Am i at fault for using common sense.

"bend like reed in wind"...

I always knew that KungFu show would come in handy someday...

 

Actually it is called covering your ###, they will likely tell you to just make the u-turn when it is safe to do so, but at least you have covered your ### prior to said turn. CYA

 

Common sense says that if a truck is passing you 1/2 mph faster than you are traveling, then back off slightly on your speed so said trucker can complete the pass efficiently and not block traffic. Allow that truck to get ahead of you a safe distance then resume your governed speed. I do this many times a day, it's not a big deal.

At night if a truck starts initiating a pass and I can tell he/she is going to take a long time to pass, I'll flash my lights a couple times to let them know I'm going to slow down (or tap the brakes to get out of cruise). After they are ahead safely I'll turn off my headlights for a half second to be polite and let them know they are safely clear so the vehicles that are waiting can get through.

It's all about being polite and looking out for the other folks on the road. If I'm doing everything I can to help everyone else get to their destination safely and comfortably, then the odds are I'll probably get to my destination safely and comfortably.

 

Interesting. 12 page thread because a trainer wanted to get brownie points with a company that might fire him tomorrow for no reason at all.

 

Agreed. Common sense also says that if that truck 1/2 mile ahead of you was a mile ahead of you an hour ago there's no point in getting any closer unless you're going to speed up.

 

You know, you guys, people that don't know anything about trucks ask me quite often, because they know i am/ was a truck driver, why those trucks go out to pass and take forever to do so, and hold everybody up. I then have to explain about the govenors, that these people never heard of, and the passee(word?) is too stupid to back off a little to let the passer make their pass. What's the mentality there? If I saw someone struggling to make a pass, I'd always let off and let them go, and visa versa. Times sure have changed.

 

What's really pitiful is after following a couple of these roadblocks for 5 miles or more across NE at 10 or more mph under the speed limit, when one of them finally does clear the other, some trainer or other has apparently instructed them that they need at least a quarter mile of clearance between themselves and the other truck before they can clear the left lane! Just wait and see the debacle if they pass a law mandating speed limiters and no truck has any reserve speed to make a pass! It'll be infuriating on the Interstates and extremely dangerous on the secondary roads when a pass can't be made in a reasonable distance. Safety? I don't think so....

 

Hi pupeperson, Huge 10-4. I never thought speed limiters were a good idea. Obviously, thought up by some pencil pusher that hasn't a clue what it's like to drive a truck. I worked for a company that ordered 5 new Louisville Fords with that boat anchor of a motor 270hp L-10. The drivers were outraged. When we confronted the boss, saying, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? He said, the salesman promised us 8-10 mpg. We all laughed, he was serious. They were horribly underpowered, and the mileage never was 8mpg. I was getting paid by the hour, so if they wanted me to go 50mph, fine. Me? I'd give my driver a 500hp motor. No less. Get 'er done, down and up!

 

[QUOTE="semi" retired;3999989]You know, you guys, people that don't know anything about trucks ask me quite often, because they know i am/ was a truck driver, why those trucks go out to pass and take forever to do so, and hold everybody up. I then have to explain about the govenors, that these people never heard of, and the passee(word?) is too stupid to back off a little to let the passer make their pass. What's the mentality there? If I saw someone struggling to make a pass, I'd always let off and let them go, and visa versa. Times sure have changed.[/QUOTE]

Common courtesy is a 4-letter word as is common sense in the "I"..."ME" world we live in today semi-retired....it just doesn't exist anymore , I guess there isn't enough time to do what's right and what's safe.....

 

THE worst aspect of making a pass in a governed truck is when you initiate the pass and get next to or are pulling just ahead of another truck, they suddenly "discover" they have a LITTLE more speed and either hold you in the hammer laneor start pulling ahead. Not sure if these folks aren't on cruise control and have an unsteady foot or whether the synapse between their two brain cells has a short, but this is a surefire way to maximize hazard.