What's with the 18 Wheel drivers

[rivraton]

Originally Posted by narampa

To start with the truck would be drafting when behind you. As he he gets past you he starts breaking wind and you begin to draft in his slipstream.

That right there would make me slow down to give him distance.

[noserider]

Ok I lied this is my last post . Wanted to make another point after rereading my post. If a trucker is governed at 65 and my doing 63 causes them problems that's a valid point. I'm going to experiment with 65 and see if this helps. It's not a big deal if it helps keep the flow moving. I understand slowing a massive truck and then accelerating is way more of an inconvenience not to mention costly than the same for a car. I know more want to inconvenience the truckers than I want them to inconvenience me. I think I'm done now. Thanks for the dialogue

[normandlegra]

All of it prooves that driving a large motorhome is very similar then driving a 18 wheeler, except for the greater weight and much more HP !

[twinboat]

Just because trucks are governed to go 65, don't mean the have to go 65.

Driving my Class C, in the rain, I typically slow down to 50 - 55, dependent on the amount of rain or traffic.

With regularity, I am passed by trucks, flying by, sitting high, with a much clearer view. That's fine with me. I even flash my lights, to let them in, if they haven't already cut in, much to close.

Hey, I even maintane my speed, until I am completely on the exit ramp. So many drivers slow down, way to soon.

I don't have a problem with speeding, I do it all the time in my car, but I am not going to drive faster then I feel I safely can, so as not to inconveance a trucker.

Most trucks, now days , have tons of HP, to get back to 65, after working their way around us slow pokes.

There is a saying "If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch"

Sorry, I don't have a porch.

[Justwinginit]

Not all truck drivers are good drivers. Hubby is a truck driver and can attest to that. I understand why people want in front of a truck but when passing give them enough room when you pass and don't cut them off. And don't slow down. I do not want to be run over by a semi. I give them plenty of lead way when I pass and keep the speed when I get by them

[Possum]

Over the year or so of owning and always using my forward viewing video unit I could post some pretty nasty video of drivers doing asinine things in front of my rig. The posted speeds on the highways are maximums allowed and there is no law saying you have to go that speed. Our girl gets us where we want to be by going about 60 and that's what I do. I keep outta the way of those doing commerce on the road and pull over on single lanes whenever possible to allow people to pass when there's no passing lanes. Courtesy is a two way street. I find truckers the very least of my worries and usually have no problems with them at all.

[LadyFitz...]

In the past few years, truckers have become less polite and competent. I can remember when truckers would switch their lights on and off (not flash the high beams) to let a passer (big rig or otherwise) know it was safe to pull back into the right lane. Now, I rarely see it, even when it is another truck doing the passing.

I see far more lane wandering than I used to. Sometimes it is obvious that the driver is texting or something similar. Most of the time, I suspect that the driver is drowsy, especially since the increase in lane wandering seemed to occur shortly after the Feds increased the number of hours drivers could drive before getting some sleep.

There is a stretch of I-17 in AZ just north of Black Canyon City that has a fairly long upgrade. Trucks are prohibited from passing on that grade yet, just about every time I'm on that stretch, including when I was on it last
Thursday, some idiot trucker driver will try to pass someone, holding up traffic because the truck doing the passing is itself going well below the 65 mph speed limit.

Yes, the truckers are making a living delivering our goods but that doesn't excuse rude behavior and incompetency. No one has exclusive rights to the road.

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by LadyFitz...

In the past few years, truckers have become less polite and competent. ..

And so have RV drivers, car drivers, etc.

[spsm]

I'm a RV'er on weekends and a 18 wheeler during the week. I drive that truck (double tank liquid) differently than I do that motorhome (40 ft.) To make money, those wheels have to be turning. With that Mtr. Hme. there is no need for me to be a part of the dog eat dog world. I agree with 99% of these posts. I am so glad and honored to be a part of the RV family because of the respect they show to the other drivers, and I feel the same with my fellow truck drivers. We will always have some Huffy Puffs out there, but remember lets not throw a fit like we did when we were 2 yrs. old, we are now more mature. ( I hope )

[KSagal]

I think we sometimes forget a road with a speed limit of 65 mph is not a road where it is required to go 65 mph. That is a limit, not a minimum. Those who feel anyone traveling less than that are wrong are the ones who are wrong.

The comment was made also, that many places do not use driver's ed training. In the state where I live, it is required, not so much to get your license, but by the insurance companies will charge much much more for a youth who did not take a course.

Bottom line is that no one group owns the roads, less courtesy is common in most every location in today's society, and no less on the highway. That does not stop certain individuals from driving as if they do own the road.

For me, steady and predictable is the rule. If you want to go 63, and are not in the left lane, then I have no problem with you at all. Maintain your speed, and anyone who wants to use a different speed can adjust accordingly.

That is much better then the cars who do not speed up to 'road speed' till you try to pass them, then all of the sudden, they have a need to go faster.

As a general rule, I would rather be on a road with all truckers, and no cars, rather than on a parkway with all cars and no trucks. That rule has more exceptions now than it used to however.

I drive a car as part of my job (Field engineer, visit client sites daily in my suv) so I do 50K a year or more. Trucks generally are still better than cars, but both are worse than they used to be, in my opinion.

When in the MH, I drive pretty conservatively, mostly in the right lane, except when near on ramps, when I move one lane left. I do try to use the cruise control on all vehicles, as I believe it not only helps economy and mpg, but also makes my vehicle easier to predict for others, and then they can act accordingly.

If they choose not to act accordingly, or do not know how, there is little I can do about it, and do not overly contort myself to let them drive on in their ignorance. I even have a second, auxiliary air horn in the SUV and am considering one for the new (to me) MH.

I do try to get along well with my fellow drivers. But if you do something stupid, I would not expect me to slam on brakes, nor do something stupid to myself to make you feel better.

[CampDaven]

Ah yes! One of those downright nifty threads with ranting, venting, opinions, and even a few ideas. But no real solutions.
Hey, is this going to be a gov't project?
Pound yer fists til they turn pink and try to get over it. Driving habits/manners don't change, even with the threat of new laws. Not nuff cops to patrol for it, sooooo....
I drive as I choose, defensively, alert, and prepared to adjust accordingly, and never fret, hollar or salute.
Happy Trails

[Moonrover]

Originally Posted by flaggship1

.... Worse are the folks in cars that could easily merge on at or near highway speed and don't. They slow poke for a 1/4 mile or so - so I move over to pass them. .....

I'll take a highway full of truckers any day.

There are many car drivers doing the slow crawl when merging. Frustrating as all get out to try to guess when (or if) they wake up and press the accelerator to get with the speed of the traffic flow. Must be a descriptive term for those drivers. Possibly it's the "Yawn, where am I ?" driver. Or ... "Gotta finish reading this funny text" high tech driver. Or even the "When I get this lipstick on, I'll speed up" make-up application driver.

My worst nightmare is the ... "Oh they won't hit me" fatalist small car driver.

As for mixing in with truckers, I feel tons safer motoring along with that crowd. Can anyone recall getting a "Thank You" blink of turn signals from a car driver after you made an opening for them to change lanes? Truckers appreciate your slowing up to make a hole for them, and most often will give you a thank you. I can't count the number of times that truckers have helped me change lanes. I give them a marker light blink or two to thank them.

[flaggship1]

So this is interesting.
https://youtu.be/n-Bf36DLLmk