Speed

And people wonder why drivers are their own worst enemies and why the industry is generally garbage? Lifestyle truckers and pennies per mile idiots ruined it for everyone.

 

Well i can see how pennies per mile truckers contribute to the negatives in our industry but whats wrong with lifestyle truckers? They tend to be the safest drivers from what i seen.

 

That made me chuckle and you're right. My last company rig was a wide open, hopped up 379 and I'd do every bit of 80-85 on the toll road coming back from Houston. I'd pass the megas like they were sitting still and the drivers always looked dumbfounded as hell and slightly irritated. I was paid percentage so the quicker I moved, the quicker I was on to the next load. If the speed limit says 80, well, you can bet your ### I'm going to be scootin my happy ### down the road at 80 mph, and you can do it without being an idiot. It's a cool thing called "situational awareness" that most folks seem to lack. I don't tailgate or driver erratically, but when the speed limit permits it, I'll put the pedal on the floor and move on past the slow packs of folks who can't go over 62-65 and get out ahead and coast from there.

 

The term lifestyle trucker to me means the folks that are basically homeless and proud of it. They live in their truck and have no real home or family. And many of them use this as justification to run cheap.

 

You do know the penny is the most basic unit of US currency right? You could be getting 7 bucks a mile and still measure it in pennies, and the more miles you could go in a day you would still earn more. If you're in heavy traffic I can see going 5 mph slower than everybody else to give yourself a little more reaction time, this bs of going 15 under the speed limit and thinking you're the safer driver is retarded.

 

I’m a Owner Operator with my 389 that is ungoverned and I love passing 2 idiot megas that are side by side for a few miles at 75 and they look dumbfounded.

 

Some people have shown themselves to be difficult with speed.

I like to run the limit and make time where necessary. (Usually) HOWEVER, I generally tried to leave room to fix a problem when a whole highway slams on the brakes (Like Maryland when all 4 lanes of I-95 stands on their brakes. I literally have no room to go when they do that. When the entire herd in front of me does that. Im up the creek with no paddle.

Most of my emergency braking was in the Maryland Area. Companies would pale and want to fire me if they ever found out some of my stops I made. One in particular, near the Tydings Bridge northbound. Im steaming over that last hill northbound on 95 just before the blessed havre de grace town and Susquehanna bridge and there they be. ALL the lanes stopped cold. With a old style station wagon with 4 kids in the back looking at me coming on steam locomotive at 84 or so. (Heavy 105K pound container too, international daycab, short wheel base)

I stood on the brakes flat to the floor, pulled both buttons to engage the springs and just waited.

I was measuring with my eyes the median strip a lane and one half a shoulder to my left as the space vanished between me and the 4 kids with that dagburned birdge coming up into my face with that whole thing filled with stopped cars.

I recall thinking how wet will I be after a fall like that into the water so far down. Or am I a dead man. One thing for sure I would not hit those 4 kids.

I bent the truck to get between cars on the last 2 mph or so laying down rubber and blue clouds of smoke. Container tires, one or two were damaged during the stop. (Chester PA container port destination.)

I opened the daycab doors, with rubber knees shaking knocking and scared silly stumbled down onto the hood of the station wagon next to me and carefully stepped onto the ground.

Now if you think on that hood of that station wagon with the 4 kids inside, that was how much room I needed beyond not hitting them. Thanks to the three cars on my right who thought (Correct) that I would probably smash if they did not go to the shoulder giving me room.

Sometimes it takes teamwork to save some lives.

Ive been in many stops before and after that will curl the hair on anyone to this day. But I remember that one crystal clear and probably to the day I die.

I was going to put her onto the median and probably into the river if those three on right did not move. That decision point was probably within two or three painted lines at 14 mph and falling when those three moved. I remember that poor daycab beginning to shake and refusing to endure the forces of that stop.

I better shut up before I talk about how far down that stupid river would be.

And speed? HA. That will take care of itself. If my story does not scare people into taking care of situational awarness and being safe at any speed in traffic I don't know what will.

 

Im also an owner OP with an ungoverned truck.

Honest question here. Why pay twice the price for a 389 when its almost identical to other Petes?

You dont behave poorly? Your behavior on this forum says otherwise.

30 seconds ago you didnt even know any of this information, suddenly youre an expert?

You need to learn some self control and responsibility.

 

Enough of the attitude problems already. Its not cool, its just obnoxious.

There are places where the minimum and maximum are 40 and 80. I-80 and I-90 have a lot of stretches like that out west.

 

Yeah.. its not worth arguing.. physics do not apply to super truckers