Yesterday was a brake day

I haul in the Minneapolis metro area a lot and yesterday was something else. I wished I had a dash cam because you wouldn't believe it unless you saw it. People are willing to risk their lives and mine just to save a few seconds. Luckily the roads were dry because hard braking was the norm. Before anyone starts condemning semi drivers for tailgating, understand that I leave a lot of space ahead, here's what they do. I was on a four lane passing another truck. I was within 50 feet of the back of the other truck going the speed limit plus a few. A car passes me on the right and cuts between us. Small car between two semis, what on earth is he thinking? Followed him for miles. Going North on 169 in the right lane and a delivery truck passes me on the left and cuts right in front of me to take an exit. Almost got me and what about anyone in the right turn lane. Car does the same thing and barely makes the exit, almost in the ditch. Driving where the four lane goes to two and I am in the correct lane, car passes on the right driving across the lane edge lines, pulls in front and slows down. There were others but I can't remember them all. One of these a day is fairly typical but not four or five. Usually driving in the cities is pretty good with many very courteous car drivers but yesterday was something else. Going back for two trips today, hopefully some sanity has returned.

If you say driving in the cities is usually pretty good you must not drive through Columbus Ohio any it?s just like your describing the thing that gets my blood boiling the most is when I?m running late and we take off from a traffic light and they get around me and slow down urrrrrr

I hope self driving cars, black boxes and dash cams will someday become the norm and put an end road rage.
Some People are idiots, passing on double yellows, cutting you off just to be the first one at the next stop light, weaving between lanes to pass others while going 20 over the limit and passing school busses with stop arms out. These people shouldn't be allowed to drive making the roads unsafe for the rest of us.

Over 100 people a day die on our highways. If 100 people a day died from shootings the libs would go crazy (or crazier).

Here Minneapolis/St. Paul are generally called "the cities". It's a term we use is all. If I'm going to either I'll say "I'm going to the cities". That includes all the metro area.

My daughter's boyfriend is from Italy. From what she said, that is the way he drives. He moves from the lane that he is in, when he gets to the exit. To many people think that if it doesn't cause a wreck, it is ok.

I think the majority of drivers on the road got their license from Walmart!
Elmo

It seems the smaller the car the stupider they drive. I had one come down of a ramp onto a four lane road. The teen age drive hit my right front wheel then spins around and ends up cross ways in front of me getting pushed down the road with my front bumper. Thank the man upstairs for that car not flipping and going under the semi. State trooper was driving in the left lane right beside me when it all happened. His dash cam caught the action. All I could do is hit the brakes hard. I sure as hell was not going to swerve into the trooper. I was loaded and managed to lock all the tires up on the truck and trailer. Flat spotted the trailer tires bad enough they had to be replaced.

Then the fun began. The kid that was driving had just turned eighteen. He kept lying and saying I hit him and caused the accident. We had to sue him/father/insurance company. The little worm set there on the stand and lied about it. Then the Trooper played his footage. The judge was not amused by the kid. The judge ruled in our favor and the kid got a 2 year suspended license plus a $2500 fine. The max the judge could hit him with. Turns out the kid had three other at fault accidents since he turned sixteen.

I think the majority of drivers on the road got their license from Walmart!
Elmo

From 60 miles away to anywhere down town (the cities) one half of the trip is in town. Are we there yet, and did you see that. are common. The loop in Chicago, at 7:30 am (and 4 other times of day) is also bad. Jim

(quoted from post at 05:45:00 01/04/19) I haul in the Minneapolis metro area a lot and yesterday was something else. I wished I had a dash cam because you wouldn't believe it unless you saw it. Going back for two trips today, hopefully some sanity has returned.

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razy Car Driver[/url]

Rusty....had to be a death wish!

My view on it is that we truck drivers are are just not informed. We are constantly driving around causing other drivers to have to lift their foot from the accelerator pedal for a moment. Now, one would think that this should not be a problem for the four wheeler driver until you stop and think for a moment. The four wheeler driver apparently owns this piece of road, and here is somebody else on it driving like they have some right to be on the road!! The only solution that I can see is that these road owners be required to have large lighted signs on the tops of their cars, visible from four directions, that would make them easily identifiable night and day, that they own the road, so that all other drivers can give them the constant right of way that they are entitled to.

