What does running hard mean to you?

Until you've done it, it's hard to explain. If you get into driving, you find out the first time you can't go to sleep, but can't drive because your 11 hours is up. And you'll really feel it the next day, when you were only able to sleep 4 hours before your 10hr break is up, and your dispatchers is expecting you to drive.

What's your excuse? You had 10 hours off. So you should be rested. What the safety departments and the DOT think, is not even close to reality.

 

I've seen all kinds of oversize loads. Some with just a bit hanging off the end and others with overhang on all sides. But no, I have never driven any nor a tractor-trailer for that matter. It was more of a question anyway.

But when have you ever driven for 11hrs being able to run the speed limit the whole way? As I pointed out, that's 72mph average for that distance. I mean, if you are saying that you log legal and all that, shouldn't you also be following the LAW and obeying all speed limits?

I'm sorry but anybody that says they can handle a loaded tractor-trailer(heavy or not) at 75mph the same way they can a car, is fooling themselves and lucky enough to have not killed somebody yet.

"A large truck traveling at 75 mph requires​

approximately one-third longer to stop compared with one traveling at 65 mph" Which already takes about 300ft.

THAT is the general public's perception and the reason for all the laws you guys talk about all the time.

 

Well also some states permits require oversize loads to go a certain max speed or a certain amount of mph under posted limits.


Joe

 

Lexmark

There's lots of space on those interstates. Its about space. And those states have plenty. Many of the vehicles will be traveling faster than the speed limit. Which makes it even easier. I wasn't there and that's just my opinion from what I have seen. I'm not trying to bash you. Just trying to explain based on my experience.

 

And here you see the root of the problem. The general public American public cannot drive well enough or have enough knowledge about their own vehicles to even be on the highways. Sure, it's big news when a truck wipes out, but I see a fatal car accident every single day. Instead of spouting off on things that you thought you knew about, why not educate yourself?

Go to a highway where the speed limit is marked at 70 mph. Watch a cop set up in the median. Count the number of cars that slam hard on the brakes and nosedive when they see the cop. Compare it with the number of trucks. It doesn't matter if the car was going under the speed limit, they will STILL slam on the brakes and cut into lane farthest from the cop. Most of the time, nothing happens. In inclimate weather however, the stupid things that people do in cars get them killed. Even a brand new rookie driver doesn't slam on the brakes and make a lane change when he sees a cop.

the general public for the most part, drive around basically blind. They do not have proper control of their vehicles and are a danger to themselves. And contrary to what the politicians tell you and slick lawyers tell you, the vast majority of truck/ car accident was caused by the car.

Until the general public is educated, and held accountable...just as truckers are, there will never be a safe highway in America. Welcome to the reality. But they don't want to do that, do they? Why not? My guess is that it's the government's unofficial way of population control.

Sound crude? Well, if a driver cuts his wheel and ditches his rig, he's done. No one will hire him. When the cops show up, and the driver explains what happens, the cops ask the driver about the whereabouts of the car. He was supposed to hit the car? Instead of cutting his wheel, absolutely.

If big brother was really concerned about safety, the law would say in metro areas THROUGH TRAFFIC KEEP LEFT. ATraffic entering and exiting the interstate would flow much more freely. But instead, they bottleneck the through traffic into the right lanes, cars have to run through 2 lanes of traffic to get into the fast lane, and then dive across 2 lanes of traffic to exit. And they get smashed. Every single day, we see it. Easily preventable, but no one in office really cares about safety, do they?

 

Yep! Agree! 800 miles a day ain't sheet.....lol!

 

I get what you mean about space so I guess, since i've never driven elsewhere, I will try to limit my arguments to what I've seen east of the Mississippi. I will hold to the point however, that no matter where you are, you cannot control/handle a fully loaded 18-wheeler with the same amount of dexterity as a small car when traveling at higher speeds.

 

I see those "Through traffic" signs all over the place. Also, what says you have to move over into the fast lane as soon as possible and stay there until your exit? More people, including the all mighty truck driver, should be a little more content to enjoy life a little bit more and hang back in the "slow lane"(also the lane more likely to contain drivers obeying the rules of the road). Might cut down on the stess level just a bit. Keep one out of an early grave.

I think this thread states pretty succintly the point I was making about drivers complaining about other drivers. Not too mention some of my other ones.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...everything/177563-seriously-come-on-guys.html

 

Confucious say- He who runs hard and falls, become inadvertent pole vaulter.
and also 600+ miles/day

 

Really? Where are these signs? The only signs you see are the ones that say NO TRUCKS LEFT LANE, especially on the east coast. The first lie the government told you was that all men were created equal. If all men were equal, could anyone excel? Because you dont think something is right or can be controlled, that doesnt mean it is uncontrollable, does it? Just because you cant do it doesnt mean its impossible or unsafe. You cant do brain surgery. You cant throw a football like Dan Marino. You are not a driver. You think the safest thing to do for everyone to drive like you. Typical general public 'cant walk and chew gum' thought. You have the crab mentality.

Drivers have a term they use, called 'big truck drag racing'. We've all seen it...a 65 mph truck attempts to pass a 64.5 mph truck. Thats not passing, thats a rolling roadblock. Safe? Not hardly.

"Wait, if you governed all trucks down to 55...."

Then you would have a 55 mph truck with 20000 lbs trying to pass a 55 mph truck with 25000lbs. And the slower they go, the harder it is for anyone, car or truck to get on the highway. How so? 8 second rule...the following distance is much closer at slower speed. Traffic everywhere would grind to a halt.

"Well, perhaps they should make it illegal for trucks to pass each other."

And a truck rolls down the road with 300000 lbs. And the other trucks wont be able to pass. He runs 15-20 mph up hill. And traffic everywhere grinds to a halt. Or a drunk does the typical drunk thing, and matches speed with a slow moving trailer. Guess you dont remember the old Ohio gridlocks. Took 6 hours by car to run from Cleveland to Cincinati because of the huge rolling roadblocks.

I noticed that you chose to ignore my point about how all motorists should be held to the same standards as truckers. Health cards, log books, vehicle inspections...etc. Why? Safety. Remember when everyone jumped on the sue Toyota bandwagon when the throttle got stuck? Thats operator error. Someone didnt read the owners manual of the car. Who's responsibility is it to read the owner's manual? I have to be able to fully understand how to operate my vehicle, all motorist should be required the same.

The other was the Ford Explorer/Firestone mess of a decade ago. Every one of us have watched the general public fly down the highway with underinflated tires. Get the tires hot and they come apart. The first thing a car owner does is hit the brakes, which makes the car turn sideways at highway speed, top heavy vehicle, roll and eject family members at highway speed.

Its funny when a car owner doesnt check his tires before getting out on the bigroad, when he kills his family, he looks for someone else to blame. after all, 'someone else has to be at fault. Cant be him. He wouldnt kill his wife and kids. It must be the auto manufacturer! Maybe even the tires! If only there was a big truck around...we could blame him! Wait, theres one travelling on the other side of the interstate! He has to be responsible for this tragedy! I know...if he wasnt there, I wouldnt have seen the glare off my windshield which caused my tires to blow!'

Truck blows a steer, even a rookie knows not to hit the brakes. A rookie! Unbelievable.

I saw a guy in a motorhome rolling down White Oak Mountain. The guy set the cruise and got out of the driver's seat and walked to the back. The motorhome went flying out into the woods. Do you know, MrGeneralPublic, that the guy tried to sue the dealer who sold him the motorhome because a salesman told him that this motorhome will practically drive itself.