No more flashing!

Lead. Dont follow. I dont think the problem is a lack of appreciation for the flash, but the lack of intelligence in the driver. Half of you guys do not scan your mirrors. How do you spell the name of the truck driver who cannot use his mirrors? S-T-U-P-I-D.

To stop being courteous just because noone seems to show appreciation is a sign of weakness. You will never get to the top of the pile if you are doing what everyone else is doing. Following the crowd is not beneficial to you. All of us are driving for benefits, right?

Lead. Dont follow. See a driver struggling to get his wagon in a slot, help him. The followers will all sit and watch and ridicule. See an oversize load? Give the OD special consideration, as they have to play by a different set of rules. See a Swift or a JB, be patient, because that Swift or JB driver did not set that truck up, a moron deskjockey did. Dont worry about whether another driver shows appreciation for the flash. Flash if you appreciate that other driver not taking your hood off.

Want to be the king of the road? Lead the way.


Happy motoring.

 

Guess who was wrong, who has the responsibility to MERGE? You were wrong this time as your story goes, you were racing to be in front it sounds to me. On ramps are supposed to be the side to BLEND into traffic, not race to be in front.

For the rest of you..how many know the old rules? One blink of the left signal is not thanking for the flash..it is the code for flipping you off, usually reserved for NOT FLASHING THE TRUCK BACK!

Far too many 4 wheelers driving big trucks any more, and far too many not being taught what is courtesy and what is agressive driving in my book!

 

lol, I knew you'd jump on it. Read it again, when I reached the acceleration lane of the ramp I was going as fast as he was and accelerating. There was no space beside him, and none behind him. My two choices were: continue accelerating like I had a brain, or slam on the brakes and stop on the shoulder like a re-tard. I accelerated. The problem was, he accelerated to try and block me. And yeah, I was blending, there was no yield sign, and the only reason he got cut off was his own stupidity in speeding up. At no point did he gain ground on me, and by ahead of him I mean my entire truck and trailer was ahead, not just the cab.

Now I'm not going to run anyone off the road, but I won't allow someone else to run me off either.

I should add that the speed limit there is 55mph and I was doing it where the lanes came together. I accelerated down the lane and the shoulder giving this guy every chance in the world to back off but he wouldn't do it. I was doing 67 when I merged over.

 

I always thought flashing your lights for the other drivers was one of the cool things about trucking. It was courteous and respectful and I hated driving a truck with daytime running lights. They kinda make it hard for flashing now.

 

Situations like this occur because both drivers think they are in the right, and both drivers refuse to back down.
That is what causes accidents and road rage.

 

Well, if I backed down, I'd have been stopped on the narrow shoulder with Chicago traffic freaking out all around. Not doin that. If the situation was reversed, and it is often, I'd have backed down and let the guy on. Happens all the time, no problem.

 

It doesn't change the facts of the situation as you described them. You were on the on ramp, no yield sign is necessary, (since you are mentioning it, you therefore know it) you are attempting to merge, to blend into the existing traffic already ESTABLISHED in the lane. By your description, you are breaking the speed limit, (losing any credibility to correct driving); " I was doing 67 when I merged over."

Let me quote you from previous post:
"when I reached the acceleration lane of the ramp I was going as fast as he was and accelerating. There was no space beside him, and none behind him. My two choices were: continue accelerating like I had a brain, or slam on the brakes and stop on the shoulder like a re-tard."
Lets look at this; you knew there was no where for him to go, either jump on his breaks (possible rear end from behind him, major accident at highway speed) and he couldn't move to the left, so who should back down. You didn't have two choices, your only (safe defensive choice) was back off yourself and attempt to merge behind him after a few cars or other trucks get by. At no point were you being put in a situation, you were creating the situation, and with every second making the potential worse. And stopping on the shoulder doesn't make you the re-tard, but the professional SAFE driver.

" should add that the speed limit there is 55mph and I was doing it where the lanes came together. I accelerated down the lane and the shoulder giving this guy every chance in the world to back off but he wouldn't do it. I was doing 67 when I merged over."

You weren't giving this guy a chance, you were taking aggressive, impatient, I can beat you, challenge, but he HAD THE RIGHT OF WAY DUE TO HIS ALREADY OCCUPYING THE LANE. In this situation, you were out of control, emotionally, rationally, and mentally. Your ego took over from clear logic, and defensive driving as you have been taught. (I hope that is)

and by ahead of him I mean my entire truck and trailer was ahead, not just the cab.

If you got the entire 72 feet in front, with both acceleratin, I will assume he finally got his senses back, and backed off, since he realized he was doing nothing but creating a situation, and since you weren't going to back off, he had to..so you win this RACE...two stupid people occupying the same space doesn't equal one smart person, it only equals twisted metal, torn plastic, and the need for an ambulance, if not a coroner!

 

Uh, no. When I hit the end of the ramp, I was going as fast as he was, THE SAME SPEED AND ENTIRELY AHEAD OF HIM. There, can you see it now? He did not have to let off or do anything at all. All he had to do was not be an a-hole and floor it trying to run me off the shoulder, I WAS ALREADY IN FRONT OF HIM. He never backed off, not at all. The back of my trailer was about ten feet ahead of him, all I was trying to do was stay in the accel lane longer to open the distance up so I wouldn't cut him off. He, being a re-tard, stepped on the throttle. Me, not being a pathetic coward, did not let him trap me on the shoulder which was not wide enough to fit my truck on. You understand that? If I stopped I would have been hanging out into traffic. Not happening.

 

Bottom line? Typical Chicago traffic issues and mentality (both of you actually), and they say California traffic is crazy...IMHO...Chicago has the worst drivers in the country..even above L.A., Portland, and Atlanta. But drivers everywhere are getting more and more aggressive every year..glad its getting close to retirement time for me!

 

Oh I know. It does scare me sometimes, especially up there. I drove tow trucks for 3 years, I've seen what can happen. Being called out of bed at 5am to go tow a car that headoned another, having to wait while the coroner pulls the body out, then pulling the car up on the bed with blood running out of it tends to ruin your day. It also puts things into a perspective. When I get into a situation, I calculate the quickest way out of it. It might not be the safest every time, and I'm not doing it to win the race, even less to be on time (I really don't care about that part.)

In this situation, if I had been heavily loaded, I would have just stopped, dumb as I may have looked. I don't like taking risks, especially unnecessary ones. It strikes me as a sad reflection on society when your options are narrowed down so far.