I hope he got to the hospital in time

[EdInArk]

We were headed west on I-40 yesterday, Oct 3, going into OK City in the road construction where there are concrete barriers tight against both lanes. Things were going well. Speed limit was 55, but I was running about 60 in the right lane just pacing traffic staying in my lane but very aware of the concrete barrier just a few feet to my right.

There were cars constantly passing on the left, but that was fine; there was room. Nobody was acting like an idiot, until ......

Then as I watch in my left mirror I see a Thor Hurricane coming on strong in the left lane. Well, truthfully he was sort of mostly in the left lane. As I watched I thought "No, he’s not", but he did. With his right wheels on the line he pushed into the open lane to my left. I just dropped the throttle to slow so he’d be next to me for as little time as possible. He was so **** close I tried fudging right a little to make more room. As he came up beside us I thought the mirrors were going to hit, but I fudged a little more right, my wife screamed “You’re gonna hit the wall!” At that point I made the decision if he got any closer I was going to let him hit us and just try to stay off the wall.

But he made it by and continued on. I watched for a couple of miles as he passed cars with both right-side wheels at least on the line and often over.

He made it to the end of the construction maybe 20 seconds in front of us. Driving like he was on the last lap of the Indy 500 gained him a third of a minute. Well done, my new friend. You’ll be pleased to know I had several clean pair of underwear packed.

And I hope you got to the hospital in time because I can’t think of any excuse to be driving a freakin’ class A like that if there wasn’t someone bleeding to death in there.

[Oldmso54]

I shudder at least once on every trip over a driver coming up behind me on my left (while I'm in the right lane), and headed straight for my RV!!

Like you, I get off the gas and move to the right so they can fly by and minimize the time next to me.

What the heck are these people doing out there on the highways?

[Divingbiker]

Wow. What a idiot.

My wife calls these barriers "the walls of death". Depending on the amount of room in this situation, sometime I take up both lanes and increase our speed whatever the traffic speed is to get thru the barrier area. However, its never a good idea to speed thru a construction area.

I'm glad you guys were safe and all turned out well.

[Skiddy]

Originally Posted by EdInArk

We were headed west on I-40 yesterday, Oct 3, going into OK City in the road construction where there are concrete barriers tight against both lanes. Things were going well. Speed limit was 55, but I was running about 60 in the right lane just pacing traffic staying in my lane but very aware of the concrete barrier just a few feet to my right.

There were cars constantly passing on the left, but that was fine; there was room. Nobody was acting like an idiot, until ......

Then as I watch in my left mirror I see a Thor Hurricane coming on strong in the left lane. Well, truthfully he was sort of mostly in the left lane. As I watched I thought "No, he’s not", but he did. With his right wheels on the line he pushed into the open lane to my left. I just dropped the throttle to slow so he’d be next to me for as little time as possible. He was so **** close I tried fudging right a little to make more room. As he came up beside us I thought the mirrors were going to hit, but I fudged a little more right, my wife screamed “You’re gonna hit the wall!” At that point I made the decision if he got any closer I was going to let him hit us and just try to stay off the wall.

But he made it by and continued on. I watched for a couple of miles as he passed cars with both right-side wheels at least on the line and often over.

He made it to the end of the construction maybe 20 seconds in front of us. Driving like he was on the last lap of the Indy 500 gained him a third of a minute. Well done, my new friend. You’ll be pleased to know I had several clean pair of underwear packed.

And I hope you got to the hospital in time because I can’t think of any excuse to be driving a freakin’ class A like that if there wasn’t someone bleeding to death in there.

dang I must of missed you all by about an hour as that is the way I go to work everyday. thankfully there wasn't a jackknifed semi along the construction zone. think there was about 3 three this week along there.

Originally Posted by Divingbiker

Wow. What a idiot.

My wife calls these barriers "the walls of death". Depending on the amount of room in this situation, sometime I take up both lanes and increase our speed whatever the traffic speed is to get thru the barrier area. However, its never a good idea to speed thru a construction area.

I'm glad you guys were safe and it all turned out well.

please do not take up both lanes and speed. even though I work in construction, thankfully not on major highways. I have seen so many people in construction zones with the "the walls of death" that can not keep their vehicle in their own lane no matter what they drive. Believe me the "the wall of death" lol or the side of a cliff that you are driving on will not come into your lane and make you crash. just drive like it's a normal two lane road and don't stress sorry for the long rant

[Teamfoxy]

I would normally agree with Skiddy, but there are times when the lanes are very uneven and the ruts try to pull you to one side and then the other. When that happens, I just slow down to whatever speed I need to go to feel comfortable and stay right.

