Semi truck drivers

I am really beginning to think these semi drivers around here are out to get me. In the past three weeks I have had three semis run a stop sign and pull right out in front of me. Luckily I have gotten to the point that I slow down anticipating them to do it. I am pretty sure they still have brakes on them trucks.

Though once not the case, many/most semi drivers are not nearly as careful and considerate as they once were.

Dean

Just think how many times JonF has been hit in truck stop parking lots!

I used to think that most professional truck drivers were safer than average, considering the requirements to maintain a CDL. But recently there have been numerous accidents where the trucker was at fault, just today I read where a semi crossed the centerline and hit a 16 year old head on and killed him. I guess this is the result of our skilled worker shortage.

I found the easiest way to avoid speeding tickets, is to move somewhere the speed limit is the speed I like to drive!

We've got a guy who is always climbing up someone's backside. Comes into town like it's a nascar pit stop. The last set of trailer brakes were toast within a year. By the look of the clutch when I replaced the transmission, it'll be lucky to go over a year.

The insurance company wants dashcams and will give a discount for them.

If the new brakes don't make a year again, we'll likely get them.

And I know who is going to ***** the loudest about it.

We're running 600+ horse and engine brakes. If you do it right, you can drive 100 miles home from the one plant we haul feed out of, and the only need for the brake pedal is to knock off the cruise control and let the people behind you know you're slowing down. I can do it with 460 horse. And 90 thousand gross weight.

I won't go otr again. You are more likely to get run over by another truck as a car on the interstate. In your big truck.

The semi-drivers were doing that and other things where we used to live; they were real bullies on the road. I called the truck enforcement division of ADOT (people that I knew from work) and it turned out that they were just starting a new enforcement task force with the Feds, so our area was the first area that they hit. Didn't take long for the word to get around and the drivers started obeying the laws again.

I was driving a triaxle dump truck yesterday, through a very heavy traffic area. The lane ahead of me was clear for 100 yards ahead, while the lane beside me was coming to a stop. A little car steered right into my lane right beside me in order to get in ahead of me. He would have hit me if I had not swerved. 2,500 lb car forcing 73,000 lb truck over.

I would hope that most big-rig drivers are capable, but the attitude that "I'm a professional driver so step aside" attitude has got to stop. Some of them really are arrogant buggers when they get behind the wheel. Probably no different a percentage than most of us driving cars and pickup trucks, but unfortunately we get no second chances with a semi on the road.

Very little Professionalism in this world now days. Truckers are just one segment of it. Corporations are running the person out who knows the most because they have to pay them more. Hence you get bad drivers mechanics who are parts changers ect. Today the person you see doing a job might as well be a monkey because that is about all they know monkey see monkey do.

Gary, when I've been thru your area the milk trucks can be scary. No governors, fursur.

Luckily the statistics prove that these complaints are mostly bs. Truckers have always had this type reputation, just as old truckers always say the new ones are worse than they were. The facts are that trucking as an industry has been getting more and more safe steadily since the 80's. That does not mean that there aren't some bad drivers out there tho.

Yes, them and the bull haulers are the worst. Most freight haulers are very courteous even the guys hauling those big loads like wind generators.

Glad you mentioned that.

My wife has a half-sister who drives a bull hauler. And to meet the gal, you can't imagine her doing anything else. If she got into a cussing contest with a dozen other drivers, I'd have to put ten bucks on her.

I myself, have no ax to grind with truck drivers ,they are for the most part , wanting to get through their day without any conflict with anyone else on the road , and get back home safe. I only drive a little truck ,18 foot flat bed , but I have had enough near misses with clowns in cars to know that folks in cars often just pull out in front of trucks , because they don't want to have to drive behind them . And most car drivers have no idea that a loaded truck cannot stop like a little car.
Hats off to the truck drivers , traffic makes a hazardous work place .

What's scary hereabouts is when you're cruising down I-80 with your cruise set on 80 and an 80,000 pound 18 wheeler passes you like you're standing still.

Drivers talk on end about how an 18 wheeler can't maneuver and stop like a 4 wheeler, so why the heck don't they drive like it?

I agree, Russ.

I remember the late 50s and 60s. Professional truck drivers were generally careful and considerate then but most were hourly paid Teamsters.

These days, most are independent, and compensation is by the mile. There is no time for courtesy, consideration or the legal limit.

