What would you want other car/truck drivers to know about sharing the road with semis

I've noticed an increase in truck drivers who pass other truck drivers without allowing "comfortable" space. Possibly out of fear and the increase in the number of four wheelers in tow behind the passing driver ready to jump into any gap that opens up.

And BTW. Four wheelers. We've got poor depth perception in our mirrors. Especially our passenger mirror. If you're slowing down to let us move over, don't do it ten feet off our bumper. Either blink us or increase distance to give us the perception of space.

 

Both of my sons work for VDOT. The first sign says road work ahead. The second sign tells you which lane is closed. They would like you to get over as soon as you safely can. They don't want you to wait until the lane is closed, because that puts them in danger. So please when you see these signs or the VDOT workers on the side of the road, move over if possible, it would make my sons and other highway workers feel a little safer.

Thanks
Sweetpea

 

Exactly - they put the signs up to give you time to move over safely. Racing up to the cones is NOT safe. My rule of thumb (in a 4-wheel sedan) has always been to move over after the first sign indicating lane closure. Don't wait to see the cones or the flashy-arrow sign. Do it NOW.

 

The two things that really bother me is talking on cell phones while driving. Yes I will man up and say that I do sometimes talk on the cell phone. It is ussually in cases where I "have" to talk to the boss or engineer in charge of the truck because something has gone wrong with the truck. If I have a spot to pull over and stop to talk on the phone I will. Most of the time they make us drive roads where you can stop on the side of the two lane road every 20 miles or so.

The second thing is a using your turn signal when switching lanes. How do I know what you are going to do? The turn signal lets me know that you are intending to move over. I don't want to have to guess what you are doing all the time, I am also not a mind reader so I can't go that route. Besides if your hands (or should it be hand) are on the steering wheel it is only a slight movement to get your finger to move over and hit the level for the turn signal. Is it really that hard? I am so particular about the turn signal thing that I use them in parking lots. I want people to know what I am doing and where I am going so I can get home safely at the end of the day. I have not been involved in a accident yet where I was driving and I do not intend to or want to.

 

Drafting is when someone gets close enough to the rear of our trailer that they are out of the turbulence of the air that we are moving with our truck/trailer combination. They do this to save on fuel...we move the air out of the way and there is a slight vacuum created behind our trailers. By getting in close, the drafter gets slightly better fuel mileage. The problems this causes for us are myriad...stress of having someone so close behind that you can't see them...stress of knowing that if an emergency occurs where I have to brake hard, they may not be able to stop in time and end up under my axles...stress of knowing that if a tire blows up on my truck, it will probably take out their car (and if it is the windshield that is taken out of their car, it might cost them their lives ). Here are fuel savings by drafting of a car behind a bigrig (from Mythbusters data - see attached image below). So the best spot for fuel economy is 10 ft off the back of my trailer...sure wouldn't drive my car there though!

 

My suggestions:

Learn to merge properly. It's your responsibility to merge with traffic, not ours to speed up or slow down.

When we put on our turn signal and you're in the lane next to us and can move over, DO IT.

When you pass me, give me at least 50 feet before you pull back in front of me (100 would be great).

When you pass me, GO FASTER THAN I AM GOING! (Yes, you truckers, too). I don't enjoy slowing down 2-3MPH just because you passed me to do the same speed (or less) I was traveling.

Don't flip us off when we did something that irritated you. We most likely did something in the interest of yours and someone else's safety.

Look over your shoulder when you're merging on the freeway. You shouldn't be right where the lanes merge before you realize there's a 70-foot truck next to you. As I learned in my driving school (Not CDL), if you're using your brakes on the freeway, you're doing something wrong.

If I flash my markers a few times and you haven't done anything particularly nice, try checking your brights.

When you're pulling a trailer, adjust your lights.

Fog lights are for................... yes, fog.

My bumper will still be in tact when your motor is sitting in your back seat (don't tailgate).

Signal early. There's nothing like sitting at a stop sign and waiting on one car that turns on the street I'm on at the last minute.

Don't sit right behind me when I have my turn signal on and expect me to be able to judge what you're going to do.

Don't merge into the lane that I'm already half-done merging into. Maybe we could both fit, but it'll hurt you alot more than it hurts me if you're wrong.

Don't pass me to get to an exit ramp that is less than .75 miles away.

Don't pass me to turn into a driveway less than 5 minutes away.

I guess the best advice is just to stay off the road. From the drivers I've dealt with, I'm sure 99% of people are guilty of several things mentioned on this list. Yes, I'm one of them, but never by intent (I used to be good at driving my 4-wheeler).

 

Cmoore - you got one I'd missed...

Though it wasn't taught in my Driver's Ed class - I got it from my Dad.

If you cause somebody else on the road to take evasive action (that includes accelerate or force a lane-change as well as brake), you've screwed up. I realize that with speed-governed trucks, a lot of us are going to force lane changes - it's still wrong, but not much you can do about it.

 

excellent replies above.just wanted to add to stopping times.that space we leave in front of us is our stopping distance,it is not for a 4-wheeler to jump in front of us and hit their brakes.also this happened to me in texarkana,i was in the right lane and several cars were merging,i was nice enough to merge left and let them out.all the cars sped up and went around me except the last one .she felt like she needed to ride right in my blind spot,well i went to merge and luckily i seen her b4 something bad happened,there are blind spots on trks. where we can't see you.best thing is if you're going to pass,pass and give us our room.remember every time we change a lane we are taking a chance for an accident.we are also taught to protect life it would be nice if the general public also thought that way.good luck with your speech

 

Dawn,

Let me add this this comment about following to close. On the back of some trailers you may see a sign that says "if you can't see my mirrors, I can't see you". So tell folks to look for the side mirrors on a tractor, either side, then the driver of the big rig knows you're there. I once had some kids rear end me, I didn't know they were behind me because I couldn't see them, when I had to stop suddenly. I was loaded so heavy I never felt them hit the back of my trailer and only stopped when I heard the shattered glass from their car falling on the pavement as I started to pull away.