a little something for trucker haters

I doubt that many here hate trucks as their livelihood is intertwined with over the highway trucking. The article really reiterates what we have known and perhaps seen for decades now. There are many poor automobile drivers out there and the numbers will only get worse over time as people increasingly are aggressive in every aspect of their lives.


I doubt there are very many left of the stereotypical 1970's trucker who keeps an open bottle of whiskey or pep pills or both next to him. Trucker conduct would have to be good to remain employed in the industry. Accidents cost trucking companies money and traffic tickets are increasingly pawned off on the truckers themselves.

I don't know how a great many do it when a person is away from home for great lengths of time. Seeing the "country" just would not excite me enough to do it. Also, my back has a habit of acting up at the most inopportune times. I have been fortunate that when my back has bothered I did not have a pressing obligation to force the issue.
 
I wouldn't put a lot of store in anything the University of Michigan says. They are still hanging onto that global warming story. Most of the near accidents I have had on the freeway were caused by truckers. If they would just stop driving slower and slower when I am tailgating then everyone would be safe. Shaking your fist at me when I blow by you is not really safe either...keep those hands at 10 and 2! ANNNND...I am not buying that bumper sticker about the mirrors! You can see me driving next to you!
 
Like everything there are good and bad eggs out there in every line of work. But I must say the worst I have ever been treated on the road is when I am pulling a trailer and that is just a 24 foot gooseneck behind my pickup!

Too many people assume that you are going to allow them in front of you, or pass you on the right side because they couldn't wait 30 seconds for you to merge to the right to open up the left lane for faster traffic, or trying to pass you in a lane that is closing only to honk their horn thinking you will stop and let them by because they are getting pinched between the curb and your trailer. Just to name a few and I could go on and on and on and the sad part is I don't truck that much. The key is give them space and respect and they will do the same for you.
 
Well I'm dissapointed that you forgot to mention that space in front of me for you to dash accross from the left lane directly to the off ramp with your brakes on. Maybe you weren't aware that space was for your use tho.
 
Didn't know anyone hated truckers. I don't even hate the one that tried to kill me last summer on I 40 because I woulden't go over the speed limit in a construction zone where a worker was killed five days prior after being ran over.

Everyone seems to cling to "the other guy's at fault" now a day's. A wreck doesn't matter as long as it's seen as the other guy's fault. What happened to "DRIVE DEFENCIVELY" so as to avoid an accident all together??? You just can't fix stupid and it's become an epidemic.JMO

Like it or not most drivers are in too big a hurry now a days and do not drive defensively like they should. Truckers are no exception and they should carry more of the responsibility.
 
About every time I am on a 4 lane road with with exit ramps some one, usually a car will do that and I am in either A Dakota pickup or a Grand Caravan. Turned in my CDL 9 1/2 years ago.
 
Even nice , even tempered folks become arrogant butt heads, once in control of an auto. Not much we can do to change this. My personal policy is "don't pizzz off the milk truck drive" . Nothing to do with traffic, he might just read the milk tank dip stick wrong, on the low side if you get my drift. Drove into and out of Toronto last Friday in,Sunday out. lots of fellas out with their rigs ,trying to make an honest living, on the highway , and in downtown traffic too.I always try to give them a break when I can. They have deadlines to meet, and are sometimes driving in traffic, on streets that are tough to navigate in a car or pickup.Let commonsense prevail .
 
One reason I wield to milk truck drivers is that I do not think they have baffles in the tank. Around here it has been that way several years.
 
Don't get me started on stupid drivers today. I just got home from hauling a load of cattle to the stock yard.
Enough said.
 
I worked on trucks for 40 yrs and just retired.In the old days there were a lot pill poppers,and drivers who had to have the fastest truck.But,there weren't real tight schedules like there are now with just in time delivery=no warehousing= use it on the factory floor straight off the truck.Back then the drivers just hurried truckstop to truckstop so they could hang out.And not all were pill poppers,just a few.Also the trucks were shorter-40' trailers and mostly cab overs.Now they are mostly 53' trailers and conventional cabs:maybe 20'longer!The highways were less congested;and think about it=we are still driving on the very same highways with double or quadruple the amount of traffic.Just in time delivery means more trucks on the road and more people need more goods and that means more trucks on the same roads with more cars.Drivers are under a lot of pressure to get to their delivery on time.A lot of drivers make the same wage they made 20 yrs ago.The class of driver has changed:underpaid and stressed-this does not always draw high quality people.Many will go elsewhere to make more money.Our roads need enlarged to fit all this traffic,and bridges need replaced/widened.A lot of trucks are governed to 65 mph,while cars do 80 mph.So the cars dart in and out and cut in front of trucks and swerve over to make their exit.New trucks with collision avoidance systems-the brakes are applied automatically,sometimes very suddenly to avoid hitting the idiot that just cut in front;that is very unnerving and there is nothing the driver can do but hold the wheel.Everything that everyone has-came on a truck.My hat is off to truck drivers=your job sucks and I respect you for doing it.Mark
 
Tried to make that obvious...but yes, 100% tongue in cheek. "March madness" is a term well applied to people in my line of work.
 
