FA+
Shop
To all of you that drive cars
12 years ago
Copied and pasted from 
edwardsebastian's journal because I've been meaning to type up something like this for a while and he saved me the trouble.
Seriously guys...do me(and you) a favor: Pay attention when you're near a big truck. I know that they're supposed to be paying attention as well, but that doesn't give you the right to totally ignore safety issues around them.
I know there's a lot of animosity aimed towards big-rig drivers. Some of it is justified, but come the fuck on...We're out there trying to make our living just like you are. The last thing we want is some numbskull doing something stupid and ruining our day(or possibly career if the situation is serious enough). Yeah, truckers can do stupid shit as well and I'm not saying that they don't, however, there has to be some accountability on the non-commercial driver as well. The trucker can't be solely responsible to act safely when they're the one at the disadvantage(larger blindspots, much longer braking distance, limited maneuverability, etc...).
So in order to help you help us, I'm gonna clue you in on a few things that you, as a four-wheeler, can do to help make our jobs a lot easier. Not to mention, keep your ass alive, because lets face it...your 2500lbs sedan versus my 75,000lbs semi-truck...Not even close. So here we go:
1: We need a LOT of room to turn
So we have about 70 feet of vehicle that we have to move from one place to another. That 70 feet pivots about 15 feet from the front of the vehicle. So that leaves about 55 feet of rigid vehicle that we have to get around that turn. This means that we have to swing out pretty wide in order to avoid taking out that telephone pole right there.
The reason I bring this up is because generally we have to set this turn up beforehand in order to make the turn correctly. If it's a right hand turn, this means that there's a chance we will be sitting a little far from the side of the road. This is NOT an invitation for you to squeeze yourself in between the sidewalk and the truck. This is a GREAT way to get run over, especially since there's a large amount of blindspot on that side. That outside wheel will go right up and over the hood of your car.
This also addresses you folks who wanna pull up past the line at the light of the road we're turning onto and prevent us from completing a turn. Stop that. You're just as bad as the people trying to squeeze past us. It's annoying as hell and it's dangerous. So if the truck is about to turn, GET OUT OF ITS WAY!
2: Turn signals are not an indication to speed past the truck
On the topic of turn signals, when we turn one on, it usually means that we want to move over a lane. Since we have very large vehicles, we need a large amount of space to do this, so we tend to signal in advance(or at least I do). However, drivers seems to think that this signal means "I want over, so hurry up and speed past me". This is fine when the car is right next to us, but I've wound up missing my exit before because people blow past me out of fear of "getting stuck behind the truck". If you're behind a semi that wants to move over into your lane, stay back there. Don't try and get past them. Letting them over isn't gonna make you any later than you already are. All you're gonna do is get them cussing, or hell...they might not even see you and move over onto you. Then what? You're REALLY gonna be late.
3: "Why would you stop/pull out like that?"
Seriously...this one is my biggest pet peeve...people suddenly stopping in the middle of the road to turn or pulling out in front of a truck and not getting up to speed.
I'm operating a 75,000lb ballistic missile that (in this certain set of circumstance) is probably going about 40 miles an hour. At that rate of speed, a loaded truck takes approximately 200 feet to come to a complete stop. For those playing the home game, that's a pretty long skidmark. Our trucks do not stop on a dime, and it is absurd for you to behave in a manner that indicates you think they do.
At my old job, the plant workers had a bad habit of running this stop sign connected to the main road. A road that large trucks traveled quite often. I had a pair of close calls myself on that road, people running the stop sign and trying to "beat the truck". Luckily for them, they did. Luckily for them, I was able to react fast enough and get the truck slowed/stopped in time to keep from running them over.
One driver wasn't able to. Lady pulled out in front of him and got hit. The skid marks from the truck were only 35 feet long before the site of the impact. That's how little time she had given him to react. The truck went up and over her car and killed her. The forensics guy determined his truck had been traveling at 26 miles an hour in a 35 zone when he first hit his brakes. 20 miles an hour and it killed her.
Give the truck time to react if you're gonna stop or pull out in front of it. Seriously...
4: Don't automatically assume we know you're there.
Yeah. I know. It's my job to be aware of what's going on around me at all times and to the best of my ability, I am. HOWEVER...climb up into the cab of one of those trucks and you'll see in a big hurry just how much of that rig and the surrounding area you can't immediately see. Those stickers on the back with the "No-Zone" diagrams aren't bullshit. That's how much(if not a little less) of what we cannot see. Just because you are near our vehicle, that doesn't mean we can see you. And if we can't see you, we can't make a safe and accurate decision on how to maneuver our rig and that puts you in danger. So just be safe and give the truck a wide berth.
