Profile For DOUGLAS P.

I've never had an opportunity to do a maximum effort stop in a semi. I do a hard stop on average once every 30,000 to 50,000 miles. I don't tailgate, so I haven't needed to "lock em up". I've had an older empty trailer skip around a bit on a steep off ramp. My guess is a moderately loaded trailer with 25,000 - 30,000 lbs would stop the best. It also depends on road grade and conditions. I doubt I could stop as fast on a 6% downhill at 80,000 as I can at 60,000 lbs.

Unfortunately we don't really know how fast we can stop until we need to. It's not part of training. If you work for a major carrier you will have to explain every hard stop that you've made. If you lock em up you will likely have some cargo damage.