That truck driver you flipped off? Let me tell you his story.

Star Tribune.com ^ | August 3, 2011 | DAN HANSON

[Daffynition]

Let me tell you a little about the truck driver you just flipped off because he was passing another truck, and you had to cancel the cruise control and slow down until he completed the pass and moved back over.

His truck is governed to 68 miles an hour, because the company he leases it from believes it keeps him and the public and the equipment safer.

The truck he passed was probably running under 65 mph to conserve fuel. You see, the best these trucks do for fuel economy is about 8 miles per gallon. With fuel at almost $4 per gallon -- well, you do the math. And, yes, that driver pays for his own fuel.

He needs to be 1,014 miles from where he loaded in two days. And he can't fudge his federally mandated driver log, because he no longer does it on paper; he is logged electronically.

He can drive 11 hours in a 14-hour period; then he must take a 10-hour break. And considering that the shipper where he loaded held him up for five hours because it is understaffed, he now needs to run without stopping for lunch and dinner breaks.

[Daffynition]

Thanks for your tale of the road. Glad you’re around to tell it!

Stay safe! I appreciate truckers of all types!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I needed to get down the Donner from Reno to Stockton a few years ago and was fortunate to rent the last 4 WD Ford Explorer on the airport lot. It was my first trip down this road and I recall a line of trucks with drivers out putting on the chains. I was snowing like mad in Reno. Clear and mild when I got to Stockton.

[Eeyore4651]

Really??? Well let me tell you that when the 08 elections were going on I was still driving truck. None of the truck drivers I talked to voted dem.They all understood the long term problems we would have if a dem got in and they also know what will have to happen to get things back to the way they should be. Unlike a lot of people they have the advantage of foresight.

To the ones that say they give extra space before coming back in front of the truck they just passed let me ask you do you trust your life to your car's engine or tires? Because if you don't then give even more space cuz if they fail the first thing that happens is you lose speed the truck needs time and space to react before hitting you and running over the top of you.

[B4Ranch]

>>How is the guy who delivered your TV more integral to the process than the guy who designed it or the guy who soldered it together or the guy who built the store that sold it to you?<<

If the trucker hadn’t delivered the TV it would still be sitting on the manufacturers floor and the TV store would not have any products to sell. Airplanes and trains do not deliver the products to the stores that sell the items. Delivery that is “just in time” comes when truckers haul the items to the destination.

Come on out West and you’ll see truckers chaining up the tires on their rigs during snowstorms to safely accomplish the “just in time” food, medical supplies, gasoline, livestock, you name it deliveries.

[meatloaf]

My parents did tell me not to play in traffic. Pleasantries aside, truck drivers are required to be randomly drug tested. The company that employed the trucker is being investigated.

http://www2.tricities.com/news/2011/jul/11/trucking-company-being-investigated-11connects-rev-ar-1165985/ Obviously something happened that resulted in federal regulations not being properly enforced with that many issues.

Back to playing in traffic, when I see 80,000 lbs coming at me in the rear view mirror, I get out of the way. I either accelerate if necessary and change lanes or immediately change lanes to the right or left safely depending on traffic. I doubt lane discipline is taught in driver's ed. I figure staying out of each others way should be common sense. Of course common sense isn't common on the highway. I would hope folks' reaction to 80,000 lbs coming at them would be to get out of the way. But what do I know. Some folks just have to look down the barrel of a loaded gun too. As good as trucking's safety record is, it only takes one bad driver to kill a bunch of people.

[B4Ranch]

Percentage wise truck drivers are at fault about 30% of the time in accidents. Those are the ones that get shown on TV and make the front page, of course.

>>Why do they come into your lane without proper warning or room to do so??? Because they can. <<

JustaDumbBlonde, If you ever have the chance, climb into the cab of a big rig and look in the mirrors. That way you’ll understand better just what a trucker can and cannot see. I am certain that you will be staying out of his blind spots after that one test. I am also certain that you will drive with your headlights on 100% of the time so you won’t be confused with the bug sh!t on his mirrors.

[Zuriel]

**I recall a line of trucks with drivers out putting on the chains.**

Ha! We had three other guys cover for the boss’s friend, one each week, after I played ‘test driver’ on that run. I sat in the comfort of my home and watched, via the Truckee scale webcam, the second driver get sent around back for safety inspection. Then I watched him chain up just shy of the Truckee/Donner Pass exit ramp thanks to the webcam they had there. He was wearing his headset, talking to me, and was not happy with the conditions.

