why are trucks driving in the middle lane(s)?

We owned a howard johnsons up near the old Hatem Memorial on 40 in Maryland. at one time. 95 came along. Next thing you saw was everyone went onto 95.

40 has been struggling ever since all the way to Baltimore. There is a number of websites that remember it's history and it's particularly special when you consider the old time motor inns and fancy hotels along that road every few miles. Some of which are gone, others closed and a couple houses of vice.

 

I thought the Interstate system was built for an easier transportation of goods and services (i.e. to simplify routes and roads that trucks were taking to deliver their freight).

 

coz fools can't merge

 

Hey, don't get me wrong, I love the back roads. But MD is particularly rough on "wandering semis"

 

It was built after Eisenhower seeing how efficient the german highways were built.

The interstate hwy system was built for the military to get their equipment across the country efficiently.

Still today, you will see all sorts of military eqpt going up n down the interstates.

That doesnt include the contract carriers which haul missiles, rockets, and other munitions, that you don’t notice.

There’s a torpedo and water mine storage facility in the Nevada desert. Nowhere near the oceans.

Many of those greyhound buses are hauling soldiers and marines from base to base on those interstates.

At greyhound, we mostly hauled soldiers but did haul marines less often.

The marines would board the buses with rifles and ammoready to go in case we got ambushed.

The soldiers would sometimes have their rifles under the bus (in storage) but usually rifles were shipped by truck.

I felt safer hauling marines than soldiers. Soldiers would lose stuff and be totally disorganized, except special forces.

One time we stopped for food, they left a private to guard the bus with the rofles and “classifieds”. The private was hungry, turned to me, a civilian bus driver, to guard the rifles and “classifieds”.

The classifieds was a computer with classified info they use.

One time at Ft Leonardwood, the soldiers left their rifles, ammo, and grenades and m-203’s on the grass along the roadway leading into the fort, right off I-44 2 hrs outside of st. Louis.

Anyone could have driven by and grabbed whatever they wanted. Turns out they were walking the road and decided to go into the woods for a briefing and left their rifles along the roadway and forgot to leave someone to guard them.

 

1. Because I can
2. To stay away from the merging kamikaze pilots
3. Because you can pass me on the left or the right
4. So I don't have to keep moving left right left right left right just to not kill anyone
5. I like watching people in cars behind me go insane and forget they have no less than 3 options to go around me

 

During heavy backups I'll run the granny lane fog line..so folks behind me can see what I see and stop accordingly.
Amazes me how many 4 wheelers won't use the advantage..they hug the fog line also..

 

When you go past a base, check out how the extra lane starts and stops at many. With the traffic could you imagine a emergency when they need to get out of a base and then run a few miles into a traffic jam? Most will be going by air anymore.

 

One of the things hammered into me years ago pertaining to safety was to always leave yourself a out. Running the middle lanes takes away all outs and you have to hold that lane when the large crashes happen. If you are in the right lane at least you have a shoulder sometimes and when it gets real bad you can go for the fields after plowing over the fences.

 

If I'm in the middle lane I'm surrounded by soft squishy four wheelers that will cushion the impact