Should I Move Over For Merging Traffic???

To me, it's simply a matter of "common sense"....ya know, that thing that is SO much lacking these days.

Watch your mirrors, watch merging traffic, watch your left lane...do what common sense and safety dictate.

Judi Kay

 

common sense is not common for everbody

 

By letter of the law, it is their job. However, MY job is to get myself, truck and cargo down the road in the safest manner possible. Too many people do not know what their "their" jobs are. There are times when it is safer to stay put and make the merging person make an adjustment of speed, but as a general rule I watch the get on ramps from as far away as possible so I can make the adjustment instead of relying on someone else to keep me safe.

Just because someone fails at their job does not relieve us of OUR obligation to ourselves, our family and the safety of the public. If someone pulls out in front of you and you had the room to stop safely and in time, would you stop? Or would you just continue to barrel ahead at full steam? After all it's THEIR job to not pull out in front of you... Right? The same principle at work there. Keep in mind, the difference between a preventable and non preventable accident is a judgement call by someone sitting at a desk. They ask themselves, could this accident been avoided, could the driver had moved over to avoid the accident etc. I ain't giving some desk jockey the chance to make that kind of judgement call and kill my career.

Just my .02

 

I think the trainer in your school that taught you this may be some what of an ### hole. Although technically it is the responsibility of the person on the ramp to yield to on coming traffic to yield, we should all help each other out on the road.

Yeah, technically you don't have to. But, have you ever heard of the golden rule? Treat others as you'd like to be treated? A good trucker will always help out his brother trucker, and should expect the same in return. Its just common sense.

Could be you that gets put into the grass or worse with 80K next time. Just because some other guy [yawn] didnt feel like scootching over a bit. Not my fault he will tell the cop as your being hauled off in the ambulance.

 

If I am the one merging you need to move over because I am the king of the highway and I should be in front. It is in the Billy Big Rigger Rule Book.

 

Common courtesy and common sense ain't to common anymore.

 

That is so true!

 

Well, being a driver in city traffic with a 70 yd demo trailer up here in Bean Town, the first rule of flow is to drive in the granny lane. It always moves the best. When you come upon an on ramp you have to start playing "what's my lane" just like the 4 wheelers. Sometimes people will let you merge to the middle lane some times not. If I can't merge left and have to stick it out in the right lane, I will always let 4 or 5 cars enter the roadway ahead of me. But then there's #6 that's thinks they're intitled to go too. Sorry, but don't take kindness for weakness, I WILL cut the wheel right and end that thought of thiers. Now you will probable say I'm a Cow Boy,but that's driver's ed. in the city. As far as running the truck in light traffic, Are you kidding me jobernard, My truck doesn't run on rail road tracks, better part of valor, change lanes because you are most likely dealing with a MORON!

 

Actually, you may want to be aware if the merging lane has a yield sign or not. One of our drivers just learned this the hard way when a car was run off the road by him unknowingly near Buffalo, NY. I don't' agree but if they don't have a yield sign you may want to make way.....

 

I knew I would take a beating on this post when I posted it, I even knew what kinda things would be said, but I didn't just posted to get everybody all riled up, and neither am I a stranger to courtesy, common sense, safety, law, or anything else you want through in the mix:

You know why I posted this thread?........because I had gotten word of a trucker that took to the third lane to let another trucker get to the middle lane simply to render this so called common courtesy: one of the cars getting on was a state trooper, which upon seeing the trucker in the third lane(violation) pulled him over and wrote him a ticket:

all I'm trying to say is you can take anything too far, even common courtesy; Hey if they're old enough to drive and get on the highway the only way to toughen their ### up is to not let accommodate them when they should have sped up and got out on the freaken highway: it may sound like tough love, and it is, but I account to myself that the anger generated by my refusal to budge, will make them more aware of their responsibility to GET A MOVE ON when getting on the highway,and in so doing I'm training them to keep all of us safe: and you may not believe this; there's even a safe way to do what I do, but it takes skill and the guts to do it.......Jo Bernard