Almost Got Rear Ended Driving Training Truck

Why do 4 wheelers tailgate semis? I was on a training drive with my school, and a 4 wheeler basically got on my butt while I was doing 55 on hwy 26 out here in oregon. I noticed this and mentioned it to my instructor , he promptly told me that if I have to hit the brakes and the other driver sails under my tandems it's not my our fault and he shouldn't be so close.

It turns out the guy was trying to ride my draft for a bit. Sure enough my exit came up and I had to brake to down shift, the guy flew into the left lane and his passenger middle fingered me as they drove by.

I basically yelled out "then dont be an ahole" I did get a reminder talk from my instructor about professionalism. But he did laugh and said the guy was driving like one. The other driver had no idea, what of the left lane had been occupied he would have had to cut hard right or go under ky rear axle of the trailer.

Professionalism training fornme I guess.....

Why do 4 wheelers tail gate semis? I was on a training drive with my school, and a 4 wheeler basically got on my butt while I was doing 55 on hwy 26 out here in oregon. I noticed this and mentioned it to my instructor , he promptly told me that if I have to hit the brakes and the other driver sails under my tandems it's not my our fault and he shouldn't be so close.

It turns out the guy was trying to ride my draft for a bit. Sure enough my exit came up and I had to brake to down shift, the guy flew into the left lane and his passenger middle fingered me as they drove by.

I basically yelled out "then dont be an ahole" I did get a reminder talk from my instructor about professionalism. But he did laugh and said the guy was driving like one. The other driver had no idea, what of the left lane had been occupied he would have had to cut hard right or go under ky rear axle of the trailer.

Professionalism training fornme I guess.....

Some people drive like that. There isn't much you can do about it. As for the professionalism, road rage isn't worth it. You come out losing in the event of an accident and there are a lot of crazy people out there. Some might take it too far and it's not worth it.

You're in for a rude awakening and a short career if you let these things bother you that much. If you think this was bad wait till you have a fellow truck driver on your tail at 65 miles an hour flashing brights and screaming on the cb. You simply have to let these things go. We as truck drivers are constantly tailgated by 4 wheelers, motorcycles, pick up trucks I mean everybody. There is no reason for it.

And whenever somebody does tailgate, best thing to do is slowly increase your following distance to prevent being rear ended. Youll learn more of that eventually. It may not be youre fault but will still impact your career just not worth it. You have to be a professional at all times.

Work hard. Take pride. Be safe.

This works for tailgaters, truck stop parking and other places where intimidaters go:

Drive your own road.

You have your own business to attend to. Don't let anyone try to push you around.

And whenever somebody does tailgate, best thing to do is slowly increase your following distance to prevent being rear ended

Quite the opposite, actually. Slowly decrease your speed until the tailgater figures out it's better to go around you. You want somebody like that in front of you anyway.

Don't wait around for the tailgate to happen, regardless of whose fault it'll be.

In the event your exit is coming up soon, it's possible the tailgaiter may want the same exit. You still act the same way by gradually slowing to prevent any surprises.

I've slowed down to 35 mph with my flashers on to give them the hint to pass.

These idiots will continue to do this until someday when a trailer tire comes apart, taking the mud flap and steel bracket with it through their windshield. Well, most will figure it out.

I hate tailgaiting!

That's what I'm saying Turtle. By decreasing your speed you will be increasing you're following distance from the vehicle in front of you.

And whenever somebody does tailgate, best thing to do is slowly increase your following distance to prevent being rear ended

Quite the opposite, actually. Slowly decrease your speed until the tailgater figures out it's better to go around you. You want somebody like that in front of you anyway.

Don't wait around for the tailgate to happen, regardless of whose fault it'll be.

In the event your exit is coming up soon, it's possible the tailgaiter may want the same exit. You still act the same way by gradually slowing to prevent any surprises.

Oh I see, Bird-One. I guess I misinterpreted what you were saying.

I'm kind of off topic here, but allow me to share a tailgating experience I had yesterday morning in Tennessee.

I came down South I-65 from Horse Cave Kentucky through Nashville. I knew I was instore for heavy traffic due to the time of day, but I also had dense fog and road construction to deal with. It was slow going until I finally got on I-40 headed West toward Memphis. Once I got going regular highway speeds I realized I have a red pick-up truck tailgating me. I tried slowing down, but they slowed with me. I tried changing lanes several times, but they always stayed with me.

Finally they speed up beside me and the man riding shotgun starts taking photos of my truck. Then they pass me, pulling over in front of me, and start purposely slowing down. I move over to pass and as I pull up beside them the driver starts waving his arm out the window signaling for me to pull over on the shoulder. I make eye contact, shaking my head no and move on in front of him while he's still flailing his arm around making signals to me. They continued riding extremely close to me for approximately 90 miles.

Finally we come to a weigh station. I get a bypass signal, but I can see a state trooper standing outside the building, so I pull in maneuvering right over where I can speak with the officer. The red pickup truck pulls right up behind me.

I tell the officer, "Those guys have been riding my bumper for an hour and a half and keep trying to get me to pull over. I'd like you to help me sort this out. I'm sure not pulling over on the side of the Interstate for a couple of total strangers."

The officer says, "Step out of your truck and let's go see what's going on." We walk back to the offending tailgaters who produce a broken piece of rusted old leaf spring from a heavy truck that's sitting in their pickup bed and claim it came off my truck and hit them. They have a broken windshield as evidence.

The officer looks at me and says, "Well, what do you know about this?" My response is quick and accurate - "Officer, this is a brand new truck. It has less than twenty thousand miles on it. If that spring was mine it would be painted shiny black just like the rest of my undercarriage. I can show you my bill of lading as proof I'm not hauling any scrap metal like that. And furthermore, if that spring were lying in the road and flew up and hit them, it's not my liability. I do know this though - had that spring been lying in the road I would have seen it and avoided it. I don't recall seeing that spring until just now."

The officer says, "Let's go take a quick look at your truck." He also looked at the aluminum products I was loaded with as we walked up beside my trailer. After seeing how clean and shiny black my truck frame and springs were he simply said, "Sir, you're free to go. It's obvious this didn't come from your truck. I've got a few more questions for those other fellows."

That was a unique experience, and not really like what you went through Moses, but I shared it to illustrate you're going to run into all kinds of scenarios out here. Stay calm, don't over react and make sure you are operating in a safe courteous way.

Do not let it bother you it will happen almost daily. Last week on 65 I had a truck tailgating me through the construction zone I was doing the speed limit and he did not like it guess so he passed me on the right when it says trucks use left lane and turned on his dome light and flipped me the bird.