. Thinking about in hindsight though I probably should have 
. She wasn't bad.
Truck drivers!
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 46,845
Likes: 22,534
From: Land of the Free, Home of Jack Daniel's
Yes you are right on.
Several years ago I was in heavy traffic going through Portland OR. I had about a 2 car length space between me and the car in front of me. We were moving maybe 5 MPH..Stop and go.
A woman in a little Mazda Miata cut in front of me just as the cars ahead were stopping again. When we got stopped I could not see her car over my hood.
I set the parking brake, got out and walked up to her car and tapped on the window. She rolled the window down and I asked her if she would come back to my truck for a moment. I couldn't believe that she said OK.
We walked back and I opened the drivers door and asked her to please climb up and sit in the drivers seat which she did. Again I couldn't believe she would do it but she seemed to think nothing of it.
Once she was in the seat I asked her "can you see your car"? and she said no. I explained to her that if I had been looking at my passenger side mirror or doing anything else at the moment she cut in front of me that I would no have know she was even there and she would probably be dead by now.
She turned white as a sheet and said she will never cut in front of a big truck again.
I'm hoping I might have saved her life somewhere down the road.
Several years ago I was in heavy traffic going through Portland OR. I had about a 2 car length space between me and the car in front of me. We were moving maybe 5 MPH..Stop and go.
A woman in a little Mazda Miata cut in front of me just as the cars ahead were stopping again. When we got stopped I could not see her car over my hood.
I set the parking brake, got out and walked up to her car and tapped on the window. She rolled the window down and I asked her if she would come back to my truck for a moment. I couldn't believe that she said OK.
We walked back and I opened the drivers door and asked her to please climb up and sit in the drivers seat which she did. Again I couldn't believe she would do it but she seemed to think nothing of it.
Once she was in the seat I asked her "can you see your car"? and she said no. I explained to her that if I had been looking at my passenger side mirror or doing anything else at the moment she cut in front of me that I would no have know she was even there and she would probably be dead by now.
She turned white as a sheet and said she will never cut in front of a big truck again.
I'm hoping I might have saved her life somewhere down the road.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 616
Likes: 70
I'm happy to say i've had many more good experiences than bad with 18 wheelers. on my trip to sturgis this year, those guys and gals were especially good to us. they were about the only ones we could count on, even when we f'd up once in a while.
while i've had a couple bad instances with truckers, I have to play devils advocate here and say I wouldn't want there job. we complain about idiot cagers on our way to and from work. that IS their work, all day everyday. hats off to the ones that take pride in thier job and realize how much responsibility is resting on their shoulders
while i've had a couple bad instances with truckers, I have to play devils advocate here and say I wouldn't want there job. we complain about idiot cagers on our way to and from work. that IS their work, all day everyday. hats off to the ones that take pride in thier job and realize how much responsibility is resting on their shoulders
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 3,520
Likes: 270
From: Wellsboro, PA
I'm hoping I might have saved her life somewhere down the road.
Great example! I got out of the car this summer, in a construction zone, and went back & asked the driver why he thought he had to be so close ---- nobody could cut in front of him. Let's just say that he laid a few F bombs on me & told me to get back to the car. I pulled off at an "emergency parking only" spot & let him go ahead of me. Young guy, 1st radio I'm sure. I'd rather have idiots in front of me. (I wouldn't get there at all if I let all the idiots go ahead of me though, would I?!!) Makes you appreciate the guys who realize that they're driving an 80,000 pound missile.
Great example! I got out of the car this summer, in a construction zone, and went back & asked the driver why he thought he had to be so close ---- nobody could cut in front of him. Let's just say that he laid a few F bombs on me & told me to get back to the car. I pulled off at an "emergency parking only" spot & let him go ahead of me. Young guy, 1st radio I'm sure. I'd rather have idiots in front of me. (I wouldn't get there at all if I let all the idiots go ahead of me though, would I?!!) Makes you appreciate the guys who realize that they're driving an 80,000 pound missile.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 23,053
Likes: 12,327
From: Arkansas
Club Member
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 112,202
Likes: 1,316
From: On a hill among the hills, PA
Most of the truckers out there are very aware of whats going on around them but there is the occassional driver, maybe having a bad day that you have to watch out for.
I always thought to pass your drivers test they should have a truck set up in a straight line and have a cardboard dummy yanked out in front of it and see if you could stop! Maybe people would think twice about screwin with big trucks!
