Add me to the long list that can't stand the left lane cruisers.

Also, for my own safety, I always assume that truckers have been behind the wheel for 14 hours straight, and are veeeerrrry sllleeeeepppy. So I sure as **** don't want to drive or ride next to some mountain on wheels taking a cat nap.

 

Been keeping an eye on this thread.

I dispatch for owner operators.
I hire and participate/train safety classes to said owner operators.
I used to drive commercially in Ga.

I would never, ever tolerate my guys using a 3 blink and swerve rule. Is it effective? Probably. Is it dangerous? Certainly so.

You can't assume that because you're a professional driver, that everyone else on the road is a professional driver. Sure, we all think we're the best drivers out there but what it comes down to is this:
You never know what's going on in mind of the operator of the vehicle next to you. Motorcycle, cage, bull-wagon, etc.

Couple examples:

A single mom racing home in the last leg of her 9 hour trip to see her kids may be caught in a road "stare". This tends to cause a severe loss of focus on the peripheral vision. While she may register in the subconcious of her mind that the signal in the center of your trailer is blinking, you never really catch her attention until you swerve.
Just a slight move on your part, her road hypnotism and blend of starbucks cappachino causes her to jerk back into reality, and jerk the wheel. Mom swerves into a ditch at 70 mph.

Then there are the people out there who believe you can stop faster. I talked to the wife of a driver who said these words: "Sure I'll swerve over in front of a semi. They have more tires and brakes than I do so they can stop faster!" Your job as a professional is to anticipate problems like these, not place people in a position to exercise their solutions. Is this the person you want to give a "3 blink" to so they speed up and get in front of you??

That other tractor/trailer staying beside you is likely thinking the same thing about you as you are about them. They're wondering why whatever circumstance that brought you side by side is keeping you that way. This happens several minutes and neither of you can get eye contact with the other and due to the weather or regualtors, you're neck in neck. You're both then flicking through the CB channels trying to find each other and neither of you is paying full attention to the road. Not a good time for a steer tire to go, is it?

There is more competition in the trucking industry than ever before. People with Class B licensure are a dime a dozen. Dump trucks are as easy to operate as an SUV with powered windows (especially now that they've gone to automatics in most fleets). People with class A's are coming off "over the road" left and right because of increased fuel costs, rubber costs, higher roadway taxes, etc. They get into a local route they're not used to and allow themselves more room for error than ever. To complicate the roadways further - all people need for a truck/trailer/dump truck finance now is a letter of intent from a company to offer them a contract. It makes it hard for good drivers to stay out there and distance themselves from the newbs/bad apples/etc.

Bubbas1 - I'm sure you're an excellent driver with an outstanding history and have seen your fair share of idiots you need to vent about. However - practicing techniques like these will make it only a matter of time before you're involved in a fatality accident where you are the cause, costing you, your family and the business you fly on your door millions of dollars and a tarnished conscience (for life). Don't take this as a "you're a dumb truck driver" type of deal - take this from someone who lays awake at night sometimes trying to come up with ways to keep my guys going home the way they came in. Don't let production, a$$holes, weather, road conditions, bad habits or anything else come between you and getting home safely. No amount of money or anger is worth what you can't afford to lose.

 

After 12 years as a charter bus driver, I know both sides of this discussion. The one thing missing is what law enforcement identifies as the rule of pre eminence. This is the principle that applies for instance, when a vehicle is turning in front of a vehicle that is standing still. The moving vehicle is preeminent, while the stationary vehicle is not. Then it follows that a large vehicle, which, due to its size is preeminent over the smaller vehicle because the larger requires more effort to control than the smaller.

When smaller vehicles refuse to acknowledge the principle of preeminence, accidents happen. That is not to say that courteous operation of the preeminent vehicle isn't required. But when we as motorcyclists insist on impinging on the needs of large vehicles, we put ourselves in peril.

I drove 40 and 45' buses over the road, but mostly in the LA area. Inches separating my bus and other vehicles were never my fault, but those who would defy the principle of preeminence. All in the name of "me first" or saving a second or two enroute time. Nonetheless, if I were to rear end a vehicle who just took my braking buffer, I would have been at fault. Never happened but came close a number of times.

When I ride, I make every effort to give the truckers a break. Most of the time it is removing myself as a problem by following at a safe distance, passing quickly, and pulling in front of them by not less that 200 feet. On an upgrade when the truck is not able to pass me, I will gladly speed up so he can pull back into the right lane.

 

I know that I said that I don't drive, and I don't, but you caught me. Nearly every male in my Girlfriend's family does. Her Dad said that most of these rules, taken at face value, were stupid. He hopes that these are not truly followed by anyone.

I was talking to her Grandfather and Grandmother tonight (they team drive) about this thread and some of the stupid things that they have seen people do. She related this story.

As a motorcycle community, I think it needed to be shared here.

Their best friend was driving on the interstate on a windy day. A motorcyclist, apparently trying to take shelter from the wind, pulled in beside him on the fast lane and remained beside the trailer. The driver tried to speed up, and then to slow down, but with no avail, as the biker continued to ride beside the trailer. Gusts of wind continued to push the two back and forth on the road. After a lengthy police investigation, it was determined that the truck driver was completely in his lane.

