Maverick Driver general bs thread

Well played, sir... Very well played.

 

I am sitting here bored waiting to get loaded, and wrote a really long piece that I shared on Facebook about trucking. I was hoping it would help some people understand why we do some of the things we do, and give them some interesting info. I thought I'd post it here and see what you guys thought... or give you the chance to yell at me if you don't like it LOL.



DID YOU KNOW...?


Having been driving a semi truck for a little over a year now, I've come to realize that a lot of the problems that happen between truck drivers and the rest of the drivers out there are a result of the general public just not knowing what it takes to drive a big rig, and why we do some of the things we do.


So, I decided in my spare time to write this little piece here to help educate at least some of the people out there about trucks, why the drivers do some of the things we do, and how it all works. Some of this stuff you may already know, and some of it may really surprise you. Most of this info should be required learning before obtaining a drivers license, since some of it may save your life one day. And then some of it is just some general info that you might find interesting.


I don't have a ability to send this info to everyone, as useful as it is. But I can at least post it here on Facebook and maybe, with a little sharing here and there, at least a few people will read this and maybe be a little more tolerant and patient when it comes to trucks. So here goes.


Did You Know...

- That according to an American Trucking Association study, 81% of all accidents involving trucks were caused by the error of a driver of a passenger vehicle, not the truck driver.

- That in any given accident involving a big rig and at least one passenger vehicle, there is an alarming 98% chance that at least one person in a passenger vehicle will be killed, but less than a 3% chance that the truck driver will be injured at all.

- That the #1 cause of truck driver deaths are rollover accidents, and out of those deaths, 74% were caused by the driver not adjusting to bad weather conditions (wind, ice, rain, etc).

- The #1 cause of truck driver deaths that do not involve their trucks is getting hit and/or run over while walking in truck stop and customer parking lots.

- That the #1 cause of truck driver injuries is falling out of their own trucks while trying to enter or exit.

- Despite the fact that semi trucks are some of the safest vehicles to travel in, a truck driver is 2.5 times more likely to be killed while working than a police officer.

- That a semi truck loaded to the maximum legal weight of 80,000 pounds moving at 65mph requires a minimum of 525 feet (nearly two football fields) to come to a complete stop, and that's under perfect conditions (dry road, flat terrain, and clear weather).

- That any vehicle moving at 65 mph is traveling 95.3 feet per second, and the average human brain takes 1/2 of a second to recognize a hazard in the road, and another 1/2 a second to react and apply the brakes. This means that if you are in front of a semi truck any closer than about 9 car lengths, the truck will hit you before the driver even knows there is a problem, and then it'll take him another 525 feet to stop.

- That contrary to popular belief, semi trucks DO NOT have "18 sets of brakes". Newer model trucks with newer trailers will have 10 sets of brakes, while your vehicle has 4. To some people, this means that trucks should be able to stop at least twice as fast... but you have to remember how much they weigh. We may have nearly 3 times the braking power that you do, but we weigh 40 times what you do. In other words, you're trying to stop 1 car with 4 sets of brakes, and we're trying to stop 40 cars with 10 sets of brakes.

- That in a collision involving a semi and a passenger car where the speed of impact is 60 mph or higher, there is a 78% chance that the remaining pieces of the passenger car will not be any larger than a basketball (that's including the driver and passengers).

- That trucks normally travel in the right lane for two reasons. The first is because we're generally slower, and the second is so that no one can pass us on the right side of the truck, where our visibility is much lower.

- That if a truck is traveling in the left lane or moves over to the left lane, THERE IS A REASON. And he will be moving back into the right lane as soon as he can safely do so. It is a very bad idea to try to pass a truck on the right side after he moves into the left lane, because there is something over there he is trying to avoid, and you won't see it until it is too late.

- That if you are passing a semi truck on the right hand side, there is a 39% chance the driver will not see you at all (due to the numerous blind spots on that side).

- That if you are following a semi any closer than 40 feet, or 4 car lengths, the driver cannot see you at all.

- That if a truck enters an intersection on a green light to turn, he has a legal right to take as much time and space as is needed to complete his turn safely, regardless of the status of any of the signal lights. Also, if he needs your lane to make the turn, and you refuse to back up or move, you will receive a citation for Impeding Traffic if the police are called.

