" putting your foot in it

Well yesterday from Toledo to Hagerstown on the toll roads I saw 3 count em 3 trucks rolled. One was a burnt out husk. So maybe a couple of your super truckers have retired early for you.

 

Heck, the money isn't the problem, the CSA points are. I will do 2-3 mph over no more. Even that isn't a guarantee you won't get pulled over.

 

o/o's speed all the time.

 

Running hard is OK as long as the conditions warrant it. But , that being said the guy that gets there 1st is more often than not , the guy that can keep the left door shut real tight. A slow steady truck will beat a " fast" truck almost every time.

 

There's fast drivers and there's good drivers. But there very few fast good drivers.

 

I don't speed. It isn't worth the ticket or the points. And it is all about conditions. We were in Kansas driving during the winter. The road was open but it was covered in ice. I drove approximately 150 miles before I gave up and parked. During that 150 miles, I drove past 112 (yes, that is correct, I counted) 4 wheelers in the median and 7 trucks in the median. I was only going about 35 and had a line of trucks behind me. I kinda figured if I was going too slow, then they would pass me. But the majority must have thought I was going a decent speed. I did have my CB on and was getting trash talk from an O/O for going too slow. He decided to pass, and when he saw I was female, the trash talking went into high gear. I didn't respond, just kept driving. About 2 miles up the road, he was in the median. Karma....

 

Its really about what how much control you have and what you feel comfortable with. True statement is getting there is about a constant steady speed and stayin with it. Things have changed alot in the recent past with the rules and the level of enforement today. There are still hands out there who will "get on with the program" . That doesnt mean they are any less safe than a company driver doing three miles under the posted limit. I see owner operators everyday steppin easy. In the not so recent past companys werent that concerned. If you had a load that had to be somewhere, they had drivers they knew could do that and would get it there. Some fleets kept a truck or two that were ready to meet the challenge when called on. They would be set up a little hotter than the rest of them . get over the road and keep outta trouble was what it was all about . they didnt expect you to do right by the rules all the time. As far as being on the CB all the time, its the quiet ones who are most dangerous. Sure way to get yourself in a jam is runnin that jaw all the time and advertising what you got goin on. Most of the real ol hands who ride the left lane and get it done run a low profile. Read the Southern Shaker thread. There is alot more traffic today, things have changed and will change more yet so it isnt like it once was back in the day and that isnt all bad. There isnt a formula thats set in stone . Its more about being in control of the truck and aware of the conditions. Just cause they are faster doesnt necessarily mean they are less safe.

 

It's kind of funny, "keeping your foot in it" had a whole different meaning years ago. Most of the trucks I drove, I never had to worry about getting a speeding ticket in a truck, as many times, I was lucky to get to the speed limit, especially in a head wind. "Keeping your foot in it" meant, if you don't, you're never gonna make that next hill.

 

I'm calling BS. I've been an o/o since 1974 & I never speed. Most of the long term o/o's I know never speed. Fuel isn't cheap any more.

 

If we see trucks running hard the main culprit aint greed or "need for speed" its more often than not the operator under WAY to much pressure raceing one of several arbitrary clocks , I am certain of this