[winniman]

Im with Biker on this one. If the lanes are too narrow, Im going down the center. We were travelling through Houston a few years ago, and almost the same story for my friends 40 ft dp. A transport was overtaking us in the narrow construction zone. The truck drifted over, and my friend had to swerve to avoid the collision. A light pole base stuck out farther than the concrete barriers, and his two rear panels behind the back wheels got scrubbed on the pole base. It was get hit by the truck, or scrub the wall. Neither was a good option. That's why if I feel things are getting too tight, Im taking the liberty of disarming a dangerous situation. I don't care if someone has to slow down for 30 seconds to avoid an accident.

[HJLowell]

Its usually a Greyhound Bus busting through the 50mph construction zones at 70 plus

[EdInArk]

Originally Posted by Teamfoxy

I would normally agree with Skiddy, but there are times when the lanes are very uneven and the ruts try to pull you to one side and then the other. When that happens, I just slow down to whatever speed I need to go to feel comfortable and stay right.

I try to run with traffic to avoid being passed any more than necessary. But sometimes you catch slower traffic and can't help slowing down. We had done fine for what felt like miles of this slalom course (that's what I call 'em) until Ricky Racer showed up. We watched him for a while and his right wheels were constantly on the line or even over it.

I would have sworn they were narrower than normal traffic lanes, ut with nowhere to go they sure seem so.

I know in this incident I'd have had two wheels well on the shoulder, but I had nowhere to go. If he'd come over a few more inches it was going to get serious.

[mobilemike]

I would have moved 3 feet to the left and blocked him behind me until past the construction.

[mobilemike]

Also.
If you know how the PITT maneuver works that is an important piece of information for defensive driving. I call it Earnhardt-ing. As in Dale Earnhardt.
Speed differential and power application is important. When the vehicle in the rear contact the rear corner of the vehicle in front, the pushing car must accelerate and steer into the corner to shove the back of the vehicle off center from the front tires. Usually the driver of the front car does not know how to counter that action and lets off the gas. Making the maneuver more effective. Speed differential and power application is the key.
If you were to make contact with the MH passing you the proper thing is to accelerate and maintain steering in the lane. Slowing down quickly will make you lose control.

[Divingbiker]

Originally Posted by winniman

Im with Biker on this one. If the lanes are too narrow, Im going down the center. We were travelling through Houston a few years ago, and almost the same story for my friends 40 ft dp. A transport was overtaking us in the narrow construction zone. The truck drifted over, and my friend had to swerve to avoid the collision. A light pole base stuck out farther than the concrete barriers, and his two rear panels behind the back wheels got scrubbed on the pole base. It was get hit by the truck, or scrub the wall. Neither was a good option. That's why if I feel things are getting too tight, Im taking the liberty of disarming a dangerous situation. I don't care if someone has to slow down for 30 seconds to avoid an accident.

+1

My point EXACTLY. I'd much rather slow down the offender than let him cause an accident involving my rig.....

[LETMGROW]

I have been driving for more than 59 years. I learned early on to not let anyone else dictate how fast or how slow I am driving. In a case like that above I would slow down and let the flat foot drivers go. You might not think so but there will be a lot of people behind you thankful the pace has slowed. Some not so much but you will probably catch up to them at the next stop light.
Lynn

[Itchytoe]

I've gone through a few construction zones with narrow, hard barriers on both sides and me in the middle of both lanes with people honking behind me. I hate doing it, but it's not like a little Honda is going to push me out of their way. It's a construction zone, they should slow down anyway. I'm almost 20,000 pounds, 8 feet wide, and 60 feet long. There's nothing they can do but wait until we get through the construction. I fee like an a-hole every time, but I'm not mobile enough to swerve around that barrier that's sticking into my lane a little bit, or to avoid that vehicle that's a little bit over the line into my lane. If I lose control, the whole interstate will be shut down for hours cleaning up the mess. To prevent that, sometimes I become "that guy who doesn't know how to tow through construction zones" in somebody else's story. It's better than being "that guy that got smeared into the asphalt" after getting side-swipped by the driver who was a little bit over the line.

[winniman]

Originally Posted by Itchytoe

I've gone through a few construction zones with narrow, hard barriers on both sides and me in the middle of both lanes with people honking behind me. I hate doing it, but it's not like a little Honda is going to push me out of their way. It's a construction zone, they should slow down anyway. I'm almost 20,000 pounds, 8 feet wide, and 60 feet long. There's nothing they can do but wait until we get through the construction. I fee like an a-hole every time, but I'm not mobile enough to swerve around that barrier that's sticking into my lane a little bit, or to avoid that vehicle that's a little bit over the line into my lane. If I lose control, the whole interstate will be shut down for hours cleaning up the mess. To prevent that, sometimes I become "that guy who doesn't know how to tow through construction zones" in somebody else's story. It's better than being "that guy that got smeared into the asphalt" after getting side-swipped by the driver who was a little bit over the line.

My friend who hit the light pole base is a professional truck driver. He owns approx. 20 tractor trailers and has driven them his whole life. If it can happen to him, it can happen to you.