4-Wheeler Mistakes

impatience is exactly right, do you think being a bumper sticker is going to make my truck faster? i wish, my truck runs 70-71ish , i cant help if i come up on a truck that runs 68-69 its going to take a min or 2 to get around, so dont show me who is number one after you pass me and dont try and pass on the right because i dont move right over, i dont cut other trucks off...

and PLEASE do the speed limit, nothin more i hate is a car doing 55 in a 65

i was toolin around NC this morning 70mph speed limit and cars going 60-65 , i go though VA 65mph speed limit and i cant hardly catch anyone...

 

This is the one thing that irritates me the most--seeing someone stop passed the line!

 

I see this all the time:

A car is coming down the on-ramp to merge on the interstate. I'm in the far right lane, and I can't move over one lane because there's a car to my left.

And here this fool has a cellphone stuck in the ear, slowly, slowly, coming in to merge, and then at the last second they look . . . .

OH MY GOD ITS A TRUCK!!!!! At this point they either have to floor it and get around me or slam on the brakes and fall in behind me.

So anoying and dangerous. Happens all the time. If there's three lanes in the busy areas, I hang out in the midle lane because of these yahoos.

 

I so agree with you! The cell phone is the cause of a lot of wrecks cause they dont pay attention.

 

Cell phones are becoming a pain in the patootie anymore. This weekend I was driving through a parking lot, and some bozo was walking across the lot... cell phone up at his ear... yacking away. During my brief time getting parked, two cars almost hit him as he mindlessly stepped right out into the traffic lane from between rows of parked cars. Amazingly, he continued on, never breaking stride and totally oblivious to the cars moving around him.

I wanted to get out of the car, grab the phone from his mitt, and smack him upside the head. "Now -- PAY ATTENTION, you clown..."

 

No matter how mad they make you, always keep in mind you are driving an 80,000 lb weapon. It's a lot easier on your blood pressure if you just slow up for a bit and let them get away from you.

I used to do Chicago every day. Drivers would be on the radio cussing up a storm at all the "stupid four-wheelers". I always tried to do Chi-town at night, but occasionally had to play in traffic while the orange ball was up.

When the traffic would get snarly and the four wheelers would play switcheroo from lane to lane, I'd put her in first gear and let it idle in the second thru-lane... The traffic ahead of me would be doing the accordian, and I'd just plod along at 3 mph--never had to touch my brakes once.

 

