Got My First Informal Reprimand But Not For Anything Driving Related.

It does have a longer nose, so you need to be extra aware of your room in front when you are getting back under it. It also has a bit of a longer turning radius but I honestly don't think I can tell. I've gotten mine into some very tight areas. Out of all our fleet trucks, I feel the kw has the best backing manners with the urge to move function. It will just creep along at 2 mph or so with no input, no bucking or shaking. They are generally hard to get, a lot people request them. So if you have the opportunity to get in one, something to consider. Objectively though, it's really a personal choice, I know guys that love Volvos, for me personally they are almost unbearable to drive.

Thanks for the heads up. Maybe the KW with a spread axle isn't the best choice for me right now lol. Maybe when I get better at backing I will look to see if they have any available. The Volvos have a nice smooth ride but the seats are soooo uncomfortable, ridiculous.

I think you can handle the work for flatbed at Knight but if your concerns are getting to the appointments on time then only you know how to handle that. Most places I have been to close between Noon and 330pm. They are open around 6am though.

Sorry for changing the subject of your post to the smart drive lol. I wanted to ask you and Old School about that for a few days now....

I wouldnt want to persuade you either way on the truck. I love the seats in the KW, so comfortable. I have two fractured vertebrae, the seats in the volvos just killed me, I wouldnt be able to continue driving long term if I was in one. I also found the volvo interior to have massive issues for me personally, Im 6 even and hit my head on every cabinet and shelf every time i moved in the cab. The KW just works really well for me, but I backed up just fine (for my goofy backing) in all of them. I have an easier time backing with the kw because I have the most experience with it compared to the others. Id recommend trying it if you can. If it didnt work for you, I can pretty much guarantee it wont last long before someone else will happily grab it. Mines a 2020, which has some nicer features over the older ones, like the cruise buttons and audio controls are on the steering wheel, no bag dump, but the 5th wheel release is in cab, few other tidbits. Aside from that I did plenty of backs with all our other trucks and they were fine. At top gun we had a freight shaker and I trained in one. It put power to the ground well, but the ride was horrendous, like it should come with a complimentary kidney belt and chiropractor on board kind of horrendous. The international I was in only had a ten speed, which I couldnt stand, and you had to apply the service brakes for the jake to come on, I also hated that feature. But I made money with the truck all the same. The steering was horrible in it as well, it had a broken stabilizer that the shop fixed, but no real improvement to the steering. I had some terrifying moments in it bobtailing and hauling empties. Loaded it was marginally better, but not much.

Os has far more experience that I could hope to have. I thought about his advice as I was driving today, its pretty concurrent with how I operate most of the time, but Im going to try turning that most of the time into an all the time.

If a law enforcement officer observes two trucks side by side, one attempting to pass the other, if in the officers judgement it’s impeding the flow of traffic, taking too long, they could write both drivers a citation.

I strongly doubt that a driver who maintains his speed while being passed can get a citation. Driving on public roads is a very formal and heavily regulated activity, and it is for a reason. I looked up two manuals, a general drivers manual and a CDL one, but none of them has anything about slowing down when being passed. There is a situation when it makes sense to slow down - when someone is struggling to pass me and I can see in the mirror several passenger cars behind him, in this case I will slow down to let him in my lane faster. In all other cases I find it safer to maintain a constant speed. One of the reasons for that was brought by Robert (the Dragon) - it may be difficult to regain speed especially when loaded and or going uphill. Another reason may be not so obvious, but is still valid for me - in the long run every change of speed increases fuel consumption.

You seem to like debating with the experienced drivers Andrey (especially me), at times seems like you attempt to discredit, refute, and twist our advice. You’ll eventually realize that I will not back down when I know I’m right, especially when it involves safety and the technical aspects of driving. I’m here to teach and motivate those who want to learn and will not allow one dissenter to project false/questionable advice or information. I respect your tenacity Andrey, understand I am just as tenacious and bullheaded when it comes to sharing my experience. Almost 10 years of A driving in the Northeast and I live to tell of it.

For the record Andrey I never said to drop your speed when being passed as a general rule. No one did. I provided a clear and understandable situation when it’s prudent and wise to lower speed when being passed. You finally validated it below, something up to this point you neglected to do.

The best way to stay out of trouble is to keep distance and when in it, get out of it quickly. Assume the driver next to you may have less experience than you do. This premise holds true to passing another truck or being passed by another truck. If you observed my driving habits, you’d quickly realize I focus on space... lots of it.

And believe me, if a LEO sees two trucks side by side basically doing the same speed impeding traffic, there is a likelihood he will execute a stop to at least one driver, possibly both. Strongly doubt all you want.

And your point about fuel economy is an interesting one. Considering the frequency of the issue we are discussing, reduced fuel economy by lowering speed is negligible. Gauging speed based on the volume and flow of traffic is the best way to manage fuel economy. Again, maintain and smoothly manage space.