- Anyone who tells you that they've seen trucks speeding at 90+ miles per hour within the last 10 years is lying or exaggerating. If the truck belongs to a company, it is governed at between 62 and 70 mph. If it is an individual owner/operator, he has likely invested upwards of $200,000 into his truck and business, and is not stupid enough to risk all of that to move at a speed that would involve jail time if caught. Any trurkc moving at this speed would be caught almost instantly, because people would be calling from their cell phones.

- That companies govern truck speeds for two reasons, and neither of them is safety. The first reason is fuel mileage, and the second is because they move freight into and out of Canada, which requires trucks to be limited to 68 mph (110 kph) or less.

- That a semi truck with a 53 ft trailer requires 40 ft (4 lanes) of space to complete a 90 degree turn. This means that if the truck is turning right, and there are two lanes on his street and two lanes on the street he is turning onto, that he will need to use all 4 lanes to avoid jumping the curb or hitting anything. This is why you see trucks turning right from the left lane - they need the space.

- The #1 type of accident involving other vehicles that is caused by a truck driver is changing lanes.

- According to a recent study, a truck driver has only an 18% chance of finding an open parking spot at a truck stop or rest area between the hours of 8:00pm and 5:00am local time. This is why you see so many trucks parked at Walmart and on highway exit ramps.

- Contrary to popular belief, the average truck driver salary is NOT $100,000 or higher. There are some owner/operators that reach that level of success, but the average salary for a driver with less than 5 years of experience is $39,000 per year, or roughly $750 per week, before taxes and deductions.

- The way that the manufacturing, shipping, receiving, and storage processes are currently set up, that if all trucks were to stop running completely, it would take only 8 days for the country to enter a state of emergency in regards to supplies. This is because factories only store about 3 days worth of materials from which to manufacture, and stores only keep eough product on their shelves to last 3 to 4 days. Within 8 days, stores would be out of products, and factories couldn't produce anything anymore, meaning that you couldn't buy anything, from food to gasoline, after 8 days.

- Truck driving is classified by the US Labor Board as "unskilled labor" despite the fact that it takes several years of experience to learn how to drive and manuever a semi truck safely.

- Contrary to popular belief, 91% of all truck drivers are not part of a union.

- That under the current regulations, if a truck driver is sitting at a red light waiting for it to change, and he is rear ended, that accident will appear on the driver's record in the same way as if he had caused a fatal accident on the highway and will lower his Federal safety score in the same way.

- That despite what you may see in the movies, the ONLY way for a semi truck to lose all of its braking power is for a driver to ride the brakes while going downhill to the point that they overheat and melt. Current air systems are set up so that a sudden loss of air pressure (like an air line blowing) will cause the brakes to lock down completely.

- When you see semi truck tire tracks on the highway going off onto the shoulder, that it is most likely the result of a blown air line or air bag that caused the brakes to lock down, as opposed to a driver slamming on the brakes to avoid an accident.

- If you are driving within a large city with heavy traffic, a semi truck driver that turns on his flashers is signalling to the drivers behind him that he is coming to an unexpected stop due to traffic or a hazard in the road. This is because we know you can't see around us. If you see us do this, SLOW DOWN.

- Flashing your headlights at a semi truck is interpreted as a signal that it is safe to move over in front of you. DO NOT flash your headlights to stop a driver from moving over, it may be misread and cause an accident. If a driver is moving over and doesn't see you, hit your brakes and honk your horn several times quickly.

- If you let a truck move over in front of you and he flashes his tailights, he is thanking you for letting him over. If a driver lets you over, extend the same courtesy and turn on your flashers for 3 blinks, or give us a wave. We really do appreciate it.

- Contrary to popular belief, semi trucks have just as much right as you do to travel in the left lane for as long as we want, provided that there are no signs that say "No Trucks Left Lane" and that we travel above the minimum speed for that road (unless otherwise posted, the minimum speed on the interstate is 45 mph). This means that it is 100% legal for a truck to travel at 45mph in the left lane on the interstate, regardless of how much it inconveniences anyone. So be patient if we're passing another truck, even if we're only going 1 mph faster - remember we have a legal right to do it.

