Anything me (4 wheeler) can do to make things easier?

I took motorcycle training at Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario when I used to live there. At the end of the 3 days course one instructor said that "If every driver was forced to take this course in order to operate a car there would be far fewer accidents." I whole heartedly agree with him. The course was strict and there was a lot of information and guidance. I went into the course thinking it was going to be a drag of a weekend. I was very wrong. The instruction was very thorough, there was so much time on the bikes I could barely sit on the 3rd day, (Yamaha XT225 "enduro" bikes with barely any seat padding to speak of) and I even got hollered at a couple times. They teach you survival (every one is out to get you) and give tips (and enforce demonstration of them) that even experienced drivers may not think of. Probably about 25% of the class failed to get their beginner motorcycle license after that weekend. I was thankfully not among them.

I took driver training years earlier and might as well have slept through it with cotton in my ears. This was like going from kindergarten to boot camp.

Now, if there were simmilary tough measures everywhere in order to get a regular drivers license, I bet you could see a 75% drop of on the road stupidity. Or maybe a 75% drop of on the road ignorance rather. Stupid is something you can't fix no matter what the training. Its just far too easy to get a license in North America.

 

If possible , I will move over for merging traffic, especially if the person is signalling. Unfortunately, 75-95% of the time, we have someone running beside us that the 4-wheeler on the ramp can't see. They then proceed to show us their displeasure by honking, 'flipping us off', passing then cutting in front of us, etc. And don't expect me to let you over in a constuction zone when I have watched you pass 3-4 signs telling you to merge, but you insist on riding the lane all the way out!!! Or to let you over in front of me in rush hour traffic because you 'suddenly realized' that you were going to miss your exit. Exits are clearly marked a mile before the exit, get over then and just ride out the traffic.

 

I used to do some of this stuff when traffic loading was not so heavy, based on information I had been given drinking coffee in truckstops and asking drivers -- I do none of it now as those practices seem to be defunct except on low-traffic two-lanes

all I do now is take care of my own vehicle, leaving full-sized trucks enough room to do whatever they want thinking not screwing up on my own part is their #1 safety need whether they realize it or not

smaller trucks I just get away from them as those drivers do not seem to have the adroit skills the heavies do

passed over half of my written today, those "questions" really need to be thrown in a cesspool and a new question pool obtained that is written by real drivers who actually have to do it so I will state for record that ignorant questions on the written do not serve public safety

I have written the State Agency with jurisdiction to exactly that effect, softened for office manners

Experienced drivers may troll me on the matter as this is screwed up and we need to break it so that it gets fixed, the questions are so stupid I cannot even remember what they said.

 

Stay out of my blind spots & thanks for asking

 

Pretty much what everyone is saying, well, not the ones that say "GET OFF THE ROAD."
My requests: Don't use those stupid colored headlights... even on low beams they blind me.
PLEASE, do not do the slow down speed up thing. EX: Truck gets in hammer to pass, car speeds up, truck gets back over, car slows down. I will run you over the third time.

 

A couple things the 4 wheelers(and some big trucks) have been doing more and more of that drive me nuts.... One, if you really have to get around me in the left lane, PLEASE DONT HANG NEXT TO ME FOR THE NEXT 10 MILES, it makes me nervous as hell, and if there is a "gator" in my lane, or some other hazard which i may need to move over into that left lane to avoid, and you are preventing me from being able to leave myself a way out of a dangerous situation. Yes, i will back off the fuel if i have to, BUT MAKE UP YOUR MIND
IF YOU ARE GOING TO PASS OR NOT.


Now the other item...WTF are you in such a hurry for that you absolutely have to charge around me and cut me off to get to that exit ramp and slam on your brakes?? Is it worth those 2 extra seconds you are saving to get to that ramp, or traffic light to cause and accident? Dont blame me if you are late to sometning. Its your problem, not mine, if you couldnt leave your previous location a bit earlier. I usually keep on the lookout for people who would cut be off, but that next truck you decide to do that kind of stupidity with might not be as alert.

 

There are plenty of 4 cylinder imports making 500+ hp, and with a reasonable pipe, they can sound nice enough. But yeah, Civics with 150hp that can be heard for a mile and have 6 feet of siding across their trunk are retarded.

I think that driver training is a joke in the US. That's the real problem, along with people just being dumb and not paying attention to the situation around them. Some people should really be on a bus, as they're obviously not interested in driving.

 

You professional drivers certainly have a lot of pet peeves about merging and they're understandable...as long as the same rules apply to you when you're merging. Surely you don't expect me to let you in, right? But some of your ideas about road manners are pretty far-fetched. Let me give you an example: in my four-wheeler, I set the cruise on 65. I go 65 up the hills, I go 65 down the hills. But now somehow I'm the big problem because you go 45 up the hills and 85 down the hills and we keep passing each other? If you pull out into the hammer lane but can't get around me because of an incline, why is it my job to shut off the cruise and slow down to let you get by? Maybe you guys ought to just be patient sometimes like you're telling everyone else... Just my $.02!

 

Sure dont let us over, we're not worried our 80,000lbs trucks will move you over for us "oops sorry officer i didnt see the guy in his little Pink Mazda Miata"




American Trucker