My list, as experienced in daily traffic on all sorts of freeways and surface streets in Phoenix, AZ:
1. A car comes flying up behind me, passes me, cuts directly in front of my truck, and then literally SLAMS on their brakes to make a right hand turn. This moron (happens on a daily basis, not an uncommon occurence) could just wait a few SECONDS.
2. I'm on a major surface street. A car comes up to a stop sign, only slows down enough to maneuver the vehicle onto the street, positioning it directly in front of me. They don't stop at the stop sign, they see the truck coming and instantly the "there is an annoyance coming my way, must get in front of it" light comes on in there "brain", regardless of the fact that I will have to slam on my brakes or do very heavy braking in order to avoid toasting the person in that car. Well, not exactly. Years of driving have conditioned me to expect people to make this extremely STUPID maneuver, and I prepare for it in advance.
3. I'm in the third lane of a 12 lane freeway (6 lanes on either side). I am cruising at freeway speeds - read, the speed limit. For whatever reason, a car decides they want in my lane. So, that vehicle comes barreling up beside me, cuts in front of me, and then has to slam on their brakes in order to avoid hitting the car in front of them. Of course, that causes me to have to slam on my brakes and hope I don't run into it.
Of course, I have to qualify that as well. It's the same thing as number 2, I have seen this stupid, assinine maneuver 1,000's of times, I expect car drivers to do this at this point and react accordingly long before it happens. Why do you think there is that "big space" in front of a truck? For you to stick your vehicle into? Don't you people realize (obviously not) that a fully loaded truck needs a LOT of space to slow down in if a sudden braking event occurs in front of that truck?
4. I'm going through the gears, getting up to cruising speed. A car decides it wants in my lane. Cars, of course, accelerate much faster than trucks (in reference to starting on a green light from a dead stop). The driver of that car sticks that thing right in front of me, and then SLOWS DOWN, RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY TRUCK. WHAT is THAT all about? I want to go the speed limit, this idiot decides they do not.
5. Cars in general cutting across 3, 4 and 5 lanes of traffic at the last possible second, cutting off everyone, not just trucks, causing all kinds of vehicles to slam on their brakes in order to avoid a collision.
6. Mostly specific to freeway driving, where a lane runs out. There is ample signage displaying the fact that that lane is ending, merge left. The operative word is MERGE. I have had cars come flying up on the right, where the lane has finally ended, cruise in the emergency lane to get past my truck. In rush hour traffic, it's far worse. 10 vehicles think they are going to get past me on a lane - their lane - that is all but ended. The attempt to fly by my truck and then cut me off, which ultimately means slamming on their brakes to avoid colliding with the car that is now in front of them. At this point, I simply don't let them cut me off, not in rush hour traffic where the rate of speed is 5 mph. It's unecessary, needless and just plain stupid. My truck is keeping up with the traffic in front of me, I am not in the fast lane and usually reserve my travels to the farthest 2 right lanes.
7. Cars playing games with trucks on Interstate Highways. I don't understand this ****. I've seen it many times - I don't know if these people just hate trucks or what. They'll cut in front of a truck on an otherwise open highway and start playing speed up and slow down games with the truck it's toying with. You're toying with your life, is all your doing. Just go to youtube and do a truck crash search. Find some of the videos of crushed cars - with crushed people inside of them. Heck, just do a google on the image search and do the same thing, you'll see plenty of "nice" pictures of cars that don't look like cars anymore. 40 tons against 2 isn't a pretty picture.
8. All the rest of it. Too much to list. There simply is no respect on the roadways anymore for trucks. People have meetings to get to, work, dinner engagements, they MUST do WHATEVER it takes to get there on time, regardless of the potential consequences.
Another pet peeve of mine for any driver including truck drivers is talking on cellphones and driving at the same time. Some drivers can do it, MANY - CANNOT. There IS nothing more important to do while driving your vehicle than - DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE. People get so engrossed in their phone conversations that the concept of concentration on your driving is totally lost. I have watched this stuff too much - I equate it with drunk driving - the erratic and dangerous moves made by drivers who simply are incapable of doing both at the same time are scary to watch.

Well, I guess one final pet peeve (I have a list) is people who are sitting at stop lights and don't appear to have any clue what is going on, becausee when the light turns green, they are just SITTING there. This is ESPECIALLY annoying when you are in a left hand turn lane with "turn on green arrow only", and the driver at the front of the line just STARTS to move their vehicle halfway through the light cycle, meaning a LOT of vehicles behind that person that could have made the turn are now going to have to sit through another entire light cycle.

 

I miss my automatic car because of this. I normally ride in the slow lane unless it's a city street where vehicles are merging. I'm doing 120 down the 401 and this wanker in the passing lane is doing 100. I come up and then at the last second he realizes he's not to be in the passing lane and switches lanes in front of me so that I have to slow down, hit the brakes and then downshift and then switch lanes and pass him. That and people who make an effort to cut in front of any vehicle that is going at a good pace only to lead the way doing 10-20 Km under the speed limit. I can forgive trucks because they are a pain in the ### to merge in traffic with, but for cars there's no excuse.

 

i don't think it's terribly unusual that as a 4-wheeler, i have a list of gripes that 4-wheelers do to other motorists, including truckers... 4-wheelers are the least educated and least regulated but are the vast majority of the road. i'm with you guys on stuff like split limits, why does a MORON who demonstrates his lack of ability for driving multiple times per trip get to run faster than a professional driver? i don't get that...

but trooperrat, your comments above really struck a nerve with me, i'm totally in agreement.

first of all, they're willing to take any risk and do anything they have to to get to their destination on time, even if it kills someone... well, anything short of LEAVING THE HOUSE AT A REASONABLE TIME TO ACCOMODATE TRAFFIC CONDITION!!!

and second, on the smell fone stuff... i will not talk on a phone while driving unless i have hands free, and even then i usually opt to take the call later. scientific studies have shown that the average driver, regardless of their driver training, when put into an 'important' call situation while behind the wheel have slower response times and less situational awareness than a 16 year old drivers' education student.

Think on that for a minute... if legislation were made that bans cell use w/o handsfree, or at all for the driver of the car, i'd probably support it.

 

Well HOPEFULLY one day fate will reward him for this level of stupidity.