To The Races

Everywhere I go it is a race to the "finish line", tailgating me on the interstate , tailgating me on US Highways when the speed limit is 65, speeding in the parking lots, speeding to the fuel island, speeding behind a truck backing into a spot, and to top it all off excessive speeding in bad conditions.

Discipline is what will keep you safe. Sure it is nice to stay at your top speed to make "time", but the time saving is so fractional that it makes you wonder why?

I know I am beating on a dead horse but this has really gotten to me lately.

Almost had a head on collision yesterday on US54 in Texas because some genius couldn't wait a bit longer to pass. Thankfully i had the foresight to see it and back down my speed to avoid it all together.

The blatant disregard for their own and others safety is unsettling.

One thing I tell myself daily before starting is, "today might be my last so let's make sure it isn't." Safety is a choice and a discipline. It is what keeps me alive and working.

Be safe and back her down everyone. It isn't a race.

Its gotten worse with the elog mandate. super truckers who were on paper dont know how to deal with it.

be safe a keep ur cool.

What Gladhand says is so true. The results of hurrying are really fractional. A driver speeds up to cut in front of you to take the exit that is a 1/4 mile ahead. Then cuts over two lanes to get the exit...(that’s my biggest peeve out here). People don’t think about risk vs. reward...that’s our job. Looking forward to a review of Roehl and their Safe Seven program when I start orientation. They have a saying...Driven to protect others. Which I think applies to all of us. Stay back and stay safe everyone!!

VERY well said Gladhand. I agree wholeheartedly. It really is unsettling to see how reckless people behave on the highways and I see no reason to expect it to get any better.

I'd have to say my #1 pet peeve is tailgating. It drives me crazy. In my four wheeler I regularly either pretend I'm getting ready to make a turn or pull off onto the shoulder to get someone off my back bumper. Then of course two minutes later there's someone else planted there.

Having a lot of space around you on all sides is the most important thing for safety in my book. I can't stand having anyone near me. You'll also see people pull around to pass you on the Interstate and then hover right alongside you. As far as you can see down the Interstate in either direction there's not another vehicle in sight but this person decides they're going to ride along three feet from you. Drives ya nuts!

Yes, "Big, Slow Trucks" are a bad image. In a way we earn it, what with getting on an Interstate pulling a 78,000 pound load and all.

But as you (I think) recently quoted me, Drive Your Own Road. You don't have time to stop and explain, so just do your best to manage your truck on the road. If someone has an important appointment, they should have started earlier.

So my bottom line: as long as the other driver doesn't do something stupid, let them rant, flash lights and honk. You have a job to do.

I watched a video during the Crete orientation. If a truck varies it's speed (by backing off ten mph) 25 times per day, the amount of time "lost" after a ten hour driving day is a whopping 1 MINUTE, 25 SECONDS!

Totally agree. On top of how pointless it is to rush around, I hate the way it makes me feel behind the wheel. I'm much more likely to get frustrated and angry when people cut me off or just won't get out of my way. The hardest lesson to learn out here is to YIELD to all the stupid idiots. You'll be happier and everyone will be safer because of it.

Btw have you ever considered working in the safety department? You're a natural.

I watched a video during the Crete orientation. If a truck varies it's speed (by backing off ten mph) 25 times per day, the amount of time "lost" after a ten hour driving day is a whopping 1 MINUTE, 25 SECONDS!

Excellent point and thanks for sharing this. It really shows just how little people think about the realities out there. Math is not everyone's strong point for sure. What's interesting is that they're talking about backing off by 10 mph. That's a lot when you think about it. Doing that 25 times a day is also a big number. Yet the difference in the end is negligible. Laughable even.

On top of how pointless it is to rush around, I hate the way it makes me feel behind the wheel. I'm much more likely to get frustrated and angry when people cut me off or just won't get out of my way.

I totally agree. Now you're in a 75 mph truck at this point, aren't you? What are your thoughts about having a truck that can run that speed versus the 62 mph or whatever it was you were running in the past?

