Question to the general public from a trucker

Either that or a 32oz baseball bat

 

OK, I'll bite. I remember once trying to pass a truck with a little Datsun 210. (Remember those?) The car in front of me didn't really leave enough room for me to pass the truck without crowding it. I am sensitive to the fact that trucks can't brake as fast as cars, and I still remember seeing a VW bug squashed to about a 1 ft length between two trucks as a kid. So, not wanting to crowd the truck, I was waiting for enough room to make the change back to the righthand lane without causing an uncomfortable situation for the trucker. I guess I didn't do my maneuvres fast enough for the trucker, because he got honked with me and aggressively ran me off the road into the bar ditch. I had two young children with me at the time. Anyway, I was where the trucker could see me (made sure of that), and I was trying to do what I needed to do without pissing off the trucker (which I guess didn't happen that way).

So now if I find myself in a similar situation, with too much traffic ahead of me to get expeditiously out of the trucker's way, I hang behind just a bit -- not so close that the trucker can't change lanes without squashing me, but also not so far back that someone else won't try to slip into that several feet between me and the truck to insert himself in the lefthand lane beside the truck, where I suppose you guys don't want cars anyway. From your point of view I might be in the way, but I'm not, and I've got my eye on you and your left blinker. Then when there's enough room, I hit the accelerator and move around you as quickly as I can, without being obnoxious about it. I really don't want to hang around, because obviously I've seen y'all squash folks and because I was almost squashed myself once (along with my children).

So in summary, it's because I've driven long enough to have a healthy respect/fear for the enormous machines you drive and to be very mindful both of your maneuvering needs and your often rash tempers.

I hope that explains my annoying practice. I also hope this post is received in the spirit it is intended. I'm not trying to be preachy or fussy, but rather trying to explain that there are two sides to every issue. It's an honest answer to your honest question.

 

Remember them?
Good-Golly!
I remember when there were no Datsun in the USA.

<<I sure appreciate folks like you.>>
That's what I was tryin' to say in a previous post, about how a 4-wheeler and a Big truck CAN work together.
But, just like not every 4-wheeled driver has figured that out, neither have all the Big truck truck drivers.

I can usually tell if a Big truck truck driver knows what I'm doin' with with my 4-wheeler. But if I sense they're not gettin' the message, I get by 'em pronto.
I'll lay back just a tad, to be sure I can get all the way by, before I pull along side to pass.
I call that "making it as painless as possible". Git 'er done.
But it's a pleasure and a darned right good feelin' to "run block" for and with the right driver(s).

If that situation had to happen, it's probably a good thing that it was YOU in charge.
You sound pretty road savy -- and I suspect you were aware of the potential, and were better prepared to react properly.

Exactly!
Thank you!

That all depends. Some of us appreciate the gesture.

NO,
not THAT one.

Well, ....... actually, ........
if the big truck driver isn't comfortable with you ridin' there, he might consider you to be in the way.
If a Big truck driver doesn't realize the benefits of working together, y'all might wanna reconsider your efforts to help.

HeY!
HeY!
Calm down ---- YOU did the right things, and MAYbe some not so right things. Only you know that for sure, --- but either way, it's what'cha LEARN from the experience(s) that counts.
Ya reckon.

Couldn't have said it better, 2000Z3.

Just remember, there ARE those of us who recognize folks like you -- and we appreciate what'cha do.
When y'all take an offramp before me, I feel like I lost a road-friend.
I know other drivers who are aware as well.
Believe me --- you don't go un-noticed.
In the Big truck, I try to get the 4-wheeler's attention in my mirrors, or if traffic stacks us up and they're along side.

I give a wave -- or more often a salute and mouth thank you -- maybe a thumbs up.
All depends.
Communication --- I think that's called.
And it's a beautiful thang.
Doncha know.

Excellent post BTW.
Thanx!

 

First off GOOD LUCK to you Lurch Now as for passing a semi , me and my siverado are not the slightest bit scared!!!!!!!!!! I have the utmost respect for all of you,and if I didnt I would not be on here right now!!! If I do not know the specific amount of room or some of the other rules I am terribly sorry, but I am just unfarmaliar with them. I do know about the front head light flash when enough room is allocated, and about the back break tap when you are finally in, I have observed many truckers not even following that common curtosy ???believe me when I say I stay the he!! out of the way so you can do your job!! My word what is it with some of you guys and 4x4s?

