More and more truckers openly holding cell phones?

Back when I was working days I would fuel up and park. If it was after about 1pm I'd go inside to take a dump. Sometimes there'd only be two or four toilets and they'd all be taken up by drivers... for way too long. Sometimes a line would form because the jerks were, I'm sure, screwing around on their phones. That almost pissed me off more than the swerving around in traffic.

 

See it all the time...to busy with that to operate turn signals.

 

Saw a driver rolling thru a rest area holding his phone to his ear on Friday. Im always on my best behavior in rest areas.

I think a lot of these guys don’t realize how severe that ticket would be.

When I was at the mega there was a guy telling me he had to see safety for getting a ticket for holding a cell phone. He was laughing about it like he was going to have to watch some video training or something. He was definitely 1000% about to be fired lol.

 

I admit I use my phone sometimes to glance at a message, but only when no one is beside me and I'm outside a city. it's no different than checking your hours on your elog. I've never gone off onto the rumble strip.

 

About not watching youtube. I used to play youtube videos all the time. Most everything on youtube does not need to be a video. 90 + percent of content can be comprehended well enough just by listening. I used to cue a playlist and then leave my phone upside down facing away from me. It was essentially the same thing as listening to a podcast playlist.

What do you think about that? I think you could still potentially get in trouble, like if you got in an accident or law enforcement sees the shifting glow from the unit in the cab when going through a weigh station or something.

 

Here's a new behavior that I've experienced, maybe others have to.

I'll call it "anchoring."

Middle of the night, interstate, and I come up on two trucks. Let's say the front guy is Penner, pinned to 65 mph. Guy behind him in a ratty Volvo with a name you've never heard of, about two truck lengths off Penner's rear bumper. Wait, now it's four truck lengths. Then one.

Next, me, governed at 67, go to pass the group of em. I pull in front of Penner, then ratty Volvo pulls into hammer lane and peals in front of Penner, but sidles behind me. Close, far, close again. I know he's not governed. Why is he anchoring to my arse in the middle of the night when he could pull past me and have a clear view ahead for miles (and give me some relief from his high beams)?

I've got a theory but I wanted to hear what others think.

 

He wants to speed but doesn’t have the balls to run the front door. He’s trying to push you into speeding.