When truck drivers suck, they REALLY suck.

[Shytheed Dumas]

I have just about had it with semi's these days. Here is the typical problem:

You're last in the line of 5 or 10 cars travelling on an interstate about 15 over the speed limit in the left lane, just about to pass two semis doing 5 under in the right lane. Nobody is behind you for 1/4 mile, but for some reason the trailing truck flips on his turn signals and PUSHES his way in front of you, when he could've waited a second and fallen in behind, bothering nobody. Now he runs the next 2 to 8 miles side by side with the asshat that he's "trying" to pass.

This happened to me this summer for about the 6th time in a 300 mile trip, and I just closed the gap so he could fall in behind me - there was room for 20 trucks behind me. Instead the bastard damn near pushed me off the side of the road, flipping me off and honking. Now, I've got my wife and 5 year old with me, and I admit I lost my temper which turned it into a little bit of a road rage exhibition until my wife freaked and talked me down. He made like he was going to follow me off my exit a few miles later, and I was really scared that I was going to end up drawing my pistol for personal defense - something I hope to never do - but he yanked back onto the road and kept going. In hind site I should've fallen behind him and called the cops, but it didn't occur to me.

In the last week, I've had two truckers try to pass me in the last hundred yards or so of two lane on-ramps; both times could have cause a wreck if I hadn't made up for their stupidity.

So wrong with these people? I think I'm seeing more of these kinds of behaviors behind the wheels of semi's all the time. Has anybody else noticed this?

And just so it doesn't turn into an instant flame war, no, I do not believe all truck drivers are dicks - far from it, because I see a lot that are courteous. It's just that when you get a dick in a vehicle that size, they take on something dangerously worse.

 

[Sl1dewaysSupra]

Thats ok, last night I was heading down a mountian road at about one in the morning. Just a little road, no shoulders and barley wide enought to get two cars on it at once. I come around a corner and what do I see? A big ass FedEx semi jack knifed on a two lane road. Blocking the only road off the mountian. Needless to say I had to wait there until the ladys boss came and after about two and a half hours we got it outta there. Yeah, it sucked. But at least it was kinda funny.

 

[trucker]

you guys are tring to bait me...right?


let me guess, those 5 under trucks have these names on them


swift(shure wished i had a fast truck)

abf(another blocked freeway)

usa(so bad, we don't even bothering making up names for them)

cfi(certified fucking idiots)

schnider

and jb hunt?

with a major shortage of drivers these days, they are throwing anybody with a cdl and a heartbeat behind the wheel these days. hell i had mt first incident on the road a couple of nights ago, and managed to lose my training status, but i was on my last trainee anyway, i'm sick and tired of the idiots they were tring to get me to train, in the last couple of months, i have had constant heartburn, and have lost about a half inch of hairline.

without saying anything i shouldn't my accident was partly brought on by a trainee asking me about the dumbest question i have ever heard..it completely vaporlocked me, at the same time i was reaching for a gear that wasn't there, and dealing with a different truck that i have had about 10 minutes seat time in. it was my fault, i lost my edge, but with a million safe miles, i'm allowed one screw up i think.


and my terminal is fighting like hell to keep me as a trainer...unbeleivable

 

[mattcosta7]

And just so it doesn't turn into an instant flame war, no, I do not believe all truck drivers are dicks - far from it, because I see a lot that are courteous. It's just that when you get a dick in a vehicle that size, they take on something dangerously worse.

Alot of the time, they just cannot see you. I'm not saying it's the case, but do you know the visibility of an 18 wheeler?


The rule of thumb is if you can see the trucker's eyes, then he is able to see you, otherwise all he sees is truck. So if the road behind was empty, and you were in one of his numerous, gigantic blind spots, you can't blame him too much.

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

I knew you'd chime in, Trucker - no harm intended.

Nah, not baiting you unless you're "one of those"...

I was actually interested in your take as a truck driver.


Matt - understood on the seeing thing, but if I'm in the left lane, he's in the right, he can seen down that lane in his sideview mirror - right?

 

[BlackMKIII]

I was going down 880 Southbound in Fremont around 8one night, and there's someone towing a full 18-wheeler. We both get off at the Mission/680 interchange (a skinny overpass to say the least) and the front fender of the towed vehicle starts hitting the inner guardrail.

Oops.

Now there are 10 cars backed up on the offramp and dumbass is TOTALLY STUCK. At least his buddy is smart enough to help traffic back down the ramp. Talk about moronic. Most big rigs are smart enough to know that the overpass is too narrow for them AND their trailers. This idiot though he could get all that plus his tow rig up front.:nono:

And it seems like drivers for "Safeway" don't pay as much attention as they should, either. Ironic, isn't it?

 

[Fuzz420]

I feel your pain, i always just ask why, he coulda just waited 10 seconds and i would have just went by him giving him all the time in the world to pass the other guy

 

[mattcosta7]

I knew you'd chime in, Trucker - no harm intended.

