Safety Message from the Local Trucker

[Alan Shutko]

Moral of the story? DON'T SLAM ON YOUR BRAKES IN FRONT OF A SEMI!

Unfortunately, not always possible. I slammed my breaks in front of a semi once, because the semi in front of me slammed on his breaks. We ended up stopped completely on the interstate, my front end a few inches from the semi in front of me, the semi behind me colocating with my trunk.

Of course, I completely agree with you if not slamming on your breaks won't make you go squish.

 

[MaxKaladin]

Moral of the story? DON'T SLAM ON YOUR BRAKES IN FRONT OF A SEMI!

I have a second moral. Despite what too many people seem to think, it is not illegal to go around or double back. I see too many people who think they have to go directly where they are going without ever deviating from their course. Sometimes, like here, it takes the form of slamming on their brakes at the last instant to try to make a turn they're about to miss. Other times, it's trying to dart across several lanes of traffic to get to the turn they want right now instead of going one block further and doubling back. Still other times, its some other behavior where they throw traffic into chaos because they can't be bothered to go a little out of their way. It seems this sort of thing causes a fair number of accidents. This one would have been easily prevented if the guy had just gone on another half-mile and turned around rather than suddenly trying to turn at the last minute.

 

[orchid blossom]

I'm always at least 5 car lengths behind anyone on the interstate. I know what can happen. It amazes me to see people drive like maniacs, you can tell they've never been hit or hit anyone...yet.

I try to do that, but it seems like all the other drivers just think that cushin is room for them to cut in front of me. So I end up playing "get some room between me and this guy in front of me" during my whole trip. As soon as I get a comfortable cushin again, someone else cuts in.

I've always gone by the "see both headlights in the rearview" method of knowing when you can pull back in. I do give semi's a bigger space though. I have to see the entire cab before I'll pull back in. From the sounds of this, that isn't enough either. Time to start leaving more room than that.

 

[Nightcloak]

It seem statistically likely that 25 % of all Enworlders are or were in fact army truckers, right?

Never was in the army. I delivered produce regionally for a small company.

However, I do have an employee now who use to drive truck in the army…

Does that count

 

[Nightcloak]

Warlord Ralts



What a god-awful thing to have to witness. On that day too.

That’s the kind of story all driver Ed students should hear.

Wait. On second thought, allot of drivers on the road need to hear that story. Maybe it would wake a few of them up.

 

[Chimera]

Good God, Ralts.

Never a good idea to make truck drivers angry by dicking around in front of them either.

Approximately 20 years ago, driving south on I-35 in Burnsville, MN, which is headed up a big hill out of the river valley and 3 lanes wide. Red Pinto in the left lane, playing stupid right in front of a semi. Hitting brakes unnecessarily, driving well under the speed limit, etc. Me, I'm about 100 yards behind them and closing.

Semi driver gets a chance to move right, into the center lane. He does so, gets to where the middle of his truck is even with the Pinto...

And slams his truck back into the left lane.

Pinto goes shooting into the ditch at full speed. Fortunately for him (and for the truck driver, who would have faced prosecution), he came to a stop in the middle and didn't fly into oncoming traffic.

Never seen anything like it, before or since.

Don't mess with the trucks, man. They'll squash you like a bug.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

I try to do that, but it seems like all the other drivers just think that cushin is room for them to cut in front of me. So I end up playing "get some room between me and this guy in front of me" during my whole trip. As soon as I get a comfortable cushin again, someone else cuts in.

I've always gone by the "see both headlights in the rearview" method of knowing when you can pull back in. I do give semi's a bigger space though. I have to see the entire cab before I'll pull back in. From the sounds of this, that isn't enough either. Time to start leaving more room than that.

I'm with you there, Orchid.

I'm a paranoid driver. I'll do the whole five car lengths thing, and people will cut in constantly. It's gotten to the point where I see them coming, and start backing up.

What really pisses me off, though, is I'll be in the fast lane, driving exactly as fast as the car in front of me. But because I'm not five feet from that car's bumper, the people who rapidly close from behind me get pissed off.

What's the point in tailgating someone at 70mph? You waste a lot of gas, just in the hopes of getting half a car-length more ahead of the rest of the people around you.

Blech. There's a reason I hate driving.