how can a 4 wheeler best help an 18 wheeler?

You have the right idea, but we can't trust ANY 4 wheeler...
They flash lights for all sorts of reasons... AND then run up into your blind spots!

'Drafting' is ALWAYS a bad deal for the truck,
And your mileage 'Increases' are questionable at best due to turbulence the truck creates,
And it's DANGEROUS!

What REALLY upsets me is lights in my mirror when someone decides to 'Draft' at night.
It's basically like having a spot light popping in and out of a bathroom mirror in the dark screwing up my night vision and surprising/blinding me at the most in-opportune times!

I slow down for something on the shoulder or road, then the guy behind me gives me a blinding flash in the mirror while I'm trying to deal with the highway obstruction!

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Lane jamming is ILLEGAL.
It's good to let a big truck over in slow or stopped traffic, but technically it's illegal.

Remember, that guy is LOST!
He's looking for a street name or address, gets little or no notice the turn is coming, often doesn't know which lane he needs to be in until the last minute (Poor signs on the roads) and he may be trapped in the wrong lane, so letting a big truck over is a good thing.

More important is keeping the idiots behind you from rushing into the gap created when a truck is trying to make a right turn.
We often have to swing wide to the left to get the trailer around the corner, and I don't know how many times I've had people rush into that gap I need to make the turn...

Trucks speed up going down hills,
They slow down going UP hills...
Try to anticipate this and NOT be in the way when it happens!
Nothing like a truck restricted left lane with 80,000 pounds pushing you down a hill, and some idiot that won't drive the speed limit in front of you...
No chance to run off the extra speed and get a jump on the next hill since you have to grab brakes to keep the 'Gawker' from committing suicide under your truck,
Then you have to CRAWL up the next hill with everybody going around you giving you the finger and blowing horns while the doddering fool cruises on oblivious to the problems he created.

STAY OFF THE CELL PHONE!
2 in 3 drivers are on the cell phone (according to NHTSA) when they get into an accident or create an unsafe condition.
I think it's MUCH higher.

DOT study says you have to be 1-1/2 times the legal blood alcohol limit to be as dangerous as you are on a cell phone or texting,
And the NHTSA study came up with twice the legal alcohol limit as you are on a cell phone or texting.

The reason the ban hasn't happened on cell phones is because housewives use them, and housewives have 52% of the vote.
If they would go off like they did on drunk drivers, cell phones wouldn't work above about 25 MPH!
(same with backyard pools, cell phones while driving, ect.
A child is 1,100 times more likely to die in a backyard pool or while riding with a soccer mom on a cell phone than be killed by a drunk driver. source, national insurance council)

The BIGGEST problem I see with 4 wheelers in my daily duties is them stuffing into the space right in front of me,
Especially when traffic is slowing down and I need to stop!

These idiots jump in front and hit the brakes, then expect me to get stopped when they have cut my stopping distance in half!
When you see this, get the tag number and phone it in!
Probably won't do much, but at least they will be on record when they finally do manage to get hit and sue the truck driver...

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Your perspective should be on SAFETY when you drive.
The first three rules are,
1. DEFENSE
2. DEFENSE
3. DEFENSE

YOU have to anticipate what that idiot in front of you MIGHT do at any given time,
Everything from locking up the brakes to making a sudden turn to banging into the barriers on the sides of the road.

If you can't stop, YOU are at fault! So remember, it's in YOUR best interest NEVER to tail gate, even if the idiot wedged in front of your truck and slowed down,

NEVER take your eyes off anyone on the sides of the road until you are PAST THEM COMPLETELY... (they WILL drive into the sides of you! Right off the shoulder or side street directly into the side of you!)

NEVER ASSUME they saw you or won't pull out in front of you!
If you can't stop, even if they did the ugly, YOU are the one that gets sued by some ambulance chasing lawyer because you have at least 1 million in insurance...

I don't know how many times people have crossed the center line on me, pulled out in front of me, changed lanes in front of me then hit the brakes, swung wide into my lane when they pull out, ect.
You MUST be ready for it or it's your butt!

 

Why would you draft behind a tractor trailer anyway?This isn't Nascar,you can't see anything in front of you,and close is to close.I had never heard of this before this last email.It takes all kinds to get somewhere.A little kindness and respect goes a long way.

 

"cell phones wouldn't work above about 25 MPH!" - That feature is coming (unclear on what speed) but it is said the user will be able to turn it off. The phone does not need a GPS to make it work. It can also work by measuring doppler shift of the regular signals.

