Are you stupid? dont cut me off I am pulling something heavy

[DerekW]

Hey this post is for us to vent about when we are pulling a heavy load or even an unloaded enclosed trailer how people constantly cut us off while we are stopping for a traffic light. People don't understand the danger they pose while doing this. For example I was on my way to a horse show with my sisters horse in the back and my family piled up in my truck. We were going through town and we knew we were going to make a right hand turn at the light a mile away while going 40 So we got in the right hand lane as a mile before the traffic light. then when I was about to apply the brakes for the light I could see someone was going to try to cut me off. let me tell you something people who do this I drive defensively aggressive. I had a winning horse and rider on board on the way to the show. So I stomped the throttle to block then got in the brakes and illegally made a right hand turn on red by not coming a complete stop. When people decide to cut you off I am sure you to would do the same to protect your truck, you chance to win if you were going to a competition, save yourself the time and tickets for rearending someone who cut you off, the court time, vet bills, and losing the chance to earn valuble points in the series you may be competiting in. My sister won that horse event in her classes and won the championship.



Someone else express yourself cuz I know alot of people experience this daily.

 

[DerekW]

This picture is of a driver who was stopping for a car that cut him off. the driver may or may not have lost his life.

 

[DerekW]

Here are some other pics that I would assume were cause by a truck driver getting cut off. Notice the bridge is severely damage and probably caused traffic for at least a year while repairing the bridge disabled. Once metal is subject to exteme heat like this even if it appears to be in the same shape as made the metalurgy is is significantly reduced unless heat is applied ina controled enviroment (heat treating). But the beams here are warped and thats worse than being subject to just damaged metalurgy.

 

[DerekW]

What about this? At anytime if that hitch breaks loose the driver who you can see along with any passengers that may be abroad could die. Did you know they have demolition derby figure 8 races where the objective is to get your rival hitch disconnected so they lose. But as long as you have something hanging that is mounted to the ball you are qualified for the win. look it up and watch some videos then think about this pictures dealy situation.

 

[DieselMinded]

The photo in post 2 . . just couious why the container is on the chasis backwards kind of hard to load and unload that way

 

[cojhl2]

Trying to change lanes what gets me riled. You are with traffic, blinker on and someone behind you travleing faster than traffic is just too important to let you in.



These little rigs don't realize how dangerous it is with a big truck trying to change lanes and they won't give you a break.



I learned as a kid to give trucks a break. I started driving with 185hp engines and 76k loads. When you got slowed down (no freeways either) it took all the rest of the day to get a fire built again.



Darn inconsiderate people.

 

[GOlsen]

The photo in post 2 . . just couious why the container is on the chasis backwards kind of hard to load and unload that way

The container on that truck is a shipping container used on cargo ships. They are hardly ever backed up to a dock to be loaded/unloaded. They are picked on and off in a shipyard with a gantry crane.

 

[DieselMinded]

I have loaded Shipping containers (Combis) at 2 diffent jobs over the last 8 years , Today I fill 3 of them a shift with polymers , We use a liner .



Some are transloaded and some are shipped over sea's in the container .



The Rig in the photo isnt a Spot Truck its a transfer truck and the opening of the combi should be in the back ,



By the looks of the photo it wouldnt of much mattered anyway



DM

 

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

I was just having this conversation w/ my wife last weekend on our trip to Sedona pulling our Jeep. Not that it makes a difference in the results, but one of the points she brought up is just what you mentioned... It's not necessarily that they are stupid though. They just are ignorant of it. They've probably never towed... never driven anything larger than a civic etc. I see people do the same things with big rigs as well. To me, and many of us I'm sure, it is just common sense, but to many that haven't had the experiences we have, unfortunately it is not so common knowledge. This lack of knowledge can have deadly consequences... education is the key.

 

[JRBurn]

I just wish that everyone who cut's off, jump's in front of me or does something else stupid, would have to pull a big trailer, just once then they would think twice about it or probably not even do something stupid.

 

[DieselMinded]

Being passed when theres another car approching is an erie fealing too

 

[JWRowe]

Entry ramps

This one gets me as much as the cut off in traffic. There you are traveling along at a good clip and some feather brain attempts to either force their way in to your lane from an entry ramp or cuts right in front of you and is going slower to boot. Of course this always seems to happen when you can't pull over or slow too quickly as there is other traffic to prevent this. That's when the loud air horns help to temper the heat you would like to let flow outward at the offending party. It's for this reason I always take the middle lane if the road is three lanes in my direction but of course that doesn't always work out either.

