Governed Truck Passing Etiquette

I'm a Swifty, so y'all know how fast I can't go.
Even though, I still pass trucks and 4-wheelies from time to time.
Usually not very quickly.

In over 2 years I'll bet that not more than 2 or 3 have slowed down a bit so I could get by more quickly, but several have sped up to match my speed as I get next to them.

I try to not be that way. It doesn't kill my time to drop a couple MPH for a minute to allow a safer pass.

 

i'm convinced that there are a ton of drivers out there that just don't like volvos, see i drive one thats set at 66. i'll catch up to them and they will do everything they can minus drop the trailer they are pulling to keep me from passing. that and i'm also convinced that CFI/Conway truck load drivers are fined $10 every time they turn the cruise control off, because i've yet to come up behind one that would even think of kicking it off just for a second or two to so other drivers could quickly get around them.

that said, if i see someone come up from behind me that's running faster, i kick off the cruise let them pass and reset it. it ain't no stock car race out there, and the few minutes i lose doing that over a 1400 mile run don't really hurt me. maybe it's just that i'm lazy and don't really give a f that i get passed.

 

This works in both ways.. if u know u can't pass in a good timing why not drop 2mph and hang back? Idont kick my cruise off for people cuz they wanna go that 1mph faster..

 

I said this in another thread, I will hang back and follow until I'm not blocking traffic, but I'm not going to follow you for a hundred miles doing that. In long term if I can average an extra 100 miles a week by going that one or two miles an hour, over the course of a year, that's extra money in my pocket. I also will slow down a bit for creeper, I have no problem with it.

 

On topic: I run wide open, and see the pain and misery of the governed truckers every day. Sometimes, if I see a 4-wheeler or other truck intentionally causing grief for a governed truck, I'll situate myself in a position so as when the truck tries to pass again, I slow down in the buggy lane and compel the offender to slow down too, allowing the pass to be completed. Not often, but occasionally I will do it. I did it for an Old Dominion truck on I-40W a few days ago. I followed him for about 10 miles watching as he kept trying to pass a real model citizen in a honda accord. Every time OD would get into the hammer lane, he'd get up next to the accord, and they'd hit the gas and zing by him. Not only that, but then as soon as he got back over into the horse & buggy lane, they'd slow right back down to 5 under the limit. It made me sick for that trucker, and finally I had enough and helped out a little. Not that it mattered much because about 30 miles down the road during a pit stop, I see him driving by the rest area really slowly, once again with the accord in front of him playing games.

Off topic: Did you notice the 4-wheelers behaving like impatient idiots? That mentality of "I'm behind a truck.... MUST PASS. MUST PASS. It doesn't matter that we're doing 20 over the speed limit... MUST PASS". Like the dingbats in the video, passing on the right only to find that the truck was going with the flow and keeping up with traffic, which then makes the 4-wheelers try to feign disinterest as they sidle up next to the truck, waiting for just a split second of gap so they can selfishly dart over in front of the truck leaving 6.5 inches of space between their minivan and 80k lbs of hurt.

That's trucking for ya. It'll never change, and sadly seems to get worse every year. More and more selfish motorists, and a total lack of enforcement against aggressive drivers... at least they have plenty of time to bust me for a missing valve-stem cap, or 2" of DOT tape that peeled away on the back of my sleeper.

 

and you don't because???

 

This. In my short time I've been on the road I've noticed you gotta give some to get some later. I'm governed at 62 and I will back off a mph or two if the truck passing me has a boat load of traffic behind him.

On a two lane highway in texas recently I counted seven trucks and two cars behind me. Speed limit was 70. When the shoulder widened enough I put on my four ways and moved over.

Now maybe I did the wrong thing there but i figured with nine vehicles stuck behind me I was simply allowing them all to safely pass and get on with it.

So you give some and take some. Honestly the only drivers I get to pass are usually in Stevens and Prime trucks.

unloader

 

Allot if new trucks are being equipped with that vorad anti collision radar. I just got one and it's a pain and kinda cool. I see how fast some one in front me is going. But it also ducks beside it will slow you down and if you get to close fast like say a semi or car it is a hard jolt when it cuts power.

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A 67mph truck will take 75seconds to pass a 65mph truck -- and that's if the 67mph truck builds a full trucklength before cutting over. No one is faults the faster driver in that case.

The OP talked about a pass taking 12 miles -- that equates to a 65.2mph truck passing a 65mph truck. In that case, the 65.2mph is clearly the bigger ####### in a 2 ####### race... He's hoping to go -- at most-- an extra 2.2 miles that day.

Barring an unusual circumstance, this cwtl driver backs off the moment a .5mph faster truck starts holding up traffic. If I see a faster truck hanging behind me, I'll even offer to drag my feet at the next opening in traffic.