Your own personal driving "policies"

I skip to the fuel desk, humming the theme to the Smurfs.

After retrieving my order from McDonald's, I stroll back to the fuel island playing "here comes the aeroplane" with my fries.

Then I get serious and fuel the truck. Whole ordeal can last 45 minutes or so.

But seriously, I stop at ALL stop signs, and use my indicators EVERY time.

 

I just try to stay alive, and keep the people around me alive, too...
~ Always drive with headlights on.
~Always signal turns
~Always keep a safe following distance.
~Always check, and sometimes double-check behind me before backing.
~I live in the land of horrendous traffic jams and four-wheel drivers who will dive in and out of any empty space on a highway, no matter how small the space or fruitless the effort. I'll admit that, every now and then, I intentionally split the lanes and hold back traffic to allow other trucks to merge or change lanes completely. And, other trucks have done this for me. Is this just a California thing, or have you done this too???

 

When you see someone playing with or talking on their Cellphone (without a handsfree device), while driving down the Freeway. Blow your air horn at them.

 

Good post.

When I see a school bus, I go in to super safety mode. I give the bus all the room it wants and try to get around it as safely as possible.

When it is raining, I slow down and avoid passing. The spray from a tractor trailer actually does blind the four wheelers.

 

~ I always drive with ALL of the exterior lighting on, even the overhead clearance and marker lights. Lights aren't there just for you to see, but also to be seen.

~ Every 8-15 seconds I'm checking my mirrors to see what's around my truck and to keep an eye on the trailer and tandems.

~ I never crank the radio all the way up and I always crack a window open, that way if something on my truck breaks I can hear it.

~ Learn the Smith system and use it EVERY TIME you drive. One day, it will save your life and/or the life of someone else.

 

- If I have to drive through a residential area to get to the customer, I drive a tad slower and make an effort to be quiet.

- Over holiday weekends (Labor Day, Fourth of July, etc), I'll drive with my highbeams on during the day.

- If I find myself passing too many cars, I believe I am driving too fast will slow it down. I don't like being a lane hopper.

- I will always try to be in the correct lane when I am two miles from my exit/turn.

- When it comes to a lane shutdown merge, I will never jockey for position. I keep a steady speed and constant distance from the vehicle in front. Eventually the flow of cars will stop.

- I try to not be in the lane that is shut down or the lane immediately next to it. Same with accidents.

 

-Slow in the fast lane
-Fast in the slow lane
-Parked next to Cat scale whenever possible.
-New Jersey doesn't believe in straight highways.
-Pennsylvania doesnt believe in merging lanes.

 

In addition to the many good ones already posted I always maintain that following distance no matter how many morons slide in front of me just because there's space there.

Backing out out a little to maintain that gap between me and who's in front of me never made me late......and kept me from plowing into same said idiots a time or 3 when traffic stopped in front of us.

im also one of the very few that I've seen that has the sense to hang behind a truck that's only 1mph slower than me until I've got plenty of clear road behind me to pass without holding anyone up. A holdover from my 62mph truck days that is a little easier to live with now that I have one that will do 65-66 lol but I don't jump out there for the elephant race. If I can get around I will....otherwise I just hang back till I can. Again, it's never made me late.

Trip planning.....I always get the lay of the land using google earth going in somewhere new and always have an 'escape route' planned if I miss the final turn or can't get to the customer for some reason on final. Only needed it twice in almost 4 years but those 2 times I had alternate options already planned were worth all the other times I planned for the unexpected that didn't happen.

 

- "If I am merging into a freeway and a truck moves to the left, I will hold back until that truck passes and moves back to the right before I go back to my cruise speed."

Same. I wish more Billy Big Riggers did this. Been forced one to many times in the left to get off the pedal and let the jerk pull ahead and then fall back behind him/her. Anymore I just stay right and they can hit the breaks and get behind me and pass me later.

 

Drive like I have a brain.