Truck drivers are not the only ones annoyed by texters and those engrossed in cellular calls. Believe me it annoys every 4-wheeler within 1/8 mile because we are just waiting for them to do something stupid and we don't know what that will be.

After reading so many posts here, paying attention to useful posts and "considering the source" on the few mental and high-horse rants, I know I have improved the way I drive around 18 wheelers. More drivers of personal vehicles, any kind, should read this board or one like it. None of this stuff is taught in driving class for the automobile license and the reasons for it are not understood.

As far as not trusting 4-wheelers; I don't trust anything with wheels if it's moving and I just stay away from it when possible.

 

how can a 4 wheeler best help an 18 wheeler?

1) stay off the roads

2) do not buy a car, truck, mini van, motorcycle, horse drawn carriage

3) stay on the sidewalks (if one must be out driving)

4) have common sense...like that's gonna happen

5) learn to depend on public transit

6) learn how to hail for a taxi cab

7) learn how to walk

8) live in a place like "Co-Op City" (in NY) where EVERYTHING is with-in walking distance

9) get a job where you do not need to go out

10) get cable, or FIOS, or Satellite so you do not need to go to the movies.

that's about as much as i can come up with on..."how can a 4 wheeler best help an 18 wheeler?"

 

I'll put my .02 in. When you see a sign says lane closed ahead get in the lane that is NOT going to be closed.If you make it to truckin' you will soon see what I mean,like probably day one.

 

Yeah,another thing!When we have a blinker come on that is not a x-mas decoration,it is on for a reason.It does not mean hit the nitros-oxide switch and come flyin' up along side of us trying to get around us before we can get over!

 

I keep seeing these humor posts, but it's the same joke every time!

 

Some good info in this thread. Couple things I wanted to point out:

First, on drafting:

note: hypothetical, amateur load vs. braking scenarios, but I think they'll get the point across. Specifics don't matter in this one.

Let's call this scenario A. You're piloting your minivan down I80, about 100 ft behind big brother up there, when he hits the brakes. Let's say he's deadheading, and without much weight on the tires, he can make the wheels stop, but that doesn't necessarily make the truck stop. This is worst-case scenario for him, best for you; his stopping distance is at its longest, you have all the time in the world to stop.

Here's scenario B: Same road, time, day, weather, truck and trucker, et cetera. You're back 100 feet. This time, he's hauling slabs of lead. He's at max weight, and with a load that dense, it's at the lowest possible center of gravity. That truck, well maintained and operated, STOPS. Your worst case, his best. Your grocery-getter, well maintained and operated, should be able to stop. But...

If you're going to stop in time for the worst-case scenario, you have to stomp on the brakes exactly enough to transmit the most hydraulic pressure to your calipers possible without locking up your wheels. You also have to do this as soon as you see red from that trailer. Anything less, or later, and you're trading paint, if not fluids. That being the case, you need to mash those binders that hard, and that soon, every single time you see brake lights, because the next time might be the worst case scenario. Are you going to come to a screaming stop every time somebody bumps the brake pedal accidentally while stretching? That's not worth any gas savings. Add to that the facts of life: trailers come unplugged, you might not get any brake lights at all; ice sneaks up on you when you're burning miles at night in the winter, you may not have the distance you think you have; when was the last time you replaced your pads/turned or replaced your rotors/flushed your brake fluid/slept? To stay alive, you plan for the worst and hope for the best. Anything less is compromising your life, no matter to what degree or to what end. Drafting isn't just less, it's the opposite.

Second:

I'm a four-wheeler. I drive to customer sites for work, and they're all over. I've got over a half million safe miles under my belt, and I'm in my early thirties. I did 2400 miles this weekend. I'm also attentive, cautious, and curious about the inner working of just about everything, the highway included. But even with my experience, my research, my logic, and every other stimuli to which I've been exposed, I still bear in mind one piece of information that overrules all others on this subject: THE HIGHWAY IS A PLACE OF BUSINESS. THESE MEN AND WOMEN ARE THE OPERATORS. YOU ARE, AT BEST, A CUSTOMER. DO NOT KCUF WITH THE OPERATORS. Seriously, do you go to a bar and call the bartender names? Maybe punch the guy who's about to remove your kid's tonsils? Here's a good one: give your barber a wedgie before he cuts your hair.

