Rara Avis
Veteran Member
patrick_g said:
And exactly how many times has this happened to you, relative to all of the times you are on the road???
Driving tractor 20 miles on road
- Thread starter catvet
- Start date
- Views: 54410
And exactly how many times has this happened to you, relative to all of the times you are on the road???
D7E
Veteran Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2006
- Messages
- 2,251
- Location
- manitoba
- Tractor
- Versatile 895 Versatile 876 Ford TW20 Ford TW5 MF 3505 FWA MF 390 FWA Ford 7600 Fiat 766 FWA JD 2030 MF 165 MF 35 Fordson major x 3 CAT 416 b Backhoe Case 580 b backhoe MF
Heres a differemt twist....my wife (25) and my mother (57) both have class ones and drive our trucks are these "Aggressive drivers"........Have you ever looked who is driving ,I see more female truckers than ever these days and i have no problem with it....Should we start a sexist thing ,It would make as much sense ?
gemini5362
Veteran Member
PaulChristenson said:
I pretty much see drivers tailgating cars until they move out of their way at least every other day on my 50 mile round trip to work.
patrick_g
Elite Member
D7E said:
My emphasis was never on all or even most truckers being mindless morons and defy anyone to show me a post where I made that claim or anything close. I have basically repeated one theme, that tailgating cars to intimidate them so they will get out of the bullying truckers way is illegal, unsafe, bad manners, and unfortunately all too successful most of the time since success gives rise to repetition.
If it works and "EVERYBODY" else is doing it I'm sure it attracts others to try it at least just a little, that is an obvious trait of human nature. If every trucker on the planet did it, it still wouldn't be smart, safe, legal, or courteous.
If people did to me in person what truckers do to cars with their trucks on a routine basis I'd add several notches to the hand grips of my .45 Glock because if someone were to assault me on the street with a deadly weapon in person I'd surely give him a couple rounds in his center of mass in self defense. I don't think truckers who drive aggressively to intimidate car drivers though assault with there BIG TRUCK are better than anyone assaulting you on the street in person, just better armored and are used to getting away with it (positive feedback) so the reprehensible behavior is repeated.
I'm sure the folks that have been doing it for a long time don't give it a second thought, it is just routine for them to assault car drivers responsible for families with kids or whatever. Just because it is routine and apparently accepted and tolerated behavior among trucking circles doesn't make it legal, moral, safe, or polite.
NO, I never said all or even most truckers are mindless morons. I have had friends and neighbors who are or have been truckers. I don't see truckers as second class citizens. The country depends on their services in a big way and they make a tremendous contribution to our economy. This does not excuse this particular behavior.
Noting prevents truckers from banding together for collective bargaining (see also Teamsters) or for collective political action. If truckers have a LEGITIMATE need for some sort of law enabling them to legally run cars out of their way through intimidation let them circulate a petition and lobby their representatives and senators for redress. The "SPIN" required to "sell" that legislation will make interesting reading!
Pat
gemini5362
Veteran Member
What I think is bothering me about the truck driving portion of this thread is the walk a mile in a truck drivers shoes type posts. I have never driven a big truck. I dont want to. I have been a victom I dont want to do that again either. I am not going to say all truck drivers are bad drivers or that they taligate. I drove to work tonight and saw a lot of trucks none of them were tailgating. Let me give a realistic scenario. I am on my way home tonight. Someone on the interstate in the left hand lane falls asleep at the wheel. When the interstate curves they keep on coming right into oncoming traffic. I am in my geo tracker in the left hand lane of oncoming traffic. I come around the curve at 65 ( the speed limit) I see a car coming through the medium right in front of me. I slam on the brakes of my tracker. One of the bad semi drivers is behind me about 15 feet or less from my rear bumper. I may be wrong but I dont believe he can stop from 65mph in the same distance I can or even withing 30 feet of the distance I can stop.
Lets assume I am right and he stops exactly 30 feet farther than it takes me to stop. That would put his bumper right about even with where my bumper was before the impact knocked me out of the way. In this scenario I am probably a dead person at this point. There is absolutely nothing that has been done to anyone driving a truck to allow them to gamble with my life. I dont care how hard it is to drive a semi. I dont care what the hazards are. I dont even care if they have had geo trackers cut them off every day they have driven. There is nothing that gives them the right to gamble that they can tailgate and still the truck stopped before they kill me.