Dean

I quit 8 years ago after driving 35 years for a freight carrier. Sometimes in heavier traffic the only way you could pull out is do it when you probably didn't really have enough room to get going without holding somebody up a little. I would try not to do it but sometimes it was the only way in city traffic. The carrier I worked for had nothing fancy for trucks and it would take you a while to get a heavy load up to speed. Not to mention a dispatcher that might be trying to hurry the driver along. Not to mention the people that pull out in front of you because they don't want to be behind a truck. In my retirement I'm driving school bus part time and you wouldn't believe how people pull out in front of you, Nobody wants to be behind a school bus.

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80 percent of car truck crashes caused by car drivers, ATA report says

Some of my best friends are truck drivers....One just retired after 37 years with one company..That being said a few bad drivers ruin it for everyone...Some blatantly run the stop sign leaving the Pilot truck stop 7 miles from me.....Both I and my wife have nearly hit them....I once almost slid under a freight trailer...

I believe that most are no worse than the amount of idiots driving cars and pickups out there, they're just driving something bigger, so it makes it look like a worse offense. How many times a day does a car pull out in front of you or blow a stop sign? I'm not saying all truck drivers drive like that, most don't, but the ones that do get noticed. When you're pulling something that long, or that heavy, you're not going to fit in the same space or get going as fast as a car, and with the increasing traffic everywhere these days, sooner or later you're gonna have to go at the largest break you have, and someone may have to slow down to let you in, because I can count on one hand how many times someone has slowed down or got over to the other lans so I could pull out to get going. Sort of like the highway down the road from my house. In the summer, when all the people from downstate are going up north, I can't get onto the highway, let alone cross it with my pickup, there is too much traffic, and I don't live in the city. That alone turns my 5 mile trip to the other farm into a 17 mile trip one way once I have to go up and around at the nearest overpass. So I usually just don't go over there. A guy that has a deadline with a haul has to get there one way or another, no matter what time or where it's at. Still, not defending bad truck drivers, but I think if some of the people that complain about trucks (that are driving safely) had to drive one, they might change their tune a little bit. Ever had to back up a set of super trains in a narrow intersection to make the turn because you couldn't swing it due to all the people at the stoplight pulled up way too far?? What about the guy hauling a 53' reefer that has to cut across 4 lanes of traffic and back into a small grocery store in a city? He only has one shot, and a lot of p!ssed off people behind him, but what choice does he have? Was someone going to come out and shut the street down for him? No. Had a guy at work a couple months ago back into some little car when he was scraping a gravel road. Had his 4 ways on, strobes on tip of headache rack and on back of box, and a large sticker that says "vehicle will back up stay back 500 feet". While he was watching what he was doing scraping, he never saw her come up behind him, and she was so close he couldn't see her in his mirrors. Her excuse was that she had never seen a truck like that and didn't know what it was doing. She must have thought the roads just smooth themselves out at night when no one is on them. Now, I can see both sides too, I'm not all biased because I drive a truck. Our other farm is located on the route to one of the Belgian mega dairies unfortunately. The trucks hauling the milk from there have to haul through a small village with an elementary school in it, 25 MPH speed limit. At the township meeting, people in the village have been complaining of Jake Brakes at night from the milk haulers, and of them speeding at up to 40 MPH through town as well. They can't exclude the trucks from the road, so the county has to have a sheriff deputy watching the route through town virtually all day and night if they have a guy available. Which, if the milk haulers would take it upon themselves to not be idiots through there, it would just make it easier on everyone. Their excuse is, as given by the sheriff's deputy, "give us the tickets, we have to get this milk to ----- by ----- time". Also, when I used to load construction equipment in containers, the sheer amount of foreign drivers was astounding. Many were middle eastern, could speak almost no English at all, couldn't back a truck (with only a 40' container), would not help, and would not even try to communicate with you at any level. If you can't or won't speak English, how and why do you have a CDL and are hauling stuff with the rest of us? The Czech, Russian, and Bulgarian drivers were for the most part good drivers and although didn't know a lot of English, were very helpful, and were very good at making sure one way or another that we were on the same page. Communication goes a long way with a safe driver.