5: Don't. Fucking. Draft.
Drafting? Sitting close behind a truck to cut down wind resistance and by proxy MPG? That's the stupidest wannabe NASCAR bullshit I've ever heard. I don't care if Mythbusters proved it's legit, it's dangerous as fuck and a great way to get hurt or killed. It ties in with number 4 up there. DON'T. FUCKING. DO IT.
In all seriousness, guys like me have a lot on their plates every day at work on top of guiding these behemoths to their destination. We really would appreciate it if you'd stop and think about how you're acting when around a semi. Don't get up underneath us or in super close. It's dangerous. So just think responsibly when driving near a truck.
TL;DR - Don't do stupid shit around trucks and you might live.
edwardsebastian's journal because I've been meaning to type up something like this for a while and he saved me the trouble.Seriously guys...do me(and you) a favor: Pay attention when you're near a big truck. I know that they're supposed to be paying attention as well, but that doesn't give you the right to totally ignore safety issues around them.
I know there's a lot of animosity aimed towards big-rig drivers. Some of it is justified, but come the fuck on...We're out there trying to make our living just like you are. The last thing we want is some numbskull doing something stupid and ruining our day(or possibly career if the situation is serious enough). Yeah, truckers can do stupid shit as well and I'm not saying that they don't, however, there has to be some accountability on the non-commercial driver as well. The trucker can't be solely responsible to act safely when they're the one at the disadvantage(larger blindspots, much longer braking distance, limited maneuverability, etc...).
So in order to help you help us, I'm gonna clue you in on a few things that you, as a four-wheeler, can do to help make our jobs a lot easier. Not to mention, keep your ass alive, because lets face it...your 2500lbs sedan versus my 75,000lbs semi-truck...Not even close. So here we go:
1: We need a LOT of room to turn
So we have about 70 feet of vehicle that we have to move from one place to another. That 70 feet pivots about 15 feet from the front of the vehicle. So that leaves about 55 feet of rigid vehicle that we have to get around that turn. This means that we have to swing out pretty wide in order to avoid taking out that telephone pole right there.
The reason I bring this up is because generally we have to set this turn up beforehand in order to make the turn correctly. If it's a right hand turn, this means that there's a chance we will be sitting a little far from the side of the road. This is NOT an invitation for you to squeeze yourself in between the sidewalk and the truck. This is a GREAT way to get run over, especially since there's a large amount of blindspot on that side. That outside wheel will go right up and over the hood of your car.
This also addresses you folks who wanna pull up past the line at the light of the road we're turning onto and prevent us from completing a turn. Stop that. You're just as bad as the people trying to squeeze past us. It's annoying as hell and it's dangerous. So if the truck is about to turn, GET OUT OF ITS WAY!
2: Turn signals are not an indication to speed past the truck
On the topic of turn signals, when we turn one on, it usually means that we want to move over a lane. Since we have very large vehicles, we need a large amount of space to do this, so we tend to signal in advance(or at least I do). However, drivers seems to think that this signal means "I want over, so hurry up and speed past me". This is fine when the car is right next to us, but I've wound up missing my exit before because people blow past me out of fear of "getting stuck behind the truck". If you're behind a semi that wants to move over into your lane, stay back there. Don't try and get past them. Letting them over isn't gonna make you any later than you already are. All you're gonna do is get them cussing, or hell...they might not even see you and move over onto you. Then what? You're REALLY gonna be late.
3: "Why would you stop/pull out like that?"
Seriously...this one is my biggest pet peeve...people suddenly stopping in the middle of the road to turn or pulling out in front of a truck and not getting up to speed.
I'm operating a 75,000lb ballistic missile that (in this certain set of circumstance) is probably going about 40 miles an hour. At that rate of speed, a loaded truck takes approximately 200 feet to come to a complete stop. For those playing the home game, that's a pretty long skidmark. Our trucks do not stop on a dime, and it is absurd for you to behave in a manner that indicates you think they do.
At my old job, the plant workers had a bad habit of running this stop sign connected to the main road. A road that large trucks traveled quite often. I had a pair of close calls myself on that road, people running the stop sign and trying to "beat the truck". Luckily for them, they did. Luckily for them, I was able to react fast enough and get the truck slowed/stopped in time to keep from running them over.