I'm not a "hater" either. Commuting in and out of St. Louis for the past 25 years, I've seen a lot of crazy crap on I70. Biggest problem I have is "drifters." Sometimes over the white line by as much as 2 foot, and then back. Fatigue, I guess. As we have several long bridges in the area, I tell my kids, never get between a trailer and the bridge rail. I've also seen a lot of cars do some stunts that you wouldn't believe!
 
I normally try to avoid driving close to a truck. I know they need more room to maneuver a corner or more time to stop or speed up. What gets me though is when I am driving the speed limit and they get on my tail when there is no way they are going to be able to pass due to traffic or terrain. Many times I have sailed on past my intended turn because I know the trucker will be blasting his horn and giving me the finger if I signal, slow down and make a perfectly legal turn. Had it happen last summer and my son in law who was traveling behind the truck asked me what I did to make the trucker mad. I had put my signal light on for a right hand turn a couple hundred yards before the corner and tapped the brake. On that particular spot I ordinarily turn off is onto a township road from a regular two lane state highway. I can go one mile farther and come to a corner with a right turn lane so I often just go the extra mile. Have been pushed into town in front of Greyhound busses also. They literally get in your trunk. Minn has minimum distance truckers are supposed to maintain also. It just never happens. I know a car would pull into that space but that is not excuse for the trucker to not obey the law. Just because a car driver is an idiot doesn't mean it gives the trucker a free pass.
 
I drove milk truck 40 years and they had no baffles back then. Tanks to hard to cleaned with baffels.
 
I have retired from 40 years with the diesel industry and truckers were, and still are, a big part of my life. I will look on ahead and if I see something on the side of the road where any sane driver would change lanes to give them space, I will give room behind a truck so he can move over. I just got home from a 120 mile round trip to Indy. On the side of the road was a car with a woman and 3 kids. A roll-back was preparing to load them. I was already in the left lane so I flashed my lights so the semi could see there was room and move over. He got almost half in my lane when a young male (I will never call him a man) swerved into the right lane and came within a foot or so of hitting the roll-back. He never even slowed down. As he came past, we got his license and called it in. I will never tolerate this kind of stupidity. And if the police need evidence, that is why I now have a dash camera and it gets a decent image from my mirrors too.
 
Jon, I doubt that there are very many "Trucker haters" here.

I'm certainly not one, even though I recognize that there ARE some really bad truck drivers out there and that there seem to be a higher percentage that there was 15-20 years ago.

You seem to have the attitude that if someone criticizes SOME truck drivers that they are criticizing ALL of them.
 
I don't hate truckers, and realize they are just trying to make a living like the rest of us. But I do wish the trucks were governed to an identical maximum speed, so you don't get a guy with a set of doubles pulling into the fast lane to pass a guy going 1/2 MPH slower than he is, and taking 5 minutes to complete his pass. It would be great to just have the right lane full of trucks, all going flat out (governed speed), no one trying to pass. And as far as letting folks in at the entrance ramps, let entering cars adjust their speed so they merge into the empty spaces, then pull to the left lane(s) as soon as possible to get out of the way.
 
Yup been there when they do those maneuvers with oversize loads on. And the permit says to stay in the right lane on I-94 from the MI line to the IL line.
You also need to take into consideration what the ATA says. After all they wanted those stupid speed limiters,the changes in the hours of service, and the rest of the stupidity that has gone on in the last ten years.
I do believe that the majority of accidents are caused by cars.
I watch them run to the end of the on ramps all the time with me. When I have an oversize on I don't do much lane changing due to reduced visibility.
 
The tailgating thing... Middle of the night, I'm driving along in a semi, car starts working up behind me with their brights on. They get right behind me and stay there, never dim the lights. This is on a two lane road, so maybe they didn't want to pass, but there was noone else around. Got to a long straight stretch, I kicked truck in neutral, and let it coast to a stop. That car sat there for at least a minute before they finally decided that they needed to move on and take their high beams with them.
 

I'm not a trucker. My youngest brother is and I know a lot of others who are or were truckers.

The things I have personaly seen and the stories I have been told lead me to believe that the average everyday 4 wheeled motorist is a complete idiot.

My gripe about modern truckers is if you give them a chance to pass or a flip of the lights to let them know it's safe to pull back in after passing they rarely acknowledge by flashing their running lights back.

Local log and wood chip truckers are the worst for this and they will crowd you as well. Long haulers seem to be much more considerate.

That's been my experience anyway.
 
Have no problem with truck drivers,it's the cowboys who call themselves truckers. They are also in cars and pickups too.
 
If the railroads hadn't run off a lot of business, there would not be as many trucks on the roads today. I had said many times, look at all the trucks on the road today. There is atleast one person in them and sometimes two. So look at the employment. Also like previous stated, just in time inventory is on a trailer so the business doesn't not have to pay for any excess inventory and who has that. All vehicles have blind spots and I look twice to be safe.

