Should I expect more from a professional driver?

Let me share a recent experience with you. Just a few days ago. I drive a 62 mph company truck. I81 thru Virginia is a mostly congested 4 lane interstate. I was southbound on a down grade between Roanoke and Wytheville. There is a Titan truck behind me. I spot a rig on the shoulder with flashers on stopped up ahead. I recheck my mirror and there is a decent gap and of course that line of traffic is closing as always. Decision time of course. A decision you will make many times a day especially if you are blessed with a slow truck. I place my left signal on and judge that I can move left safely but the gaining traffic will have to moderate their speed which they have ample time to do and knowing that it will annoy each and everyone of them. I make the move into the left lane. The Titan truck will likely not get that chance to move left before the gap between me and the gaining traffic closes. Very shortly after executing the lane change the truck on the shoulder does exactly what you fear it could do. Rather than gradually accelerating on the shoulder before re-entering the right lane, from a cold stop the driver turns his wheels left and starts crawling right into the path of the Titan truck. It was one of those split second "Oh Shoot" moments in time where life could easily be lost. My fear for that Titan driver was immediate. Fortunately that Professional Titan driver had his vision exactly where it had to be in that moment and was able to lock it down just in time. Had he been so much as checking the traffic in his left mirror to attempt a move left he probably would have lost his life. The point I am making is that there are many, many reasons why a slow truck will move left even when there is advancing traffic on the left. A lot of the activity on shoulders, on and off ramps, urban situations, ect...are potentially hazardous and moving left reduces the risk. 999 times out of a 1000 that truck on the shoulder would have done the right thing and folks will think you needlessly cost them to be a minute later reaching their destination. That's a reality that Professional Drivers must live with. We don't have the luxury of doing what they think we should do. We must do what we judge to be the safest thing to do.

 

Excellent post, and a valuable perspective.

 

no its people like u that make me have a bad day. and its people like you that think that they know more about our profession just by reading. LIVING AND READING IS TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. it was no excuse for calling in on a driver unless he is doing something that is life threating. because you might think you know what a professional driver is just by reading or watching us drive. until u live a day and walk in our shoes you know nothing. that is the main thing wrong right now in our profession we get people like yourself that are none drivers that think they know more about this profession than the ones actually driving the truck. we got DOT,CSA, FMCSA trying to take/limit our jobs. they don't need your help doing it. SINCE YOU SAY U WANT TO BE A TRUCK DRIVER have you ever took the time and went up to a truck stop and talked to drivers. put a face on that truck maybe you want be to eager to call in on a driver just because he is inconveniencing you by driving to slow. I dated my boyfriend for 4 years I thought I knew about trucking. just like yourself I tried to tell him on how do to his job better. NOT UNTIL I WAS IN CHARGE OF MY OWN 18 WHEELS DID I GET THE FULL UNDERSTANDING. I dare u to go stand by a fuel island and tell your post and see how many nice responses you get. dude u really need to stick to your day job. trucking aint for u.

 

Yes, as a matter of fact I have gone to truckstops and talked with truckers. On Saturday, I flagged a flatbedder and actually pulled over with him to tell him he had a tarp issue. How many motorists do that?

So you don't want a guy like me in your industry, but a guy who ignores the rules and makes you look bad is ok?

XLSDRAW made a comment at the top of this page that challenged my thinking and was valuable. However, missjhawk, your confrontational comments lead me to think you are quite possibly a confrontational driver.

 

The Chinese have a saying about this. Wait no they don't. Well they might. They got a saying about pretty much everything. Just funnin'.

First thing I learned in trucking was the DMV shoulda issued me a jar of Vaseline with that CDL. Every trucking company had the drivers bent over and so did lumpers, shops you name it. Least the Vaseline woulda made the process less painful. Second thing was I grew a thick skin real fast. Then patience and finally compassion.

Coming across east on 68 with 44K in the box I really felt it all today. Everyone dragging a heavy load on my route had a rough day today. First thing I see getting of 70 was poor Swifty racked up bad coming off the get on. Took out a light pole, tore you know what out the truck and the only thing kept him going over the edge and a long drop was he got hung on the guardrail (what was left of it).

There was a time early in my career when I would probably have said something in my pea brain about; Sheeze, you know the ramps are where it's the worst. What ya doin haulin tail in this mess especially on a ramp and HERE?

Today - my heart went out to him. I wasn't in the truck. I don't know what happened. I know something went wrong and a fellow driver got racked up bad and almost lost his life. Maybe it was a mistake he made. Maybe it wasn't. Doesn't matter. He's still a human. Who am I to second guess him? He'll be doing plenty of that himself. Then there were other trucks and cars flyin by on snow packed road (the plows hadn't been by yet in a lot of parts). There was a time I'd have had something "professional" to say about that too. Today I just said a quick prayer for them and hoped they got lucky.