- Truck drivers are held to much higher standards than casual drivers. We all know that most people speed a bit on most roads, and that it's not uncommon to get away with going 10 mph over the speed limit without getting into trouble. However, for truck drivers, driving 10 over does not mean a simple ticket like it does for you. We will get a citation with a much higher fine (at least $500 for 10 mph over), points on our safety score, a high chance of getting fired, a much lower chance of getting hired by anyone else, and if the officer thinks it's warranted, he can take away our license (Not just the CDL part, then ENTIRE license). And the police DO NOT give us that extra leeway they give most casual drivers. This is why we travel the speed limit in cities, usually to the annoyance of all the other drivers. This is not paranoia - I personally know a driver who got a ticket for going 31 in a 30 mph zone.

- The average truck driver has to make over 1,300 decisions for every minute he is driving. These can be simple such as "I need to be in the middle lane" to as complex as "I need to move to the left lane because the car ahead of me is about to cause an accident". 1,300 times per minute we are thinking things like this and making decisions based on an environment that changes every second. So, the next time you think that a truck driver is lazy and doesn't do any work, think again.

- Because the government does not regulate truck driving schools, it is easily possible for someone to obtain a CDL without ever driving a truck other than the short road test, and it can be done in as little as 24 hours. This is why there are still horrific accidents on the roadways - improper training. Most truck drivers are trying to change things so that truck driving schools have minimum requirements to meet, the same way that colleges and universites do.

- Approximately 90% of the bad perceptions that the public has about truck drivers are caused by less than 5% of the drivers. Bad news always travels faster than good news.

- And finally, please keep in mind that truck drivers are people, just like you. We do not get up every morning and try to figure out how we're going to kill someone that day. We do make mistakes, just like you do, but we do everything we can to make sure that our truck, its load, and everyone we see on the road gets to wherever they're going safely. Every conscious decision we make takes safety into account. So just because we do something that may look stupid doesn't mean it always is.


Although we take a lot of risks to perform our jobs, that doesn't make us heroes really. We're working to survive, the same as you are. However, the job we do is absolutely vital to the country, and if it stopped, it would be as damaging as if we suddely lost all electricty. So, the next time you see a truck driver, take a minute to thank him for all he does. And if you made it all the way to the end, thank you for caring enough to read everything.

 

I'm going to use this word for word on my blog if you don't mind Captain, giving you full credit of course. Good stuff!

 

Not all all, feel free to spread the word!

Hell, I thought truck drivers were idiots until I learned to drive one. And now I understand. So many of the problems are just due to ignorance, because no one bothers to tell people this stuff.

 

Captain, I am going to share this on my FB wall and will give you full credit!

 

Captain, you forgot to mention two very important things. First: WE CAN SEE ALL OF YOU TEXTING WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING. Probably 7 out of 10 cars that pass the driver is fiddling with their phone. And Second: It is extremely important for pretty women in skirts to SLOW DOWN as they pass on our left. VERY IMPORTANT. LOL....

 

oh yeah! Love the post Captain...

 

Great post I have to admit that some of the things you printed I did not realize. One you should have added is that we have to get a DOT physical every 1 to 2 years. Even though that some people in the industry make most drivers look like fat slobs. I am overweight but I try to keep a professional look about myself and am trying to lose 25 pounds to make the doc happy.

Terry

 

Thanks guys for all of the great encouragement!

I was afraid that someone would gripe at me about some of those things, or accuse me of making them up or something lol. You guys are awesome!

Maybe I should write a book about trucks for the public. You can self publish on Amazon nowadays at no cost LOL.

By the way, if you want to play a fun game... Almost all of the stuff I posted in regards to statistics were from studies, but there is one single thing in my post that is actually a made up statistic, but is probably pretty close to true. I couldn't find an actual number for it so I guesstimated. Anyone wanna guess which one?

 

Approximately 90% of the bad perceptions that the public has about truck drivers are caused by less than 5% of the drivers. Bad news always travels faster than good news.