[meatloaf]

Just to make a point, the flip side is that the other driver in the small vehicle is responsible in 70% of the accidents involving a truck.

Any driver needs to be aware of all of the traffic around them. The government has been running “no zone” ads for years. I've seen the info on trailers.

http://www.sharetheroadsafely.org/nozone/nozone.asp

Obviously the visibility in a small vehicle is much better. If you're really aware of traffic and you're watching vehicles overtaking others, it's wasy to get out of the way by changing lanes. That means if you see another driver of a vehicle, smaller or larger, ahead of you in another lane overtaking another vehicle it means that driver may soon make a lane change into your lane.

[Zuriel]

**I try to be nice but when I drive the old desert highways images of Denise Weaver op in my head.**

‘Denise’...??

In that movie ‘Denise’ would be an accurate description of the pathetic role he played. Sure, he got brave at the end (which was really stupid in itself). He could have beat it up the road and rolled an abundance of rocks out on the pavement, near a dangerous blind curve, to ruin the big rigs tires, or hid along the road somewhere and thrown a softball size one right into his radiator, while that truck was rolling along at 75+. They also need a lot of room to turn around. But it was just so hillarious watch that show.

[blackie]

It takes all kinds. ;)

[Daffynition]

But there's only one of you! YOU!

{{{SMOOCHES}}}

[Little Ray]

I don’t care if he flipped me off (I’m not actually looking), I just want him off my bumper.
And I don’t care how late he is, its not my fault. I’m not going to try go faster than the speed limit, esp. under iffy conditions.

[ErnBatavia]

I'm with you...that's my only gripe with 'em, and I consider it minor. Wifey and I just wrapped up a long road trip and it became a joke for us if we were approaching a grade - yep, the one in the rear is going to make his pass just as we're coming up.

My major b*tch is with cars/cruise control. It became apparent to me that my Honda CRV was the ONLY car on the road that comes with this nifty feature on cruise control: known as Cancel/Resume.

[Daffynition]

If you drive a car that can't out maneuver a truck...you need a new car...no matter what the conditions. Skip Barber is a great driving experience. ;)

[Gaffer]

Notice what lane this asswipe is in....going up a hill.....sorry, I commiserate truckers have a tough row to hoe, but it is no excuse for endangering other vehicles so they don't lose their momentum can't pass that other slower truck.

If you've ever driven up 75 north of Marietta and seen the constant line of trucks doing this in ALL lanes of traffic and seen the horrific accidents they caused, you'd feel the same. As far as I'm concerned GDOT should have their truck DOPS police cars up and down 75 and 575 every five miles. I don't need my damned mayonnaise or beans that quick.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Crossing Iowa once, I came up on a truck. On the back was a big sticker that said, “If you can’t see my mirrors, I can’t see you.” Okay, I thought. Good to remember. Then I changed to the left lane and started to pass him. I was halfway past him and looking at his mirror when he started to come over into my lane, forcing me off the road and into the median.

[Gaffer]

That’s when you back off a bit and pull out your 45 and pop a trailer tire or two. Road gators pretty quick.

[CholeraJoe]

You see, the best these trucks do for fuel economy is about 8 miles per gallon. With fuel at almost $4 per gallon --

Compressed natural gas sells for $1.43 per gallon and gets better efficiency. It's also much cleaner than diesel.

[Daffynition]

[Gaffer]

If they can’t obey the law and not endanger the general traveling public and make a living then they should find another damn line of work. I go up and down 575 the entire length every day. Trash trucks (semis with long trailers) from Cherokee and Pickens County hauling ass empty down to Cobb to pick up their trash and dump in back up in Cherokee. These guys are maniacs trying to get “one more load” in for the day and they have caused so many accidents it’s pitiful.

Another incident in Jasper proper on 515...a trucker following his wife through the light (yellow/red) going 55+ at least plowed into a young mother’s car on the cross street. She was killed - her disabled daughter in the car. All because the trucker wanted to follow his unloaded rig wife through the light. I see markers all up and down that road every day and as far as I’m concerned that GDOT DOPS cop car is a godsend!