 

Are you using bold font --- or yellin' at someone?

Either way, you're correct to stay out of their way.
IMO, the caliber of some of these Big truck truck drivers leaves much to be desired.

You're braver than me if you ain't scared of what'cha might run into out there.
'Cause I am.

 

There is that better? I know exactly what you mean. I was specificaly refering to just passing and nothing else. I really dont know if I was yelling or not? I guess that I feel offended, as to the fact that all people in 4x4s seem to be some form of an idiot???? Guess ill have to get over it and move on But I will admit that I truly love my truck, and have been accused by hubby on more than one occasion of loving my truck more than him ! Never heard of such a thing , the baseball uniforms need washing,and I am doing the tire shine and cleaning my chrome LOL.He razes me all the time,someones got a bigger truck!! All that aside, he warned me when he pulled into the driveway that he would make mine look like a match box, and yes indeed he did, I still laugh about it even know!!

 

Hi AfterShock,

I appreciate the calming words, and I do understand there are good folks and bad folks in any community. I'm frankly lucky I didn't flip my little car or completely lose control and end up in a head-on collision in the opposite lanes. Nothing I could have done would have justified that level of assault against me. I was truly trying to be as courtious a driver as I could be. My theory is that the trucker was under the influence of something or another.

I think the best answer I could give to the question of why drivers of passenger cars sometimes drive funny around big trucks is that they are afraid. I know this is almost universally true of female drivers, as we tend to be considerably more cautious in our driving. (We often have our children with us, so we have to be.) This doesn't even mention the intimidation factor of the behavior of many (but certainly not all or even most) truck drivers who do stuff like this at us => . When I was younger, truckers would often play games with me, like speeding up, passing me, and then slowing down and making me pass them. Heck, I just wanted to get from point A to point B as safely as possible, and they weren't making it very easy.

I realize the majority of truckers are simply trying to get their loads from point A to point B as well, but if you wonder why people act weird around you, it's because of the few drivers in your community who make driving very unsafe and unpleasant for those of us in our tiny cars. When I encounter a truck on the road, I have no idea what sort of driver is behind the wheel. I simply have to assume the worst and drive as defensively as I can. If you want things to improve for truckers, you're going to have to police your community better. When a trucker steps clearly out of line, you need to call him down on it.

Hey, is there any sort of etiquette -- somewhat like a secret handshake, if you will -- that passenger car drivers should observe to tell the trucker, "I'm not going to mess with you. I'll give you the space you need. Please don't squash me or otherwise disrespect me?" It would have to be something that couldn't be confused for an alternative to the middle finger or that wouldn't be viewed as a come-on when used by women. Any ideas?

I can suggest a gesture that could be used in your situation if someone is stuck where you don't want them. Just stick your arm out the window and wave them ahead. That would be the "all clear" I would need to confidently move forward and get out of the trucker's hair. As you said, communication is the key, and it probably should be a two-way thing.

 

Howdy!

That's certainly possible.

Hey!
Join the club.
When I'm drivin' a 4-wheeler I'M a tad afraid around Big trucks, too.

As a former driver trainer, who instructed mostly (probably 75%) women Big truck trainees, I've found what you've stated to be true.

You oughta see what WE get!
After taking evasive measures to avoid a collision with a bone-headed 4-wheeler, it's not uncommon for that same 4-wheeler driver to flip us off.
Imagine that.
It works both ways.

Depending on the terrain, those Big trucks just might have been realizing the effects of gravity, as they rolled over rolling hills or mountains. That'll slow a Big truck down goin' up, and gettin' up speed goin' down for the next ascent.
It might seem like a "game" --- but if it is, it's moving mass vs gravity resistance.
Or Us vs Mother Nature.

Too true.
Always stay alert for those types.

I can live with that -- and so can EVERYbody else.
Again, I agree with your assessment.

Call them down?!
Have you read many of MY posts.
I assure you, I calls 'em like I sees 'em.

