when big trucks want over in your lane

Suicide by vehicle is the most selfish thing someone could do. There was a similar incident that happened just outside the town I grew up in. Guy plowed into a loaded log truck. The amount of energy in a crash is amazing. The car hit right on the outside of the driver's side frame rail and literally cleaned every single bracket and part attached to that rail off. Even knocked out the steer axle and 2 out of 3 drive axles.

 

General rule of thumb: If you cant drive faster than me then dont try to pass me.

 

While this specific scenario was indeed suicide by semi, there are still multiple scenarios where a truck has to get over for whatever reason, or risk killing someone. "Just" slowing down isn't always enough. If a truck puts their blinker on share the road... There's a reason they are wanting over.

It is the law to move over for vehicles on the side of the road in just about every state. It is also extremely dangerous to pass people walking on the shoulder / fixing a flat for a vehicle to drive in that next lane. Personally I've had cones out, and hazards on while fixing a coolant leak. The weather conditions were fairly windy / icy. I stumbled numerous times. There were 2 more lanes to get into (3 Lane highway) yet I couldn't count how many cars with nobody near them narrowly missing me. If I had slipped, and fell chances are the car would have hit me, and I'd have rolled down the mountain.

Share the road people, and quit holding the wheel while letting your car drive you.

If you don't like semis cutting you off think about how many 4 wheelers accelerate the moment they see our indicators. I promise you don't see as much of the road as we do. Yes they might be an ####### trying to pass someone 1mph faster than they are going. However most of us get over as soon as we are able, and the one time you don't let us in could be a semi swerving to prevent hitting a man walking through traffic. Which likely means you will get hit. Either way the driver will probably lose their license because that's how the world works, but at least they won't be in prison for killing a person not doing what they are supposed to.

 

I explained this to my son when he was about 12.
There is this remote connection between my turn signal and the gas peddle of the car behind/ beside me.
If I turn my blinker on he moves into my blind spot...naturally.
What is not natural is for a fellow truck driver to prevent a merge.

 

In Arkansas the law requires people to move to left for police, emergency vehicles, forestry and state highways etc. But people usually move over anyway where possible because there is a percentage of our drivers who are rather unable to calculate or gain speed on the shoulder before merging. They pull straight into the travel lane causing chaos.

If I am moving over it is for one of those two reasons. A first move towards preventing what I already suspect and plan is going to or about to happen for all vehicles non emergency or Law.

I remember one in the Nashville- Louisville highway in the rain, he was parked on the side changing a tire or something hanging out into my lane. It was a sharp descent into a left curve which leaves him with no margin of life. He flattened himself against his rear door while I sort of bullyed over to the left to give both of us the room hoping the suction of my trailer's passing wont pull him off and throw him into the traffic behind me. I managed to miss him not by much. It was a really a bad spot in the rain.

Another was in VA on 95 north of the old 76 which is approx the northern part of Ashland-Richmond metro area anyhow there was a old man standing behind his mini van that night, facing three lanes of solid 85-100 mph traffic blasting by in the rain waving for help. By the time I saw him, understood the stiatuion I was already past. And there was not going to be any stop made and totally potentially ruin all three lanes worth of people rushing north for whatever reason, I call it herd think because too many group up and run and it's not necessary. I don't think that man got help until sunrise the next day which was a sunday morning.