A note to 4 wheelers

I won't have time to monitor this thread but please, other drivers add to it as you see fit. It was suggested I copy this from my thread to here.
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This is something I’ve been thinking about as I drive around this country and see some of the things folks in cars do out there. I wish I could put this on the back of every trailer I tow.
If 4 wheelers knew just this one thing, it might change how they see Big Rigs and how they drive around them.

If a Big Rig hits you it won’t just slam into you like you see with cars. It WILL ROLL OVER YOU AND CRUSH YOU LIKE A BEER CAN!!

4 Wheelers, DON’T BE A BEER CAN!!

It takes more than a football field to stop a fully loaded Tractor Trailer doing 55 on a FLAT DRY ROAD. When you pass us, DON’T pull right back in front of us. If you hit your breaks suddenly we CAN’T Stop before CRUSHING YOU LIKE A BEER CAN.

When you’re behind us and your exit is coming up, is it really worth risking your life (and the lives of others) to pass us and then dart across our bow to your exit to save .5 seconds?? Stay behind us for that half second longer and DON’T BE A BEER CAN!!

When coming onto a highway LOOK AS YOU APPROACH for an open spot and adjust your speed accordingly. We can’t always move over. Get off the dam phone and pay attention because when you come up on our side and drive under our Tandems, YOU’VE JUST BECOME A BEER CAN!!

You’re always complaining about how slow our trucks are and yet you’ll pass us and then slow down. It takes a LONG time for us to get up to highway speeds when pulling 20 TONS on FLAT roads! Even longer on hills. Be patient because after all, we’re more than likely hauling the products you’re rushing to the store to buy!

You may wonder why we’re doing 65 (or less) in a 70 or 75 MPH zone and even curse us for it when you can’t get around us. MOST of our trucks are governed to those lowers speeds so we have no choice. We make our living by the mile. Do you really think we wouldn’t go 70 or 75 when it’s safe to do so if we could???

When traveling or stopped behind us at a light, PLEASE don’t get so close that you can’t see our mirrors. If you can’t see them, we CAN’T see you. When starting off on a hill, if we roll back you’ve just become a BEER CAN! We’re trained to not roll back but it can and does happen. How many of you that drive a manual transmission “never” rolled back a little when starting off on a hill?? Try it with 20 TONS pulling you backwards!!

That BIG SPACE you see in front of us between us and the next car is NOT FOR YOU TO FILL IN!! it’s that FOOTBALL FIELD we need to stop so you DON’T BECOME A BEER CAN!!!

When you see two trucks taking up both lanes as one is SLOWLY passing another, be patient. One truck is governed at 62 and the other at 63 or one is hauling more weight than the other. It might not seem like much to you but WE MAKE OUR LIVING BY THE MILE bringing YOU your products. On a 2500 mile trip, YES that ONE mile an hour makes a difference and helps us provide for OUR families a little better.

We drive long hours and long miles to deliver EVERYTHING you’ll ever buy. Many of us LIVE in these trucks for months on end and don’t see OUR families for that time. PLEASE!! Try to have a little respect, a little patience and most of all, SAVE YOURSELVES FROM BECOMING A BEER CAN!!

You get to go home every night. If it takes a few minutes longer than you’d like, try to remember the driver of that BIG RIG probably hasn’t seen their family for days, weeks or months!

Pay attention out there and stay alive when you drive!! We REALLY don’t want you to BECOME A BEER CAN!!

 

Who said I pass with Traffic all around? I might start that pass with no one in sight but a car doing 75 when I'm doing 65 catches up rather quickly...no? Perhaps you're just upset that a Swift truck can't pass anyone?

Yep, I use those products too (when I can afford to...lol). I wasn't singling out 4 wheelers.

I don't roll back but I see it happen out there. Sorry if my trying to educate the public of the danger of getting too close offends you somehow. Glad you have all those warning devices to help you not do it. Sounds like you may need them.

Perhaps we can't all be as perfect as you "Swift drivers". But at least I've made an attempt to help educate the "general public" about being around big trucks on the road. What "exactly" (other than run around this forum picking folks apart), have YOU done??

The whole point of this was to try and help folks who don't know what we do about big trucks be a little safer out there. You've added to that effort quite nicely. Thanks!