One driver wasn't able to. Lady pulled out in front of him and got hit. The skid marks from the truck were only 35 feet long before the site of the impact. That's how little time she had given him to react. The truck went up and over her car and killed her. The forensics guy determined his truck had been traveling at 26 miles an hour in a 35 zone when he first hit his brakes. 20 miles an hour and it killed her.
Give the truck time to react if you're gonna stop or pull out in front of it. Seriously...
4: Don't automatically assume we know you're there.
Yeah. I know. It's my job to be aware of what's going on around me at all times and to the best of my ability, I am. HOWEVER...climb up into the cab of one of those trucks and you'll see in a big hurry just how much of that rig and the surrounding area you can't immediately see. Those stickers on the back with the "No-Zone" diagrams aren't bullshit. That's how much(if not a little less) of what we cannot see. Just because you are near our vehicle, that doesn't mean we can see you. And if we can't see you, we can't make a safe and accurate decision on how to maneuver our rig and that puts you in danger. So just be safe and give the truck a wide berth.
5: Don't. Fucking. Draft.
Drafting? Sitting close behind a truck to cut down wind resistance and by proxy MPG? That's the stupidest wannabe NASCAR bullshit I've ever heard. I don't care if Mythbusters proved it's legit, it's dangerous as fuck and a great way to get hurt or killed. It ties in with number 4 up there. DON'T. FUCKING. DO IT.
In all seriousness, guys like me have a lot on their plates every day at work on top of guiding these behemoths to their destination. We really would appreciate it if you'd stop and think about how you're acting when around a semi. Don't get up underneath us or in super close. It's dangerous. So just think responsibly when driving near a truck.
TL;DR - Don't do stupid shit around trucks and you might live.
I'm probably going to expand on it later since I've thought up of one or two more I wanted to throw in. I'll let ya know.
Oh, and while we are talking about getting licenses...funny story here. I happened to be talking to someone who had just passed their car driving test a couple of days before, and they said right to my face "I know everything about driving now, as with passing my test, I've proved that". I couldn't help but shake my head at that statement. Worrying thought too.
I feel truckers will never get the respect they deserve, both on the road and from the public in-general. Funny that the vehicle they're using to cut you off probably came in on a truck.
Was in the passing lane right next to a side dump trailered truck in the travel lane when someone made a right turn in front of them. Saw the tractor's tandem super singles lock up, then it was gone and in my mirrors. Scary shit.
People just gotta remember that they are gonna die if they screw up while driving. Hang up, turn off the radio, open a window and pay attention.
I remembering the time i locked up a road train because some tourist fuck head pulled out infront of me, 32 tyres at 300 bucks each, flat spotted and the smoke it made was amazing! Boss didn't feel the same way though lol
Driving and virtue don't belong in the same sentence apparently and its the same problem down here and the only people who give trucks any thought are farmers and people who work around trucks.
What with you Murricans and brake checking? That doesn't happen to me often and the last time it did the driver that done that, when i caught up to him at a set of lights got a 20mm ball baring through his back window >:D
Its the same up here, the only people that have any respect for trucks are those that know truckers or work around em. Most people don't realize that anything they buy, a truck brought it. They don't understand how important we are and that if trucks stopped so would everything else, to most people we're just an inconvenience, something thats in their way.
I'd like to give an accurate weight for the heaviest i have been under RAV 3 permits but i can only make a guess at being around 260,000lbs, give or take 20,000lbs with a double B-Train. 60 something thousand pound excavator on one trailer and a car, mine truck and some assorted crap on another.
Yeah well let them think that we are an inconvenience, right up till the point they do some thing stupid and end up worse for ware due to their arrogance!
I've heard drivers on the radio show I listen to call in and complain about why drivers nowadays don't flash headlights when another truck is clear to come over. At the time, I didn't have a phone, but if I did, I would have called in and told them I don't flash my headlights because, most of the time, the driver is still too close to come over, but they do so anyways, forcing me to back off so I can get my following distance back.
I've also been under the impression for a number of years that not using turn signals is one of the biggest pet peeves of our industry. It seems that this is going away, though, because an alarming number of trucks have started not signalling their maneuvers.
I've always wondered where my fellow professional drivers are when I'm on the road. I get the distinct impression that we're the minority out there. Real Professional Drivers seem to be a dying breed, but I'm not going without a fight.