Some didn't. I passed em jacked in a ditch. Boy that sucks. Hope you're OK and come out Ok with the company. Poking along, then poking when the roads got good cause today the old International was struggling to get up the mountains and I was struggling to keep her from flying down them. Road conditions took all my helpers away. No Jakes, no cruise, couldn't build up any speed to get momentum for the next one because it was just crazy on a day like today. Poke up, poke down then complete stop when a trailer tire blew and the tread wall snatched something on the slider mechanism and the tandems slammed to the back of the trailer and but not for my seatbelt woulda put me into the windshield. Thank God I was poking and they didn't slam off the back of the trailer. I have blown a some tires in my day and NEVER had one do THAT. Wrap around the axel, cut air lines, tear up and bend things but never even HEARD of one doin that. I know for a solid fact they were locked when I left because I paid extra attention and made sure doin my PTI because I had trouble sliding them the night before when I parked and wound up using the curb in the parking lot in my space at the truck stop. Checked them and the handle with my flash light then but I wanted to check them again in the daylight before I left. They were for SURE locked (pins all out, handle in) when I started my trip. Of course it happened on that stretch of 13 mile 6% eastbound downgrade right after the scale in the "scenic" section of frozen snowy MD. Now I have to get off the interstate in "scenic" MD. Around Frostburg and Cumberland. NOT truck friendly. Do I get paid breakdown? Nope. Not till the 24th hour down. Do I get paid outa route for repair miles? Nope. Finally made it here with 10 minutes left on my 14 on my e-log and my next pick up waiting preloaded 14 miles away. Good news is the customer will let you break in their bobtail parking area. Bad news is no idling and I don't have a bunk heater or APU. I have to idle for heat and it's gonna be in the teens tonight. No nice hot shower and cozy warm bunk after a hard day humping a heavy load in snow all day long. Nope. Hiney wipes and idle long enough to get her warmed up then shut it down til it gets cold and do it again a few times til I can leave. I got my laptop tethered to my cell phone so at least I did get to Skype with my wife.

I guess what I'm sayin (OP) is you'll have those days too. Stay in long enough and you'll have enough of them so the guy in the hammer lane, hogging the fuel island or Swift and Werner racing each other on the interstate and neither giving the other an inch won't be a big deal. If that's as bad as your day gets you will have had a great day.

Night All. I'm TIRED and I'm gonna crash out for a few. I mean go to sleep. No, no, no. Not crash out. No crashing. Noooo crashing of any kind allowed. Sleeping yes. Crashing no. Unless you are sleeping when driving. Then you will be doing both. Sleeping when you crash. Yes. Definitely tired and going to bed now.

 

Don't let her draw you into a fight.it's not worth it. Oh and for what it's worth, I'd much rather have you out here driving than anyone that thinks it's acceptable to take their thirty on the fuel island. The excuse "it's hos rules" is just an excuse for not having a proper trip plan.
Lastly, always remember their are very few professional drivers but tens of thousands of steering wheel holders. They drive a truck cause they can't do anything else and the only real entry requirements is a decently clean license.

 

wow - that's it's own thread in itself. Glad you're ok, and hope you get back on the road soon.

 

Children, Children, Children, let a SUPER TRUCKER settle this.

We are all just trying to make a living. Calling those numbers to complain is likely to get someone fired. That will go on his DAC report and it will be hard for him to get a good job for the next three years. So, he is out the $210,000 that he would make at $70,000 per.

The truck he was driving was probably governed to a lower then legal speed limit level. The cars stacked up behind him were probably going above the legal speed limit.
Semi-Trucks pay way more per vehicle and per pound then do those little four wheeler's.
The Interstates were built for Semi-trucks not for automobiles. So if we share the road, it is because it is our road to share.

When the interstates were designed they were designed with the idea that the left lane would be the THRU lane. The road is designed for the trucks to be in the lane he was in. You are telling us that there was a HOV lane to the left of the lane he was in, therefore he was in the lane he had every legal right to be in. Safety is the number one to ride that lane. Big trucks have big blind spots. In heavy traffic, I pick a lane and stay in it. The little bug cars can dart around me. Too many accidents happen when we change lanes.

So, to sum it up. You are wrong. The truck was in the correct lane. Your call might have gotten a good man fired. The next time he is in that same situation he might feel forced to change lanes when it is not safe to do so. While your intentions were good, you have, by your phone call, made the world less safe.

Just the thoughts of one SUPER TRUCKER.

 

Thanks.

And to the rest, I did not intend on ruffling feathers. Have a good night.

 

u take confrontational comments as trying to get u to understand why when u call in on a driver that is not doing nothing life threating I think that was just wrong. you were not there 10,5 or even a minute before to see why he was driving in that lane. u just automatically assumed that he was doing it on purpose. u could have possibly cost that driver his job or pay cut just because u were inconvenienced. I have patience like the next person I may be a young driver compared to some of the other drivers. but I have to have patience dealing with the way some of these 4 wheelers and how they drive. BUT WRONG IS WRONG . try calling in on a person that is actually doing something life threating. then you can say you actually helped out. but holding a lane is not life threating. and you want to talk about rules the last time I checked 4 wheelers are suppose to yield when merging on interstate. BUT DO THEY NO THEY DO NOT. call it what you want but it is nothing u can say to justify what you originally said about calling in on a driver. you can be the most courteous, safe, professional driver It just take one person to call in a bogus just because the person was 2min late call it what u want you are gone never understand the trucking profession until you are in charge of your own 18 wheels. then you can talk about what is right and wrong u will see things from a new prospective.