The old saying got to be old because it's true; if you bought it, a truck brought it. These people need us to get out of their way. Guess what: WE need us to get out of their way too.

It's not hard for two separate traffic patterns to exist on the same road, as long as there are more than one lane in each direction. These guys (and gals) are limited, whether it be by a governor on the truck, a different speed limit for vehicles exceeding a certain GVW, their own adherence to a certain speed for fuel mileage, or whatever, to a speed that's usually lower than ours. The old saw about "separate but equal" applies here. Passenger vehicles should maintain a speed in a passenger vehicle range, let's say 65-75 in a 70mph zone. Our big brothers, on the other hand, have a 60mph limit in that area, so they're all between 55 and maybe 62 (depending on the local bear population). The ranges may sometimes overlap, and some cars may end up going the same speed as the professionals, but if that's the case, they'll never see each other unless one enters the highway near the other. The important things here are consistency, predictability, and sanity, all contributing to safety. With you consistently going your speed and them going theirs, everybody can guess much more reliably as to what the other is going to do in a given situation. And it's those situations we need to plan and prepare for.

Trucks and cars don't mix. I'm not talking about sharing roads, I'm talking about trying to physically combine one with the other. It has been attempted thousands of times, but it almost always ends badly for everybody involved. You can help keep a smooth, slightly faster flow of cars going past a more professional, more productive, and more organized, if slightly slower, flow of trucks if you give up on trying to make your car think it is one, skip the part where you try to get your car to mate with one, and just scoot on about your business understanding and accepting the fact that you're in a car, and behaving accordingly.

Also, as an aside: exactly how much sympathy for your awful fuel economy do you think you're going to get from people who do 600 miles a day at 7mpg when they're going downhill with a tailwind?

 

What can a 4 wheeler do to help?

My biggest pet-peeve is merging. A turn indicator means I want to merge left or right. It doesn't mean pass me to the left or right. Other pet-peeves:

If I merge my 60 mph truck into the hammer lane, there's a reason why I want that lane. Don't pass me to the right and run into the reason why I merged left.

Also along these same lines:

If I merge left to let you on the freeway, have some courtesy and let me back over. Don't pass me to the right and leave me out to dry in the hammer lane.

Drafting only helps for vehicles that are the same size. It's the same deal with airplanes. If you're behind me in a 4-wheeler, your mpg will actually decrease because you'll be going through wake turbulence.

If we're on city streets, please give me room when I need to make a right turn. My truck is 75' long and doesn't turn on a dime.

This goes out to other truckers as well. I have more issues with idiot truckers than I do with idiot 4 wheelers.

On a related side-note, I got stuck on a accident on the 285 bypass through Atlanta yesterday that had all but one lane open. As nobody knew what a left turn signal meant, I used hand signals to get traffic to yield. Selfish drivers who want to get around a truck or other traffic is the reason why standstills happen. Even if the highway is down to one lane; if everyone had some common courtesy traffic would never need to come to a complete stop on the freeway.

 

my biggest peeve besides the cell phone........... TURN THOSE F*%*#&* ()*% headlights on in the rain!!! this goes for cars and truckers. here is what the cars fail to understand..........

you have all been passed by a semi in the rain. light rain or heavy rain, it does not matter.you all have seen the massive amount of spray that the drive tires expel from the road.

what i see in my side mirrors......heavy rain in the afternoon, the sky is gray or even black due to the storm, my tires are throwing the spray everywhere, you are sneaking up on me on the right side with no lights on at all. you are in a gray car. do you people have any idea how deadly this situation can be if you happen to be in a blind spot that the driver can not see? we can not see everything in the mirrors. sometimes we are lucky and have a passenger in the jump seat and that helps tremendously.

in that situation, you might as well not even be on the road. your lights and i mean headlights, not parking lights are critical for your survival to alert me and every other driver out there that you are on your way through that cloud of mist and water from the tires.

either stay clear of me or pass me efficiently and quickly and get out of the way. dont get 3 feet past my bumper then throw on the signal and take up the spot right in front of me. as it was stated time and time again, 80,000 pounds will turn your car into a pinball if it were to be hit. if you are lucky, you just might end up spinning down in the grass or in to the guardrail. worst case is you die.

get the point?

we are not out there for the fun of dealing with traffic and the elements. we are out there doing our job so each and everyone of us can live and have the things we need delivered.

seen the sticker on the trucks that say Good Stuff.....Trucks Bring It?

have a nice day.