Nah, not baiting you unless you're "one of those"...

I was actually interested in your take as a truck driver.


Matt - understood on the seeing thing, but if I'm in the left lane, he's in the right, he can seen down that lane in his sideview mirror - right?

Not as well as you'ld imagine. When you're driving, you have a blindspot in the lane next to you on both sides. His is about 10 times larger than yours. Much of the time spent next to the holding area is invisible to the guy driving. Directly behind him there is zero visibility. In front, your invisible unless you can see the driver in your rearview. I'm going to see if I can find a diagram.

http://www.dot.state.pa.us/PENNDOT/Districts/district4.nsf/040301-s1-nozones.htm

check it out, crude representation of where you can't be seen.

Once again, I'm not saying it's always the case. A good majority of similar sounding situations that I've seen or been in as well, stemmed from lack of visibility.

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

I never paid any attention to the names on the trailers, Trucker.

We used to have an R&L hub up the road from work, and when they started pulling out they would just come out in a continuous line at times. I didn't like them, but somebody must have complained, because it got better all of a sudden.

 

[swaq]

I had one recently that stayed in the passing lane for at least 10 minutes. He passed a whole bunch of other trucks and stuff.

But that is nothing compared to what I saw just a few days ago. A truck I was passing was in the right lane on I-5. As I was passing him he was coming up fast on an old antique car in the right lane, probably doing about 45 mph. Instead of waiting for an opening to pass on the left, the truck accelerated a bit and used a short on-ramp merge lane to pass on the right! He just barely got by, I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

 

[MassSupra89]

Semi's in the left lane bothers the shit out of me.
It's supposed to be illegal in my state but I see it all the time.
I understand they're working by miles, and getting stuck behind some slow-ass means they're not getting paid. But the ones that bother me are the one's who don't move back into the right lane after they've passed and contirnue to do 55-60.
Then passenger cars are forced to pass on the right if they want to get past this moving roadblock, and half the time they almost take out the car to the right of them when switching back over.

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

Typical blind spots per Matt's post:

Now, what I'm talking about is several cars right along side the truck in the fast lane. I am behind him and in the fast lane, nobody behind me. According to this I can be seen, but he pushes his way in and then runs the same damn speed as the truck he's passing for the next 10 minutes. It's farging rude, and dangerous too.

 

[GotToyota?]

The ones in my area go FASTER then the speed limit. It seriously pisses me off when I'm on a three lane highway, and I'm either in the left or middle lane, and these trucks tailgate my ass going 5-10MPH faster, causing me to move over to the right. They push it a lot more then they should. Trucks need their own freeway IMO.

-Matt

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

Cars do the same thing, why just pick out the semis?

In the AMs if I'm running a bit late on the bike, I've been known to pass them on the shoulders.

70 passing 68...

The only time I can 'safely' do 15 over, is ussually in the right two lanes, the left one is ppl in a long line.

 

[Jayhall]

Trucks need their own freeway IMO.

freeway, highways, whatever, those roads connecting major citys were put in place for trucks. As car drivers, we ar mearly using their roads

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

Cars do the same thing, why just pick out the semis?

In the AMs if I'm running a bit late on the bike, I've been known to pass them on the shoulders.

70 passing 68...

The only time I can 'safely' do 15 over, is ussually in the right two lanes, the left one is ppl in a long line.

I half agree with your question, Matt, but there are a couple of reasons for singling them out:

1. They are huge - it is more dangerous when they don't drive safely
2. I run into far more trucks (especially when you consider the actual percent that pull this shit) that will hang in the passing lane as a rolling road block without any regard for people who are trying to get by, and will often run slower while doing it - especially up hill! There's no excuse for that.

Again, this is not an 'all truckers suck thread'.

 

[Jayhall]

i hate it when anyone passes going 2 mph faster than the person they are passing. Not to say i own the road, but talk about selfish, there are other people out there too

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

2. I run into far more trucks (especially when you consider the actual percent that pull this shit) that will hang in the passing lane as a rolling road block without any regard for people who are trying to get by, and will often run slower while doing it - especially up hill! There's no excuse for that.

And the trucker said nothing about bear bait... :nono:

My parents drove team for CFI, and they seemed to think that most drivers for them were damn good. Nothing good to be said about JB hunt/Schnieder or w/e. They said truckers also like to let their signal flash twice and would just merge over. Honestly, who is going to willingly let a truck in front of them?

They are gods among men during traffic jams, keeping those asshats from flying up the closed lanes by hanging beside another truck... for that, I do thank them.

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

They are gods among men during traffic jams, keeping those asshats from flying up the closed lanes by hanging beside another truck... for that, I do thank them.

As do I. ::salute::

 

[TurboWarrior]

Most dangerous truck drivers have to be Dump-Truck drivers. Those motherfuckers are nuts