Why the investigation?

It was theorized that a gust of wind blew the biker towards the trailer, and the resulting vacuum that was created by the wind hitting the trailer and going above, behind, and unfortunately beneath sucked the biker under the trailer and beneath the rear tandems.

That is why I have always passed trucks quickly.

 

This probably doesn't apply to the majority of Harley riders since we all want a safe ride and that carries over even when we are in our cages. But I learned a great deal about what truck drivers must go through when I bought a boat and had to get out in traffic (city and interstate) pulling just a 25' trailer around. 90% of cagers are the rudest, most inconsiderate drivers imaginable especially in larger cities.

I can be driving down the freeway and have plenty of room to change lanes, and when I put on my blinker to move over you would think I fired a starting pistol and the cagers are trying to see how many of them can get ahead of me before I get in thier way. While my truck can pull the boat as fast as I choose to drive, I cannot accelerate as fast as you, stop as fast, see behind me as well, or manuever as well. On I-45 on the north side of Houston, there has been construction for the past 30 years and in places there are just two narrows lanes that jogs left and right with concrete walls lining the road. No matter how much I try to separate myself from traffic and adjust my speed so I can go through these short sections with nobody next to me, there usually is that cage that will zoom up and go through beside me, which takes away any margin for error I have. It gets pretty scary when you look in your mirrors and your boat is 6" from a concrete wall on one side, and 6" from the center stripe on the other. Sure glad I didn't cause any cager to have a 10 second delay in thier rush to get where they are going.

I won't even go into how cagers try to close any gap there is when I am trying to get on an interstate. Its loads of fun to have to shut it down and then try to enter from a dead stop, especially after some cager delibarely sped up to prevent me from getting on ahead of him.

If those cagers ever wonder why some truckers might have an attitude, they should look in thier own mirror.

 

I think some people misunderstood what he was saying. I mostly agree with his post. Myself, I give more than 3 blinks for you to get out of the way, but when the trucks signal goes on he needs the cars to be courteous enough to start making room for them instead of continuing to ride the blind spot as I see people do every day. The blinker is on because I need to get over. I cant speed up or slow down at the same rate as you so if you refuse to let me in you will be forced to do so.
Atomic has a problem with #6 but all hes trying to say is that in tight spots sometimes it is necessary to get very close to what you turning around, I dont understand your problem with that.
As for #7, well, I never tailgate but I do sure get pissed when slow vehicles clog up the left lanes. If there are lanes to your right and someone behind you gives a little flash of the brights, please dont take it as an attack. Your just being asked to move over and let someone by so they dont have to pass you on the right.
One thing he didnt mention that drives me crazy, If it is raining and you feel the need to turn your hazards on and drive REALLY slow, please move to the right lane. Being higher my visability in the rain may be better so I can safely go faster than 20 MILES AN HOUR UNDER THE SPEED LIMIT so please let me through, Ive got a scedule to keep.
Thank you for using common courtesy
P.S. If you are on a bike near the rear of a trailer when a blowout occurs, the tread separation can cause a VERY dangerous situation for you.

 

When I am in the states I haul fuel out of Reno. Two seasons in Nevada, winter and rad construction. When it comes to double lane single direction between barriers. You bet I take both lanes. Ever watch a set of tiples wiggle. Wanna be there when I hit the wall and 14000 gallons goes up? Me either. Yes sometimes its inconvenient but safer then some little 4500 pound peice of plastic high school kid who thanks he can drive becoming a wheel chock.

 

This guy can take his rules and stick 'em up his ***...

EDIT: (Not you Scotto, the roadmaster who started the thread)

 

What guy in the last 4 pages of this post are you talkin about??[&:]

 

Sorry guys - but the "I've got a schedule to keep" excuse doesn't cut it.

Let's look at the numbers.

A mile is 5280 feet. At 60mph you're travelling 88 feet a minute.
Every time you have to slow down to let someone else in let's say it takes you 10 whole seconds. That would subtract 14.6 feet from the distance you travelled for that minute.

Even if you had to do this 200 times in a daily route schedule (which is a HUGE exageration) you would lose 2933.3 feet worth of travelling distance (a little over 1/2 a mile) in a total of 33.3 minutes.

200 (again, rediculously inflated number) slowdowns to allow you (and idiots on the road) to go home safely will cost you an extra 1/2 hour and a loss of 1/2 mile travelling distance.

I have guys that easily waste an hour of thier day BSing in the loadout areas, offices (mine included), food/drink stops, etc. To try and chalk up unsafe behavior as "a way to save time, or to keep schedule" is simply absurd.

If you run all local routes in heavy city traffic then the number will be worse than that. More "over the road" or long distance routes then you tend to go faster, cutting the number DOWN of time and miles travelled that it costs you.

Don't let bad behavior habits be an excuse. Roll on drivers, roll on. You're all more than a buncha' steering wheel holders. Don't forget it. You're professionals!