Tailgating the general public at high speeds

It's all relative. If we're following safety standards, then we've fulfilled a professional obligation. How one goes about this has nothing to do with importance (in my humble opinion). If you place safety above professionalism, then what are we talking about? Nonviolence... that's my religion (I'm just a layman here).

 

Safety and professionalism go hand in hand as far as I'm concerned anyway. I think we actually agree here too. You really can't have one or be complete in the other with having the correct ( professional ) attitude to be able to make sure that your are using the safest procedures and habits in order to drive safely.....to me at least they are one in the same. You can of course be a really safe driver while being a complete jerk , its all in the decision making process....a good / professional attitude will almost always will be a drivers best safety tool......

 

Please refer to "semi" retired's post #49. Notice how he says the same thing you just did. And, notice how in the very next post #50 that I said that I agree with him. That was three hours ago.

 

I see we are on the same page....my bad.

 

I'd say safety is but a finger on the hand of professionalism for that matter, because it is our job to follow professional standards, while the relative safeness of these has evolved over the years, and will continue to do so (although, trucking is less compatible with roads that didn't evolve with its advancements, or lack thereof in either direction, and such standards overlap).

For example (we have the general public potentially tailgaiting me at high speeds, while I am required to go about 1/3 of their speed, which would likely result in an underride fatality). As a professional, I was required to drive in a way I felt was less safe, by law, than I could have been moving in the flow of traffic (as considered safe at higher truck speeds on similar terrain elsewhere), and will have to continue doing this obstructively slow speed limit until that particular professional standard changes in the area (even though I can cite safety circumstances that may well justify breaking this law, I have no authority to do so, and would cease to be a professional as a result, so I cannot honestly say that safety is my priority, in practice—to that end, I'd have to become a monk, and will cross that bridge when I build it, as safety goes hand in hand with nonviolence, to the extent of my religion and regard for the sanctity of life—what safety pertains to, after all, it involves a greater context than trucking itself, though it occupies a lesser context within the profession—similarly contrasted by other religious pursuits, such as an Amish horse and cart that travels through an intentional community having a higher level of safety in moving freight than a heavy truck on the interstate).

 

Sometimes common sense and experience are your best tools.

 

That is some of the stupidest **** ever. They fired a driver at your company because somebody called in and made a complaint? How do they know that person wasn't full of **** just being an ******* trying to get another driver in trouble? Was there any video or any proof of what that driver supposedly did? This guy also had 20 years experience...yeah it seems like BS excuse to get rid of the guy and hire someone on that will be paid less than the guy with 20 years driving. What company does GSF stand for so I know never to apply for them if I leave my current job.

 

That's some serious BS. Well at least we all know if we want to cause someone in GSF to lose there job just call up safety and make some BS claim about there driving...being honest that is something I'd rather people didn't know except for the lawyers involved in the drivers lawsuit against GSF.

 

I wish you would've put that in the first post so I wouldn't have made two post bashing what happened.

 

You're kidding, right?

Wrongful termination?

Seriouisly people need to understand that if someone gets fired doing this work, they get fired and that's it. There is rarely a situation where a wrongful termination case is justified unless there is something illegal going on within the company and the person is targeted to keep their mouths shut.

Most companies care less about litigation over a fired employee, especially if there is even one complaint. Most of the states are what is called "at will" employment states which means you work at the behest of the company with no obligation to employ you.

Now to the OP, it seems that those who are tailgating cars, and other trucks for that matter are one of the biggest problems we have in our industry. Many of them would justify it by crying about the regulations and having to log but the truth is this is a carry over of their poor driving habits in a four wheeler, and also their arrogance.

Today I had one ride my butt for four miles expecting me to move out of his way - I was driving in the center lane, this truck doesn't have a speed limiter on it but it had 60k of castings on the deck. he was a driver for a company that is known in our area for the hiring of reckless cowboys. I have never seen one of their trucks ever drive the speed limit and had to deal with a couple of their drivers almost causing an accident - legal action. So after he passed me, cutting off a car and a utility truck to get by me, he had to be doing 70 (in a 55) by the time got passed me and cut me off.

Now before any of you think I was in the wrong, I had the truck in the center lane for a very specific reason, I had 60k on the deck and while many don't seem to get that this doesn't seem much, it is hard to make a panic stop. This freeway has entry points every mile and sometimes two, many people do not stop or yield (even though it is the law here that freeway traffic has absolute right of way), a lot of people will stop half way into the right lane. So it is safer for all concern if trucks travel in the center lane.