Picking on truck drivers on a tractor forum is asking for a cyber-arsekicking...LOL. I see your point though. Back around 2008 it seemed like every client who was out of work had answered one of those ads for truck drivers. Most could not handle their cars but there they were...driving a big rig. A little scary on the highways for a while. I was run off the freeway twice in one month down by Ann Arbor. There is a noticeable increase in truck traffic the past few months. Not having any trouble with them though and I drive the freeways a lot.

After 40 plus years driving: I have seen the industry go through many changes. Truck drivers use to be some of the most courteous, helpful, considerate folks on the road as well as most respected. Then came the era of "truck bashing " from the national news media. Portraying drivers in the worst possible image. Many of today's motorists have been brainwashed to believe the truck driver is an enemy and should be treated as such. Now I will be the first to agree that there are some behind the wheel that shouldn't be: but remember: any industry will get the caliber of workers they are willing to pay for. Finally: consider this: any time you point your finger at someone else: three are pointing back at you. Many folks only need to look in a mirror in order to understand a truck drivers REaction. (I will stop ranting now)

I've been driving Americas interstates for 50 years. There is no doubt in my mind that the semi drivers are not as professional as they used to be. They run too fast (recently was running side by side at 80 MPH). They cut in and out like they are driving a sports car (they aren't). They try to pass a slower truck, but don't have they power so they run side by side for miles causing dangerous backups with people getting crazy behind them. And I have seen several weaving all over the road, crossing the line and hitting the rumble pavement as they played on their smart phone.

The independent flatbed and bull haulers are the worst, but you can hear them coming because making a lot of noise is a sure sign that they are a real he-man!

This is not helped by a lack of new highways in the last 30 years and a full steam economy filling the trucks with novice drivers.

They drive like that here and its exactly like you describe. There's a bunch of idiots driving rigs out there today and they do exactly what you describe.
Years back, trucks did not have the power they do today and you did not have this problem, they stayed to the right mostly. You cannot drive down the NYS thruway 50 miles on any given day and not run into this. I drove for a living for a number of years, we owned 2 rigs at one time, and I've had my commercial license going on 30 years now, before the CDL came out. The roads today are a dangerous place, and although we have all kinds of improvements in safety, what we don't have is commercial drivers who respect the road and the others who share it with them.

This just happened here, in a 40mph zone!!

http://www.nrtoday.com/news/public_...cle_34178672-1c4b-52c7-819a-6ddb7aa6d649.html

Bingo, Hay hay!

Automobile drivers have also become more aggressive and less courteous over the years as traffic has increased but the potential damages are much less when automobile drivers do stupid things.

Dean

Hay hay: I missed perhaps the most significant part of your post about the lack of new highways.

When I was young, new highways, state, federal and IS were being built regularly. One could not drive far before running into a construction site for a new road.

Sadly, government now spends most of its money to pay people to not work for one reason or another (AKA, vote buying) so there is no money for new infrastructure. It has become difficult to find enough money to maintain our existing infrastructure.

Consequently, roadways have become far more congested as the population has increased, resulting in more aggressive driving by both automobile and heavy truck drivers.

Don't even get me started on the subject of railroads and the shift from railroads to highway freight transportation resulting in FAR more OTR truck freight than was once the case.

All of this can be traced to progressive governmental policies but this is not the place for such history lessons.

Dean

Hey guys I know that not all drivers are idiots behind the wheel, just saying the ones around here are at times. Someone mentioned busy highways and such. The one I drive daily is not all the busy and most of the time it is just me and the bull hauler or milk truck at the intersection with no other vehicle in sight and they run right on through without stopping. They do at least slow down. When I go home to Eastern Kansas I do not notice it as much on the interstates.

(quoted from post at 10:28:41 04/15/17) Hay hay: I missed perhaps the most significant part of your post about the lack of new highways.

When I was young, new highways, state, federal and IS were being built regularly. One could not drive far before running into a construction site for a new road.

Sadly, government now spends most of its money to pay people to not work for one reason or another (AKA, vote buying) so there is no money for new infrastructure. It has become difficult to find enough money to maintain our existing infrastructure.

Consequently, roadways have become far more congested as the population has increased, resulting in more aggressive driving by both automobile and heavy truck drivers.

Don't even get me started on the subject of railroads and the shift from railroads to highway freight transportation resulting in FAR more OTR truck freight than was once the case.

All of this can be traced to progressive governmental policies but this is not the place for such history lessons.

