Just before I lose my mind

Oh my, Abe again.................

 

That's the thing - the driver did not accept the load, and quit his job.

 

Perception, Perception, Perception!!
Here in the wild Wild West (sarcasm) things are no different, rice rockets trying to qualify for world land speed records on local highways, cars and pickups passing only to turnoff at the next exit, and my favourite last week was being passed on single lane highway by a loaded gravel truck and wagon, apparently me bobtailing at the speed limit (60mph) wasn't fast enough. And the only thing those obnoxious straight pipe motor bikes do is piss me off, I can't turn the stereo up enough to drown out that racket. You want respect? Try being courteous and that means not trying to deafen me, cut me off or other ridiculous tactics that jeopardize both of our safety.
So keep your 6 million hp trucks and 0-100 mph in 4 sec Tri Drives and try being a professional, those are the guys that draw biased unwanted spot light on one of the hardest working, honest profession.
For most of us this isn't some kind of reality show, it's how we pay our bills and try to make a life for ourselves and our family.

 

how many times has anyone seen a police officer come by you either talking on his phone or tapping on his in car computer, I have seen this repeatedly

 

IMHO the ONE thing that would make all of us much safer and give a better reputation for the trucking industry is to:

STOP TAILGATING

I lose count of how many truck drivers I see within a fraction of a second of passenger vehicle, as if they have absolutely no clue about the laws of physics. "No Vern, you can't really push that car any faster from air pressure".

If we simply stopped with the tailgating that would result in a significant reduction of complaints about the industry and huge reduction in accidents, injuries, and fatalities.

Would LEO's ever enforce a tailgating law? From the way they go all dog-greeting-butt-sniffer on other vehicles on the road I highly doubt it.

IMHO driving fast is fine. Tailgating is NOT.

 

There are tailgating laws now.
There are plenty of traffic laws now that don't get enforced.
Enforce the current traffic laws, on all vehicles. Period.
The car drivers will whine.
Truckers will whine.

Just because you have been driving a long time doesn't mean you are a safe or good driver.
When the excrement finally hits the fan, you may end up in prison, or at least unable to work as a trucker again.
(And they should be yanking licenses from more of the 4 wheelers, also)

 

If you have to drive fast/speed to make time/$ your doing it wrong.

 

I agree with the tailgating thing it happens to me everyday.That and running up a hill with three lanes in the middle lane at 30 mph,What kind of people are driving these trucks now a days?Some of the dummest people on earth are driving these trucks with no idea which way is up.

 

I think they need to hold all drivers,.. not just truckers,.. to the same standards.

No you cant force 4 wheelers to run logs. But new vehicles (I know my Silverado has this) where there are settings for up to 4 drivers, remembers seat and mirror positions. If they can do this, they can monitor for how long the driver has been behind the wheel. Most new vehicles all have some form of GPS tracking built in, whether enabled or not. They still have it. My Silverado has On Star,.. same thing.

No hand held cell phone use, no texting or anything other then hands free communications. So many people driving distracted. I'd guess at least 75 - 80% of the people on the road that I see every day are driving distracted. This includes other truckers. I cant tell you how many truckers I see with the phone up to their ear, writing on a note pad, making a sandwich,.. yes I have seen that more then once. Laptop on the dash watching a movie. I watched a female driver putting hair curlers in her hair.

When all drivers are held equally accountable,.. I think then we can start to see a change.

Hurst