-1400. The truck doesn't know why you turned on the engine brake, it just knows that SSB wants to slow down, so it's trying to be useful. If the CMS detects an object within 4 seconds, and the driver has the engine brake engaged it is designed to kick things to high and create space. It is your own actions that are encouraging the truck to do things that piss you off. Plus using the jakes instead of the service brakes isn't some massive cost savings (outside of hill descents).

While you may think 300 feet is a safe following distance, every single Safety Critter does not. Since at least 1990, safety experts have recommended 1 second of following distance for every 10 feet of vehicle, plus 1 second if traveling over 45 mph. For a CMV, that means 7 seconds, or roughly 650 feet at 65 mph. Assuming the vehicle in front is a cmv, if the first truck slams on his brakes, it takes 1/4 of a second for the brake lights to activate and at least 1/2 second before the second driver reacts. If the second driver was following at 300 feet, he has covered 1/3 of the following distance before he begins to take action. If the driver is distracted, say by talking on the phone, reaction times are increased.

In short, if the following distance alert keeps popping off, you're following too closely.

 

I've become pretty good at just thinking of those things as white noise. I've never had them activate the jakes though, that would be concerning. I've been here a while and I know they start acting on vehicles at around 300', but never had one activate the jakes.

 

I agree with you. Don't sweat the small stuff. Change some habits.

 

What difference does it make if somebody slides into the gap? Let off the accelerator and slow down. Alarms don't go off with people cutting in front of you when they're going 5, 10 and 15 mph faster than you like most traffic tends to do around trucks. If you're trying to maintain a gap and pacing somebody and get riled up if somebody gets in front of you? That's different. Slow down and take it easy. Less stressful that way.

 

Pu in olathe?

 

Slowing down 5mph for a mile or two until everybody else moves on ain't the end of the world and won't make a difference on your miles either. But just carry on climbing up on that steering wheel and raging about it then.