If a law enforcement officer observes two trucks side by side, one attempting to pass the other, if in the officers judgement it’s impeding the flow of traffic, taking too long, they could write both drivers a citation.

I strongly doubt that a driver who maintains his speed while being passed can get a citation. Driving on public roads is a very formal and heavily regulated activity, and it is for a reason. I looked up two manuals, a general drivers manual and a CDL one, but none of them has anything about slowing down when being passed. There is a situation when it makes sense to slow down -when someone is struggling to pass me and I can see in the mirror several passenger cars behind him, in this case I will slow down to let him in my lane faster. In all other cases I find it safer to maintain a constant speed. One of the reasons for that was brought by Robert (the Dragon) - it may be difficult to regain speed especially when loaded and or going uphill. Another reason may be not so obvious, but is still valid for me - in the long run every change of speed increases fuel consumption.

In a car it would be called “defensive driving”. Strange that the term is not more common to hear in trucking circles.

Yielding a lane so as not to get in a tortoise race is sound wisdom. It also enhances the public image of the professional driver if any 4 wheel drivers are knowledgeable enough to notice. Nevertheless, do the right thing even if nobody is watching.

You seem to like debating with the experienced drivers Andrey (especially me), at times seems like you attempt to discredit, refute, and twist our advice.

G-Town, it was never my intention to "discredit, refute, and twist" the advice that you or other people offer at this forum. I really value all the information I found here in the course of past two years. Every time I learn something new that makes sense to me, I am ready to use it, but if it doesn't make sense, I pass - no pun intended :-) Thank you, good luck and safe travels!

If I have to reduce speed and create more and more of a following distance from 20 plus vehicles on my way to an appointment that will push my time back, won't it???

It will but over the course of a day it shouldn't be more than a few minutes. If being courteous and backing off the accelerator for a couple seconds is the difference in making your appointment on time I'd say the issue isn't with whether you should back off or not but with your trip planning. Everyone may disagree whether or not the truck passing should attempt it if it's going to take a while. What we all can agree with is being side by side with another vehicle is dangerous and increases your risk of being involved in an accident regardless of who's at fault. I understand not backing down on a hill if I'm loaded as I do the same. As we crest the hill however I will back down and signal for them to come back over.

I start my days in the middle of the night. I could get involved in a turtle race and not impede traffic flow but there's no point. It isn't a matter of what's right or wrong. To me, it's a matter of always leaving myself an out and time to react if something were to happen. Sure you may get to your appointment a few minutes later and time is money when you're paid CPM. You're losing a couple dollars a day at most. Now think of how much money you'll lose if you're down for a couple weeks for repairs due to an accident because you pride told you it's unreasonable to back down. Don't forget to add in the time spent dealing with your safety department, possibly additional training, and a tarnish on your driving record that prevents you from getting that "dream job" you go for in a year.

Anyways, in regards to Davys original message unfortunately it's just the culture today. Everybody is looking at a way to "cancel" or ruin someone's reputation based on disagreeing or being a smart ass. It also doesn't help that with how sue happy some people are that post could be used against Knight if you were ever involved in a serious accident. Sarcasm is sometimes hard to pick up on in written word. I get in trouble as well for saying something that could be deemed insensitive even if thats not my intent. I actually deleted Facebook primarily for that reason. I don't need someone going through my posts from years ago and find something I said sarcastically and try to "cancel" me because I said their dog is ugly.

Not to hammer on you Andrey, but it's one of the five keys of the smith system, always leave yourself an out.

Both in passing and being passed, when you have a truck or vehicle side by side, you loose the available space there to maneuver there. As well as traffic will back up behind the driver overtaking, making it even worse. On a motorcycle, we say ride where the cars are not.

There's an ebb and flow to it, it may sound esoteric but sometimes you can feel when a guy is trying to get through and conversely when they are blocking you. A lot of guys won't let off, and a lot never return the thank you by killing the running lights for a second but that's ok. I aspire to rise above that. I hit the interrupt for the lights a lot and seldom get a thanks but the more I do it, eventually the more that will respond.

A lot of the times drives will be able to execute the pass quickly, but someone they can't or won't, so it's not like it's all the time. (Except for old folks in Miami 😜)

Let this be a lesson to all of you... Stay off Facebook.

I hate when I move to the left lane to let a truck merge from the ramp and they won't pass me or slow down and then I'm stuck in the left lane slowing down and impeding traffic to get back over.

Let this be a lesson to all of you... Stay off Facebook.

I hate when I move to the left lane to let a truck merge from the ramp and they won't pass me or slow down and then I'm stuck in the left lane slowing down and impeding traffic to get back over.

I just wait for someone to bark at me on the CB, to which I'm prepared to respond "if y'all let me back in I'm happy to go there."