Brett asks:

Now you're in a 75 mph truck at this point, aren't you? What are your thoughts about having a truck that can run that speed versus the 62 mph or whatever it was you were running in the past?

I knew this question would come at some point lol. I don't want to hijack the thread so I'll try to keep it short.

I totally prefer the faster truck. A huge part of why I prefer it has to do with the nature of my job. Without getting into too much detail, most of our runs go from Colorado all the way out to the east coast and back every week--my typical run is about 3200 miles. We also reset our hours at home in Colorado every week. If I were governed at 62 mph, I would have to spend six days out every week unless I wanted to reset my hours on the road. Being able to go the speed limit gets me home in five days on most weeks, so I have more time at home and less in the truck. If our runs were, say, 2500 a week on average, it wouldn't matter as much to me since I'd get the same hometime I get now. I still get paid by the mile though, so it's really nice to get to run a 3200 mile week in 5 days.

The other reason I prefer it, regardless of number of miles or hometime, is I just like the flexibility it gives me in terms of speed management. I hate running against a governor, so most of the time I choose to drive slower than my governed speed. The last several months I was with Swift I started driving slower than the governor and I really liked it. The problem is, driving slower than the governor left me running 55-60 mph in a 75 mph zone, which is a little too slow in my opinion (especially in Colorado where people regularly drive 90 mph--not exaggerating).

And finally, I LIKE running the speed limit! Yeah, what I like and don't like doesn't matter very much, but you asked so I'm tellin you the truth. Haha. If I had to go back to driving a 65 or 70 mph truck I would. I just wouldn't like it as much.

As far as rushing, I think that can be done at any speed. It's a mindset--"I have to go as fast as I can, and I don't care if I have to break laws or put other people in danger to do it." Here's a story to show what I mean. Earlier this week I was traveling along US-63 in AR and MO on the way to Springfield. A good portion of that road is just a 55 mph two-lane highway with the occasional passing lane on either side to keep it from clogging up. It's a hilly, curvy road, so I usually leave the truck in 9th gear and drive 45-55 mph. Well, this week, I had just been slowed down because of all the freezing rain in Mississippi and Memphis, so I started rushing. Instead of slowing down when people were passing me on those occasional passing lanes, I just kept going 55. Well, you know how people get on those roads. They can't stand being behind a truck for the 2 miles until the next passing lane, so they just have to pass you in the last 200 feet of the passing lane. As you might expect, I started getting angry at all these idiots and I started driving faster, thinking cars wouldn't catch up to me as much if I were speeding. They kept catching up to me and actually caused even more trouble than before by taking longer to pass me. Thankfully, I realized what I was doing and slowed down to my normal speed through there. As I started yielding more I was able to calm down and just let it go. People typically don't cut you off if you back off before they even get the chance. All of this was in a 55 mph zone, where even the slowest trucks can do what I did.

It also works the other way around though. Also this week, I was in a 70 mph zone going 70 when I came up to a JB Hunt truck (governed at 65) unsuccessfully passing another truck doing almost exactly the same speed in the right lane. In this situation, I wasn't in a rush so I just hung back and waited. But a lot of the other cars started piling up behind JBH, tailgating each other and causing the people towards the back of the line to slam on their brakes. The real problem was everyone else's road rage and tailgating, but unfortunately this is how people almost always drive and it is to be expected. JBH, on the other hand, is the professional and knows better than to block the left lane like that, so I hold him (or her) responsible for creating a dangerous situation for the rest of us behind him. In my opinion, he was rushing--he just had to get where he was going as fast as he could, regardless of how it affected anyone else on the road. The same is true for the flatbed he was passing in the right lane, who could have slowed down a hair just to let the truck pass.

Sorry, I was gonna keep it short and I ended up writing a book. Oh well..

Yeah, there are all sorts of idiots on the roads.

I've seen several close calls with people passing on 2-lane rural highways. I don't even do it unless the person in front of me is driving incredibly slowly, like going 30, the road is straight, and I can't see anyone coming in the opposite direction. It is just too risky to try and judge the distance of someone heading towards you.