I always thought to pass your drivers test they should have a truck set up in a straight line and have a cardboard dummy yanked out in front of it and see if you could stop! Maybe people would think twice about screwin with big trucks!
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,646
Likes: 40
From: Midtown Tulsa
Just stay away from trucks. Not just the driver, but also the condition of today's trucks. With the economy being down, fleet maintenance goes to the crapper.
Lots of foreigners driving now. Be careful.
Lots of foreigners driving now. Be careful.
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,112
Likes: 31
From: southeast pa
I drove semi's once.. but only for an 18 month stint so I'm definitely no expert.. with that said, I also have had far more positive experiences with truckers than negative.. When it comes to truckers.. I really think that most are decent honest working people and most of them understand the risks and responsibilities of their job... but like every other job, there are gonna be the bad apples.. Bottom line is, good, bad or indifferent when it comes to my bike or my tahoe vs a semi, I'm NOT gonna win that battle so I give trucks lots of room, and respect. It's that old.. the best way to survive a gun fight is to not get into one line of thinking..
mavrick
mavrick
Club Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 21,768
Likes: 22,988
From: North Carolina
What happened to the day when truck drivers were considered the gold standard of driving? The past few years it seems you're as likely to get cutoff by a truck driver as you are a Camry or a mini van. I'm talking big rigs, 18 wheelers. Seems at least once or twice a week I have one just pull right into my lane in front of me and cut me off.
1)
Pride
Some drivers look like homeless people now days. They have no PRIDE themselves, their equipment and in turn really don't care about anyone else on the road.
2)
Explosion in Trucking Industry
The need for drivers far exceeded anything most could have predicted and they were forced to dumb down the standards to get a body behind the wheel of a truck.
3)
Traffic in General
The roads are more crowded now than ever before. There are more trucks and more cars. The traffic has increased faster than the capacity of the road and highways. This makes it very hard for a guy that is paid by the mile and can only drive so many hours a day. I feel their pain in that respect.
We had a truck make a delivery recently to our business from out west with team drivers and one of them did not speak ENGLISH!
I don't think it is going to get any better so be careful out there.
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Joe Kucinski
Road Master
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 948
Likes: 0
From: Oklahoma City
I was on my bike and they cut me off like someone in a car that doesn't even look. If they waited 30 seconds they could have pulled in behind me. It's the part that they don't even seem to look that scares me the most.
The thing I find the most frightening is one of these truck drivers on a cell phone! YIKES!!
The thing I find the most frightening is one of these truck drivers on a cell phone! YIKES!!
Many times that 30 seconds, waiting for you to pass, is enough to significantly slow a rig down and, what most people don't know or consider, is that it takes much more fuel and time for a big rig to pick up that speed again.
I have been driving a truck for many years myself and I'm professional, safe, considerate, and I drive within all legal limits. (Not a ticket in over 12 years)
And I pay a lot of money in taxes to be out on the road.
But one of my biggest annoyances are inconsiderate cagers who automatically think I'm supposed to pull aside for them at their whim. And I'm an *** if I don't get out of their way.
If you think about it, when a car is slowed because of traffic It doesn't take but a couple of seconds for a car to pick up their speed again and be on their way. But when a truck, especially a heavily loaded truck, looses it's forward momentum it takes much longer not to mention alot of energy and effort to get back up to speed.
I show a lot of restraint and consideration when I'm working on the road but there are times when the opportunity to pass a slower vehicle is there and sometimes I take it and I probably **** off a driver or 2.
But I'm not doing it to **** anyone off, it's just to keep my forward momentum going and hopefully soon I will be out of your way again.
And you can take off down the road and leave me far behind.
Peace, and ride safe
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,665
Likes: 714
From: DFW
...yes, bad truck drivers...has nothing to do with the unsafe, inconsiderate knuckle dragging cell phone growin' on the side of der heads car drivers.
It amazes me how a car driver cuts of an 18-wheeler with slowing traffic ahead and expects them to stop on a dime.
Rude car drivers don't let in the truckers even when they've been signaling for over a quarter mile.
I'm not a truck driver either.
It amazes me how a car driver cuts of an 18-wheeler with slowing traffic ahead and expects them to stop on a dime.
Rude car drivers don't let in the truckers even when they've been signaling for over a quarter mile.
I'm not a truck driver either.