The worst one that bothers me was at Bloomington, IL where west bound 74 merges with north bound 55. The west bound 74 car is in the left lane at the merger and stops, then does a left u-turn south into the north bound 55. I don't know his destiny but should have been run over.
 
Obviously the ATA is going to blame the other guy.
What would you expect; do you really think they would publish an article blaming themselves. LOL
H*ll we just had 3 truck accidents last week in the county and not one car involved; caused massive back ups
 
Of course the reason he takes two miles to pass, is he IS GOVERNED, to maybe 62mph on a 70mph road.
 
Wow. What an idea. Govern them all to the same identical speed.
What a mess that would cause.

First a few facts:
1) Trucks are not all loaded the same. Some have heavy loads, some have light loads. A load of lead sows makes a trailer look empty but weighs around 46,000 pounds. A load of paper towels weighs about 12,000 to 20,000 pounds and fills the trailer to almost bursting. Those two trucks would never be able to maintain the same speeds - governors notwithstanding.
2) This "bright idea" would cause trucks to bunch up on the highways. These clusters of trucks would then be a greater hazard. Visibility would be poor, and in the event of a road hazard, pile ups would become the normal result.

And, to those who preach governing speeds, I say this: How about governing ALL vehicles to the same identical speed. And let's start with YOUR car!!!
 

I don't hate truckers either. However, I've seen truckers do a lot of really rude, stupid moves out there. Around here the favorite is on sharp corners where the trucker drivers onto the opposite sidewalk and blocks 2 lanes to avoid hitting the curbing with the trailer tires. Yeah, I get that it's a big truck and tires are expensive. But this is a dinky little town, you can't wait 15 seconds for traffic to clear before making your move? These guys have traffic blocked or even backing to try and avoid an accident. The other thing is the clowns that drive by 4 signs saying there's an "R" rated bridge ahead and then try to turn around when they get to the bridge that, yes, really does exist! Of course they try turn around on the road and some guys muddy driveway and end up stuck.

I worked with truckers for the last 6 years of my career and it was a pleasure dealing with TRUCKERS. The clowns that just happened to have a Class A and couldn't back a truck to save their lives? Not so much.....
 
As far as the tailgating, I fully agree! In the last few years of my driving "career," I used a cell phone to call the state police to report tailgating big trucks. Too many times, they did not want to hear it. In NJ, there are signs up giving you a number to call on the cell phone to report a dangerous driver. Try calling it once to report somebody. You get treated like a red-headed step child. Then you get connected to the state police, and get more attitude from them. Still, I got some of their company numbers and called in on them to their employers as well. Again, good luck.
 
Dave, NOT SO!!!!!!!!

I can sit you in the seat of a big truck, and park a car RIGHT NEXT TO YOU that you CANNOT SEE!!!!

Don't you ever believe that a trucker can see everything beside him/her. That sign about the mirrors is the ABSOLUTE TRUTH. This has been proven to me many times over. Usually at a safety meeting 4 times a year.
 
(quoted from post at 09:24:05 03/02/15) Well I'm dissapointed that you forgot to mention that space in front of me for you to dash accross from the left lane directly to the off ramp with your brakes on. Maybe you weren't aware that space was for your use tho.

That reminds me of when I had my triaxle, one time a lady had a shopping emergency. it was raining, I had a full load that I could feel getting heavier by the minute. She was slowly passing me on the right, until she got just far enough ahead to see that her exit to the shopping mall was right there. She shot ahead and then swerved in front of me then stood on her brakes so that she could watch for an opening in the right lane. I stood on my brakes and my ABS activated, but I was gaining rapidly on her. I checked my mirror to the left and there was an opening, so I swerved left, then back right to straighten, the back end broke loose and for a couple seconds I'm doing 55 sideways on the Xway with a full load of dirt. I got it straightened out then dumped my air tank through my horns.
 
I work road construction and what I have noticed is, truckers are either the best ones coming through our work zone, or they are the biggest idiots, nothing in between. I understand you have a job to do, well so do I. Nothing worse than having to deal with someone who thinks they are above the rules. Had a guy stopped one time and he was having a fit. Said he didn't have enough time to stop. Then I told him he just passed 4 signs telling people there was construction ahead. He then told me well he was a professional truck driver. Then I told him he should know better. The kicker was, we had been there for a couple of days and he had been through the zone already.
As far as the everyday commuter, yup fools almost every one.
 
(quoted from post at 11:57:57 03/03/15) I work road construction and what I have noticed is, truckers are either the best ones coming through our work zone, or they are the biggest idiots, nothing in between. I understand you have a job to do, well so do I. Nothing worse than having to deal with someone who thinks they are above the rules. Had a guy stopped one time and he was having a fit. Said he didn't have enough time to stop. Then I told him he just passed 4 signs telling people there was construction ahead. He then told me well he was a professional truck driver. Then I told him he should know better. The kicker was, we had been there for a couple of days and he had been through the zone already.
As far as the everyday commuter, yup fools almost every one.

Had a guy up here do the same thing a couple years back and kill 4-5 people.
 

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