Drafting behind semi's -- an annoyance?
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 200
Likes: 13
From: Sheridan, Wyoming
I was a truck driver for several years and it always made me mad when someone would tailgate me. I usually slowed down until they passed me. A couple of times I had to exit the highway and stop before the idjits would get the hint. Its a true thing that if you can't see the trucks mirrors, he can not see you!
Chris
Chris
i ain't rite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 65,507
Likes: 5,563
From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.
there is no such thing as drafting. you are tailgating.
with that said, if you are stupid enough to tailgate me, you are first gonna get a slowdown. if you don't back off, you get an application of the engine brake.
if you are still stupid enough to stay in a spot where i have to swerve to see you, you get a brake check.
with that said, if you are stupid enough to tailgate me, you are first gonna get a slowdown. if you don't back off, you get an application of the engine brake.
if you are still stupid enough to stay in a spot where i have to swerve to see you, you get a brake check.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 164
Likes: 0
From: Indianapolis
O.K.---here's my tailgate story. Back in the 70's, I had an International Travelall with a big motor, and a buddy and I were headed to Florida to pick up the wife who went down there with some girlfriends, but had to come back early. We were traveling late at night, and hooked up behind a semi that was cruising 90 mph. The guy ran all the way through Alabama, north to south, at that speed, and we stayed right behind him. We were young and dumb, that's for sure. I don't do any of that stuff now. Only time I get irked on the interstate, is when there's a line of 8-10 semis, and right before I get close enough to pass them all, one will pull out to try and pass the rest, and then I'm waiting 30 minutes driving under the speed limit for him to finally get back in line.
Postmaster
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,940
Likes: 8
From: Southern Oregon Coast
Only time I get irked on the interstate, is when there's a line of 8-10 semis, and right before I get close enough to pass them all, one will pull out to try and pass the rest, and then I'm waiting 30 minutes driving under the speed limit for him to finally get back in line.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,741
Likes: 3
That's because you have slight variations in tire diameter that mean the truck who's TRYING to pass is actually going about 4 inches per minute(!) faster than the one he's TRYING to pass.....
Given that drivers in those trucks are generally trained to be "steering wheel holders" and not "drivers" means that they give absolutely NO consideration to the number of cars they're stacking up behind them because they couldn't be troubled to reach up and knock the cruise control down a point.
(These guys are the BANE of my existence!!)
-blaine
Given that drivers in those trucks are generally trained to be "steering wheel holders" and not "drivers" means that they give absolutely NO consideration to the number of cars they're stacking up behind them because they couldn't be troubled to reach up and knock the cruise control down a point.
(These guys are the BANE of my existence!!)
-blaine
i ain't rite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 65,507
Likes: 5,563
From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.
That's because you have slight variations in tire diameter that mean the truck who's TRYING to pass is actually going about 4 inches per minute(!) faster than the one he's TRYING to pass.....
Given that drivers in those trucks are generally trained to be "steering wheel holders" and not "drivers" means that they give absolutely NO consideration to the number of cars they're stacking up behind them because they couldn't be troubled to reach up and knock the cruise control down a point.
(These guys are the BANE of my existence!!)
-blaine
Given that drivers in those trucks are generally trained to be "steering wheel holders" and not "drivers" means that they give absolutely NO consideration to the number of cars they're stacking up behind them because they couldn't be troubled to reach up and knock the cruise control down a point.
(These guys are the BANE of my existence!!)
-blaine
yup.
a perfect example happened yesterday.
5 semi's in a line 2 blue ones (Werner), 2 orange (Schneider), and a yellow and white one in the back. all doing 55 in a 65 zone in the right lane.
as i am coming up in the left lane in the T-800, i get to within 150 ft of the back of the yellow and white truck and he pulls in front of me with no blinker to warn me he is going to try to pass on an uphill grade with his pathetic international pos truck, forcing me to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting him.
then he proceeds to sit in the left lane and lose 10 mph with the rest of the trucks in the right lane, and stay there for 5 miles before pulling back into the right lane behind everyone where he started from.
as soon as he pulled back into the right lane, i was back into the throttle and up to 65 in seconds, cause the Kenworth has a 600hp cat in it.
and for 5 miles, all you heard on the CB was how stupid j b hunt drivers were.
ps, i did not say a word on the CB, the other drivers ripped him a new butthole for me.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 5,776
Likes: 2
From: springfield il
hades man i only run 55 even though i can legally run 65 , as i am not giving the post office any of my time or money back , and my truck loses 2-3 mpg in just upping the speed 10 mph . the lil' thing will bury the speedo if i want it too . all the dain orange , and white trucks around here haul a-- and will run you the hades over , at least the ones i see . and ignorant / bad driving skills isn't only limited too four wheelers my friends as we all know !!!!!!!!!!! the last time i was otr i had my own ride and i took it easy as i had too pay the dain fuel bill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now the turtle races p.o me too . i will if i merge into heavy traffic or am in heavy traffic kick that truck right square in the a-- too get outta the way and not hold things up , and the idgit's who have to prove they have a truck capable of 1 mph more than the next one with a leash well ............ 
i'll tell ya something else that is a pain .......... that's the people who have never driven any truck telling me what i should be doing !!!!!!!!!!!!! whole 'nother story dealing with idiot management in the post office !!!!!!!!!!!
i'll tell ya something else that is a pain .......... that's the people who have never driven any truck telling me what i should be doing !!!!!!!!!!!!! whole 'nother story dealing with idiot management in the post office !!!!!!!!!!!
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Postmaster
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,940
Likes: 8
From: Southern Oregon Coast
A buddy of mine used to drive OTR. When this guy got into one of his Mopar's, he was a speed demon (admittedly, that Dart of his can flat-out move), but when he crawled into the cab of that Volvo truck, he was all professional - he knew where his meals were coming from and he didn't want anything to screw that up - he later screwed it up by getting a DUI in his Ramcharger, but that's another story...
His biggest complaint wasn't with the speed limiters - he wasn't out to win any races, so he didn't mind the limiters so much. His beef was with the Qualcomm's - He absolutely hated the way he could be tracked like that and the Qualcomm made it impossible to run with double logs (yeah, he did that for a while.) He really got cheesed off when he found out the newer Qualcomm's had a feature where someone could shut the truck down remotely - it made him feel like he really wasn't in control of his truck...
I thought that Volvo was a nice truck, but he didn't like it and was trying to get into one of the new Kenworth's the company had just bought...
His biggest complaint wasn't with the speed limiters - he wasn't out to win any races, so he didn't mind the limiters so much. His beef was with the Qualcomm's - He absolutely hated the way he could be tracked like that and the Qualcomm made it impossible to run with double logs (yeah, he did that for a while.) He really got cheesed off when he found out the newer Qualcomm's had a feature where someone could shut the truck down remotely - it made him feel like he really wasn't in control of his truck...
I thought that Volvo was a nice truck, but he didn't like it and was trying to get into one of the new Kenworth's the company had just bought...
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,494
Likes: 2,809
Double logs....so he could drive what, 23 hours a day?
Tach-o-graphs, GPS, EDRs, all the result of a trail of broken equipment and fatal accidents.
Tachograph - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tach-o-graphs, GPS, EDRs, all the result of a trail of broken equipment and fatal accidents.
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