Surprisingly having someone right at the corner of my trailer bothers me a lot more than someone tailgating. I tailgate tractor-trailers in my personal vehicles but I make sure to come out far enough for them to see me in the mirror once in a while. Drafting behind trucks really does improve mileage. Mythbusters showed you can be back like 100 feet behind a truck and still see improved mileage. Trucks pretty much create a vacuum around them and pull anything nearby down the road with them.

As Spike pointed out, there are definite risks involved in drafting behind a truck. And you definitely can't see what's coming.

 

the same way you guys feel about the experience you have gained from driving trucks is pretty much how i feel about riding a motorcycle... i am always super considerate of truck drivers, blocking traffic to make room for them to change lanes, avoiding blind spots and such, and occasionally i will hear one of the drivers comment about the guy in the rover on the cb (i never talk, just listen)... but once you have driven a motorcycle for any amount of time you will see things in a different way as well, and show extra consideration to riders and always keep an eye out for them...

 

I really watch for motorcyclist and try to watch out for them. There have been a few that pissed me off weaving between lanes but most bikers are very cautious. I go out of my way to block traffic for bikers when I can since I know it's a lot easier to my truck than a motorcycle. I try to keep the roads as safe as possible mainly because traffic already sucks around here. A biker splattered on the road is just going to make that worse.

I was driving the Rover the other day, sitting in traffic when I noticed a bus trying to change lanes. He was actually 2 lanes over from me but no one would let him in the lane he needed. I was nice enough to change lanes and block traffic for him since my Rover was a little quicker and more maneuverable than the bus. I got pissed when the driver didn't even acknowledge what I did. Most drivers will flash the tail lights or wave as I went by, this idiot did none of that. I told the person with me that bus drivers have an inferiority complex because they are only Class B drivers.

 

Hey now, I am only a class "B" driver, but I also have airbrake, HAZMAT and over 1 logged million miles.

 

Having HAZMAT moves you a little further up the food chain than a normal Class B driver.

I saw a bus full of kids yesterday as I was sitting in traffic. As I looked over and saw the kids screwing around being loud I realized you couldn't pay me enough to drive a bus. I would much rather haul HAZMAT that could kill me than drive a bus.

 

there is something on the road that is LESS agile than a rover on pavement?

weird...


and i thought that children were hazardous materials...
i know for sure that they are an STD.

 

When you look at the definition of HAZMAT is says anything that poses a risk to life or the environment. I think kids qualify. They usually raise my blood pressure which is a risk to my life. And all those brain farts they have can't be good for the environment.

 

i just wish that s good strong dose of antibiotics make children go away like it does the clap...

 

My mom is a school bus driver...you cant touch the kids, you cant yell at them, all you can do is report them to the pricinple.
When I volunteered and drove under privliaged kids to summer camp a few years ago it actually wasnt that bad, the bus was so old that the exhaust fumes made you forget all about the kids in the back.

 

Here is today's nominees for idiot of the day.

First there was the lady that couldn't stay behind the tractor trailer so had to pass on a down hill. Not a problem until she decided to slow down then perform a brake check when said truck was too close for her own comfort. If the next lane had not been open she would have got run over.

Second, the car that felt it necessary to pass on a double yellow line because 60 in a 50 zone apparently wasn't fast enough.

Our third contestant was another that decided to pass on a double yellow but decided to pass going up hill into a blind curve. Side note, the vehicle was a Suburban with at least 3 kids in the back. I have no problem with stupid people removing themselves from the gene pool but why put kids at risk like that because you're impatient.

I have decided there is a tie for front running nominees for idiot of the day. It's a tie between the vehicle that had to race around my tractor trailer in the fast lane to get to the exit on the far right and the Mercedes that obviously couldn't read the exit only signs and came cutting across 4 lanes at the last second right in front of me. Those 2 were too close to choose a winner.

And honorable mention goes to a gentleman I like to call Bovine Fetish Man. This guy was so fascinated by a truck load of cows that he nearly sat through an entire green light. Doesn't really qualify him for idiot of the day but I found it funny (and a little scary in a sick way) so it deserved honorable mention.