Dean

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I was on our town's select board from '92-2001. Money for highways and other infrastructure was hard to get out of the legislative body (voters) due to huge increase in insurance and retirement. This was fire and police departments. They had some very high powered negotiators.

On the railroads, do you remember feather bedding? I remember the unions forcing rail freight rates up to where the shipping went onto the roads.

"On the railroads, do you remember feather bedding?"

Yes. Long since gone the way of the dodo.

The fundamental reason that most freight moved from rail to truck was governmental interference in the free market (Yes, governmental support of unions for political purposes is one form of governmental interference).

Don't get me started.

Dean

(quoted from post at 10:28:41 04/15/17) Hay hay: I missed perhaps the most significant part of your post about the lack of new highways.

When I was young, new highways, state, federal and IS were being built regularly. One could not drive far before running into a construction site for a new road.

Sadly, government now spends most of its money to pay people to not work for one reason or another (AKA, vote buying) so there is no money for new infrastructure. It has become difficult to find enough money to maintain our existing infrastructure.

Consequently, roadways have become far more congested as the population has increased, resulting in more aggressive driving by both automobile and heavy truck drivers.

Don't even get me started on the subject of railroads and the shift from railroads to highway freight transportation resulting in FAR more OTR truck freight than was once the case.

All of this can be traced to progressive governmental policies but this is not the place for such history lessons.

Dean

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It's not just that though. In my youth, I wasn't a speed demon by any means, but I "did" speed, and I was a bit wreckless at times, although not in my eyes at the time. My reflexes were fast, eyes were sharp, and while my mind was fast, I didn't have a lot of wisdom. Now I drive responsibly. In fact, speed limit on I-29 is 70MPH (might be 75 by now - can't remember), but I rarely get above 65. The wife wants to keep it at 60 or so.

So younger truck drivers are more likely to drive like a young person; more aggressively. Lots of older drivers are more aggressive, but then that's how they've probably always been.

I've been commuting 60,000 miles a year for 30 years, and things are different than they used to be. While most of the truck drivers are still courteous and professional, I have notices some changes. Mostly things like improper lane usage, failure to signal and failure to dim headlights after you pass them. I even see them camping out in the left lane, so the only way past them is to pass on the right - twenty years ago you would never see that. I guess it's just a sign of a less courteous society - but hey, they're still not as bad as the rude women in their SUV's

So tell me RBoots, is the driver that pulls the Jake brake in the little village in the middle of the night a good citizen who loves his neighbors? or a jerk? What about when he pulls the Jake on Sunday morning, when he knows they are holding church services?

Many trucks don't have Jakes and somehow they still get to their destination.

We both know the answer and there is no need for anyone to defend them. A jerk is a jerk, regardless of what he does for a living.

My reaction to some of the comments below. I'm retired, spent over 40 years on the road.
Jake brakes- with a good muffler it just purrs a bit, no annoying bark. I often wonder how some of the guys get by with straight pipes. There is a sticker on the door post stating that as built, truck complies with noise limits, & modifying exhaust can bring up to $10,000 fine. How do they get straight pipes past their annual inspection?
Lying dispatchers- no load "has" to be delivered at a certain time. P*** Poor Planning on Your Part does not make an Emergency on My Part. My travel time starts when you hand my the paper work, not when you start loading.

Road/weather conditions- When running over the road, carried the required tire chains, but NEVER put them on. If conditions are that bad it is time to park. Running with chains cuts speed, & somebody is going to do something stupid, causing a big wreck. Only rigs that need to run with chains are ambulance, fire fighters/rescue.
Will cut this short, Puppy Dog wants to go outside.

Willie

That's a pretty deep river it looks like!
Around here you'd be lucky to have the tires
wet if it fell in the river

I don't know, I would guess the milk haulers doing it around here through that little village are doing it to retaliate against the residents that started complaining about their speed, resulting in the tickets they have been receiving. So I guess that would just make them jerks. 2 of the 3 trucks I drive for work have Jakes on them. They are actually pretty quiet if I turn them on, since they all have the factory exhaust on them. Some of the trucks that I drive for other people have straight pipes though, and them dam things are so loud you can't hear a thing. I don't feel as bad using a Jake hauling heavy loads in a big city on the freeway, the noise is so loud already I don't think you can even hear the Jake, and it helps save the brakes with everyone cutting you off. A nice quiet area or at night I try to make as little noise as I can, I don't want to hear it at my house, and I know how they feel. I'd still rather hear a Jake than some stupidly loud motorcycle as they take off from the curve past my house wide open. And I ride motorcycles, but hate the loud ones. I could blow the doors off a Harley, but can be quiet doing it.