But, I think you're simplifying the problem's solution. If only it WERE that easy, the mission would soon be accomplished.
But there's MORE to the story.

Now-a-daze -- with the hiring practices of many of the larger truckin' companies, the caliber of drivers they're puttin' in Big trucks leaves a lot to be desired, IMO.
Add to that how the economy and loss of jobs held for many years in some cases, many people are gettin' into Big truck truckin' more out of desperation, rather than a real desire.

Imagine the culture shock of someone who's driven a desk in an office for 20 years makin' $80,000 a year --- suddenly out of work and nobody is hiring for the job they know.
They see truckin' as a quick and easy fix for their problems. But, their problems just as likely will increase when they realize truckin' ain't what they THOUGHT it would be.
Many don't have the aptitude to drive Big trucks either, compounding the problem.
Meanwhile, because that desk driver has a stable work history, they're viewed as ideal employees, and a new driver that costs less to operate than a more seasoned Big truck truck driver who tends to job-hop.

Hmmmmmm
Not that I know of.
Eye contact, and a friendly wave, ..... maybe?
A GOOD Big truck trucker will be alert and recognize how others vehicles are interacting with other motorists, and can tell the potential problem drivers. But never assume they can. Observation will usually tell who's who.

YuP!
Communication is what it is --- and SOMEtimes, we say more when we say nothing at all --- we just know.
Ya know?

There's a NASCAR wave that the race drivers use to communicate appreciation and/or thanx -- and I've used that from time to time. But if someone isn't familiar with NASCAR racing, they don't always get the right message.

This is where that 'road experience' that only time brings about, comes into play -- and what some drivers who are first starting out, don't realize.
Sure, they may be able to shift and back and not hit anything, but what they haven't realized ....... yet, is that "etiquette" you mentioned.
Hopefully, they WILL.
Realistically, some won't.
That's scary.

You've raised some very interesting points, 200Z3.
Thanx!

 

2003Z3...

I agree with Shocky. The whole thing is a mess, and ain't much being done to fix it.

One thing, and one thing only will work: Proper education of drivers. ALL drivers. Having just entered the ranks of professional driverism, I have to say that CDL-A schooling (at a good school - must remember that) has it ALL over the schools for 4-wheelers.

It's 4 weeks of intensive (well, intensive for a civilian) training - and you come out BARELY able to drive. Looking back on it, I recognize that there was one primary subject and a whole horde of little ones. The primary was, of course: safety. Safety, safety, and more safety. Safety until it was running out our ears and flowing down the gutter to the corner sewer grate.

4-wheeler school - at least the ones I've been around - honestly barely comment on it.

NEITHER school mentions (really) courtesy between drivers - even outside the realm of safety.

As a 4X4 driver myself, I tend to have a rather low opinion of other 4X4 drivers. There are exceptions, but a huge majority of them do NOT know how to drive that toy. They simply faile to realize that 4-wheel-drive does NOT mean 4-wheel-stop. Once you are skidding, you have no more control over your machine than a skidding VW. Probably less, since you have more mass and momentum involved.

To give an example I've used before. Last year in the denver area, we were hit by a number of blizzards. I live 25 miles from my (then) office. That day, I'd not paid attention to the weather reports and had driven my Lincoln to work. When we realized how bad the weather was and cut everybody loose, I,too headed home.

The drive was - as may be expected - awful. But, between the time I left the office and the time I got home, I pulled 5 vehicles out of the deep snow in the ditches next to the interstate.

Not one of them was 2-wheel-drive.

So - you see where *I* am, with 4X4s?

Now - on to your question.. how could y9u let that trucker know you were leaving him room? I don't know of a well established method, but what I do in that situation is - as you said, hang back a little, but not a lot - and I flash my headlights a few times.

The message I'm trying to convey - whether the trucker understands it or not - is "I'm leaving you room enough to come over if you need to". Even if he's not interested in the lane change, it SHOULD tell him that I'm deliberately hanging back enough to not be in the way.

Then, when the road ahead is clear enough for me to go by, I get on the gas and go.

This started out as being my 2 cents, but I think I've added enough to make it worth at least 6