(quoted from post at 07:45:00 01/04/19) I haul in the Minneapolis metro area a lot and yesterday was something else. I wished I had a dash cam because you wouldn't believe it unless you saw it.

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We had this EXACT conversation yesterday at work and I work in Minneapolis (Nordeast / warehouse district). Several co-workers commented people were driving like complete asshats yesterday. We talked about it for a few minutes. Lots of cutting in/out, going from left lane to exit lane in 200 feet, etc.

Moon phase? Tide phase? Weather front coming in? Norwegian passive-aggressive streak turning aggressive all at once?
Everybody had a theory.

It's weirder here in the bold north.

Grouse

It really seems like people generally don't care about any common sense or rules when driving. I see more people running red lights, not stopping for stop signs and speeding ... there is no speed limit apparently, I have people flying by me all the time or tailgating and I'm doing 5 over the limit, in the right lane.

People have no thoughts on consequences of their actions while behind the wheel, clueless. I've always thought that if there was a way for people to experience the forces involved in just a 30 MPH hit and the deceleration involved in that short of time, it might change their driving habits. People used to ask me why they only safety test at 45 MPH, I always told them because anything faster ... good luck, all bets are off. I believe for most of us driving is the single most dangerous thing we do all day, wish people would realize that (people need to care about each other more).

An "adventure in driving" in Atlanta Ga,
is Interstate I-285, 63 plus miles of around downtown;
Dumb A**es, slow pokes, NASCAR champs,
Joey Chitwood crash school graduates,
lost, deaf, blind, juiced up, drugged up
on foot, on bicycles, mopeds, junkers,
overloaded pickups with the common everyday
"ladder in the roadway" of someone discarding
a mattress/boxsprings via speed and releasing the
tiedown, bags of household garbage placed on the trunk lid
to be disposed of by a swift lane change "blowing off".
Litter, litter, everywhere.
Potholes, broken chunks of concrete, some thrown from
overpasses, parts of armco barriers
protruding into on ramps/exitramps.
I don't want to get started on the local,state and
federal construction projects day and night.
Ocasional drive-by road rage shootings,
News at six, film at eleven.
Of course a lot of these hazards can be avoided because
sections of lanes are blocked of because of our helpful
Ga. Hero Trucks will block off sections for
O, I need to hush...
Drive safe, God bless and protect you on your journeys.
good luck, gajack

what ta heck liberals want drivers license for ALL the illegals it's their right!

I've got it fixed so I get you-tube on my TV.
I watch that as much as any other TV shows.
Anyway.....tons of pictures taken by cameras in cars and trucks.
Hard to believe the stupid things drivers do.
Seems like there are a bunch of people, for whatever reason will pass a semi, pull right in front and brake.
They call these videos "brake checks".
And.....if you think the USA is bad, check out the Russian drivers!

Just to keep it simple. For goodness sake buy a Dash Cam!!!! These idiots think if you hit them it is an instant cash back from your insurance. If you have video THEY end up doing jail time often enough. Found this video of a motorcycle escort procession. The arse in the jeep. Just LOVE the ending!!!!
motorcycle escort.

I used to run Chicago 5 and 6 days a week for about 5 years. There was a pattern back then. I hate to say it. The pattern was about every 2 weeks the traffic was worse. That was when the trucks made it back to town. When the trucks were out of town traffic seemed to move smoother and faster. I guessed it was from the trucks not being familiar with where they were going which exits they needed and such.

(quoted from post at 22:01:55 01/06/19) I used to run Chicago 5 and 6 days a week for about 5 years. There was a pattern back then. I hate to say it. The pattern was about every 2 weeks the traffic was worse. That was when the trucks made it back to town. When the trucks were out of town traffic seemed to move smoother and faster. I guessed it was from the trucks not being familiar with where they were going which exits they needed and such.

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Caterpillar guy, Who was in charge of scheduling all of the trucks to be back in town at the same time? It had to have been YTDOT.