As far as the sexist comment. I have noticed an increase in the number of women in non commercial vehicles that tailgate. I dont see enough women driving big rigs to see if that carries over into that type of driving also.
Lets assume I am right and he stops exactly 30 feet farther than it takes me to stop. That would put his bumper right about even with where my bumper was before the impact knocked me out of the way. In this scenario I am probably a dead person at this point. There is absolutely nothing that has been done to anyone driving a truck to allow them to gamble with my life. I dont care how hard it is to drive a semi. I dont care what the hazards are. I dont even care if they have had geo trackers cut them off every day they have driven. There is nothing that gives them the right to gamble that they can tailgate and still the truck stopped before they kill me.
As far as the sexist comment. I have noticed an increase in the number of women in non commercial vehicles that tailgate. I dont see enough women driving big rigs to see if that carries over into that type of driving also.
the_sandman_454
Silver Member
That depends. Was the semi keeping a safe following distance between him and the next vehicle, and you just cut in front of him, thereby diminishing his following distance? If that's the case, then you are the one who put yourself at risk by invading his safe following distance he had already established.
I have this happen when pulling my boat or other trailers in my pickup. Idiots are so impatient that they cut into my safe following distance. I generally try to back off to give them a bit of room, but it's not always the best solution. I think the idiot that cuts in front of something with as much momentum as a pickup/trailer combo or bigger is the bigger problem, since that individual was driving safely prior to the idiot cutting in front.
Now if the towing vehicle just happens to run up right behind you for no apparent reason, then that individual is the one who is causing the issue. In my experience it's usually the other way around though, the smaller vehicle usually has no respect for how long it takes to stop/slow a heavy vehicle, invades the safe following distance the driver had established, and then wonders why the other vehicle plows into them when they suddenly decide to slam on the brakes in a panic stop to get to their exit, turn on the next road, etc.
Often times I do get frustrated at idiots hanging out in the left hand lane travelling the same speed as those in the right hand lane. It is tempting to want to try and motivate such people out of the way. That is a law I would love to see enforced, the "keep right except to pass" thing. I don't care if you're doing the speed limit or not, you're creating an unsafe situation because other drivers will likely tailgate you and so forth. Not that it's right, but right or wrong it's what invariably will happen. Why not just get out of peoples' way when the opportunity presents itself (this comment applying mostly to situations in which passing lanes are available).
As to the tractor on the road thing, it's sort of fun. I drove mine a few miles to do a little bush hog work for a friend, and even though it's mostly dirt roads on which I travelled, it was an interesting experience. I'd do it again, since it probably won't hurt anything. Let the cars do their own thing, and just to be courteous if you find someplace you can pull over if they can't safely pass when it starts to get congested behind you.
Rara Avis
Veteran Member
gemini5362 said:
Hmmm, then I'd start calling my state police and file some complaints...
Mount a video camera pointing backward...heck they record for hours, so turn it on when you leave home/work and turn it off when get to work/home...anyone tailgating you will have had their license plate in view at some point...It is great evidence in court...
< Whistle --------- > Time out ppl. The world is full of all kinds this arguement about tailgating has gotten political with no need. I could go in to a rant of many types on both sides of the fence. it is not worth it. the average american driver SUCKS. cdl or no there will always be morons. The suggestion of giving them plenty of room on the right is an interesting one. Vermont has about 3" of gravle for a side so it doesnt work well here. texas is another story.
When someone tailgates me I drop my speed down to the speed limit (I usually run 10 or so over). It does not matter to me if they are driving an 18 wheeler or a motorcycle. Tailgating not a good idea because if an accident results, the one with the front-end damage (tailgater) will always pay for the damages. Most truck drivers are smart enough not to tailgate because it could cost them thier job, the exceptions that do usually have very short careers in the field.
Rara Avis
Veteran Member
wolc123 said:
You have hear of the expression..."He was dead right"...
Just because the guy plows into your rear...he's at fault...but will you survive the accident?
Me, I either accelerate to create distance between me and him or I pull over and let him pass...