 

[DerekW]

Trying to change lanes what gets me riled. You are with traffic, blinker on and someone behind you travleing faster than traffic is just too important to let you in.



These little rigs don't realize how dangerous it is with a big truck trying to change lanes and they won't give you a break.

I was pulling a trailer with a dodge durango for 550 miles on time and I saw a big rig driver who couldn't get over take his trailer move it quickly toward the drivers side door of the car in his way on the cell phone then back into his lane. The car got scared and hit the brakes and the big rig was able to change lanes. then for like 50 miles I followed the big rig (he was going the same way as me) and assisted him with changing lanes in traffic in virgina along route 58E and 13N. My driving habits were forever changed. when I got in traffic and there was a big rig I would hold up traffic just to get the big guy whos working where he needed to be.



I am bad about being in a hurry but when I see an 18 wheeler I always try to give them a hand just as they would do the same for me. part of drivers ed should include a ride in an big rig in traffic so people can understand the feeling of not being able to get over or being cutoff with an 80K load. The videos they show these kids in the classes suck and don't do them any good they just tune it out just trying to pass the time just so they can get their license. They need a real life wake up call.

 

[DerekW]

a good wake up call for them would be stick their dog in the back of an long enclosed trailer, the owner rides up front in the drivers compartment watching their dog in the back through a camera in the trailer. Then have someone cut them the truck off and watch the dog slam to the front of the trailer thanks to newtons law. I think they will be forever changed and just might redconsider.



Now that I think of it that might not be such a bad idea as long as you use a short trailer with really thick absorbant foam on all walls of the trailer. another Idea would be to make them hold a hot cup of coffee with no lid but they only thing I think they will learn is not to hold a hot cup of coffee in your hand.

 

[TAbbott]

"Are you stupid? dont cut me off I am pulling something heavy"



Happens to truckers every day. Gettin' worse instead of better. It should be a required part of drivers ed before people can get a license that they ride in a big rig and see how they work and what they can't do (stop on a dime or do evasive maneuvers like a sports car. )

 

[Foil Freak 1211]

I'm surprised everyone is giving the truckers a pass on this one. The two times I have come closest to an accident was when jackass truckers cut me off while pulling my 5er. They are not all the perfect drivers you are making them out to be.

 

[EKlem]

I definitely wish that I had put air horns on my truck sometimes. Although at night, two 140watt off road lights aimed at the right height does help one vent a little.



My roomate even installed some lights on the back which happen to work really well on tailgaters as well even though that is not their intended purpose.

 

[TAbbott]

"They are not all the perfect drivers you are making them out to be. "



True. Not all. But by and large they're the best on average of any group on the road. Since there's been such a shortage of drivers, though, there are some who get hired who shouldn't and I've had my share of experiences with them too. Normally though, they don't last that long out there because it's a lot harder for an idiot in a big rig to go un-noticed or un-reported to authorities than it is for some fool in a car. They're just too conspicuous.

 

[DZink24]

Thank you

I was pulling a trailer with a dodge durango for 550 miles on time and I saw a big rig driver who couldn't get over take his trailer move it quickly toward the drivers side door of the car in his way on the cell phone then back into his lane. The car got scared and hit the brakes and the big rig was able to change lanes. then for like 50 miles I followed the big rig (he was going the same way as me) and assisted him with changing lanes in traffic in virgina along route 58E and 13N. My driving habits were forever changed. when I got in traffic and there was a big rig I would hold up traffic just to get the big guy whos working where he needed to be.



I am bad about being in a hurry but when I see an 18 wheeler I always try to give them a hand just as they would do the same for me. part of drivers ed should include a ride in an big rig in traffic so people can understand the feeling of not being able to get over or being cutoff with an 80K load. The videos they show these kids in the classes suck and don't do them any good they just tune it out just trying to pass the time just so they can get their license. They need a real life wake up call.

As a truck driver, I would like to say thank you, I wish there were more courteous drivers on the roads today who realize that a slow, stinky 18 wheeler isn't there just to make some soccer moms commute to the tanning salon 3 minutes longer because I cannot/will not turn on red, or cannot get to 55 as quick as her in her Escalade.



Sometimes I wish that every truck in America would sit for a day and make NO deliveries. No gas, no groceries, no HDTV's, iPods, latte mochas or whatever the heck they are called, or any of these other things Americans seem to need these days. Maybe that will get them thinkin'.



Just don't slow up traffic too much... I'm not the only 18 wheeler out there...

 

[PToombs]

They would just sue whoever they got the coffee from.