Ross

(quoted from post at 16:30:20 04/15/17) So tell me RBoots, is the driver that pulls the Jake brake in the little village in the middle of the night a good citizen who loves his neighbors? or a jerk? What about when he pulls the Jake on Sunday morning, when he knows they are holding church services?

Many trucks don't have Jakes and somehow they still get to their destination.

We both know the answer and there is no need for anyone to defend them. A jerk is a jerk, regardless of what he does for a living.

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Well guys there are Jakes and there are Jakes. The guys that I drive for occasionally have an '05 Mack and a '13 Mack. I don't know what motors they have, I know that the '13 is more powerful. The '13 has an automatic with retarder, which slows the truck down very aggressively but it makes very little noise. The '05 is an 8LL, and it makes the brake noise that you would expect. I know that it is a Jacobs brake. The exhaust on both trucks is factory original, although the '05 was just replaced with new. I drive with the Jake on pretty much all of the time just in case someone pulls out in front of me. If I were going through a town with a no engine brake ordinance, loaded, I know that I could do it safely but it would take pre-planning and thought.

One thing that I do not see mentioned here is the lack of training for new drivers. It drives me crazy to hear the advertisements on the radio saying that a truck driver makes over $45,000 a year, and that they will put you on the road making that in LESS THAN 30 DAYS!!!! Really? wow.
So, in less than a month, they will teach a newbie how to safely handle a big rig, teach him the rules of the road, and teach him courtesy??? I think not.

Another thing that I see is crooked dispatchers and brokers.
Example: I went to a shipper to pick up a load of freight. The shipper required me to be on the dock, and to count the freight. Dispatch wanted me to log that time as sleeper berth. I was a greenhorn driver at that time, and I was bullied by the dispatcher to do this.
Example: After a delivery in Virginia, I was sent all through North Carolina to pick up several partial loads. After driving over 10 hours and over 500 miles, I was told that the freight I had just picked up had to be delivered in Philadelphia at 0700 the next morning. By this time, I was much more experienced, and I blew my top! I soundly refused and cursed dispatch. Told them that I was bringing it back to the home terminal, and that would only be AFTER my 10 hour break and then in proper driving time.

I can say with certainty that if I or any of my friends or family gets injured by one of those 30-day wonders, I will sue them out of business. I promise.
Next on my list is bullies in dispatch.

Nice to hear that someone enjoys a bike for something besides noise. I never understood why the wind and speed were not enough of a thrill....or why the noise was needed.

(quoted from post at 21:25:41 04/14/17) Though once not the case, many/most semi drivers are not nearly as careful and considerate as they once were.

Dean

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Yeah - there used to signs on the back of semi-trailers that said something like: 'Honk your horn and the road is yours!'

When I first stated driving in the early '70s truck drivers were considered the 'Knights of The Open Road' and peer-pressure made sure that you lived up to that. Then, about 1990, they became, for the most part, 'Outlaws of the Highway'. Too bad, but early on it was a better time - all around. :roll:

Same thing for the airline industry. Once was a time when passengers dressed up in nice suits and dresses.

(quoted from post at 11:42:23 04/16/17)

(quoted from post at 21:25:41 04/14/17) Though once not the case, many/most semi drivers are not nearly as careful and considerate as they once were.

Dean

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Yeah - there used to signs on the back of semi-trailers that said something like: 'Honk your horn and the road is yours!'

When I first stated driving in the early '70s truck drivers were considered the 'Knights of The Open Road' and peer-pressure made sure that you lived up to that. Then, about 1990, they became, for the most part, 'Outlaws of the Highway'. Too bad, but early on it was a better time - all around. :roll:

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Best sign I saw on a semi read "This truck has been in 17 accidents and hasn't lost one"

There is no "skilled worker shortage." It's just that the skilled workers are too smart to drive the trucks for the pay they're getting in the face of all the regulations and hassles from the DOT.

All this does is create a vicious cycle of more unskilled drivers on the road creating more accidents giving the DOT ammunition for creating even more regulations and hassles.