Let’s be honest, there are a lot of unsafe CDL drivers out there. Not just speed but inattention. The crop of truck drivers today is not the same as the drivers of 20 years ago. The turnover is great as well as the time constraints but trucks are a big hazard to cars as well as cars are to trucks.
Like I said, a couple weeks ago we had a truck driver pass a stopped school bus on the right shoulder barely missing a girl ready to enter the bus. Just last week a driver in Sioux Falls fell asleep, woke up again, and dumped his load of beer in median. A couple years ago we had a truck plow into stopped traffic on the interstate, killing one, and scattering a load of bees. He’s in jail now. None of these had anything to do with speed but not paying attention or falling asleep. The instances of trucks jack knifeing and closing the interstate in the winter can’t be counted. Truck traffic has increased due to globalization and other factors and they are scraping the bottom of the barrel for drivers to the demise of other drivers who also pay for the use of the roads.
18-wheelers are some of the worse drivers on the road here in MA and NH. I admit I’ll be driving over the speed limit when everyone else is…IT’S THE SAFEST THING TO DO. But the truck drivers…they speed ALL the time…and not some measly 10mph over the speed limit. Many are flying down the highway 80+ when traffic is very light. And since they can’t drive in the left lane…it’s very dangerous for the few of us in MA who do drive right except to pass.
You seem to get very upset with the drivers in Indiana…If you drove here in MA you’d be crying like a baby. I’ve driven in Ind…it’s NOTHING like MA.
@Bing and @MikeInNH, you’re both right. Very few over the road truck drivers are the consummate professionals we hope they would be. Fortunately, those drivers usually don’t last long, but truck driving schools keep churning them out, so we’re left with inexperienced drivers with low professional standards, a dangerous combination.
I think most CDL drivers are pretty safe, its just that the bad ones stand out because the big trucks are scary when they are handled badly.
I was driving near a girl today who was driving 1 car length behind a guy in a medium sized truck doing about 55. there was no way she could see anything happening past the back of his truck
I don t know why people tailgate even when there is no need. after the truckchanged lanes she just went up behind the next car
To me, it's the same as some of you guys bragging which one of you grew up in the worst neighborhood, or attended the most violent high school, etc.
It’s NOT bragging…it’s just showing @WheresRick that we have very very bad drivers here…just that we’re not crying about it every 2 months. It took me a while to get use to the drivers here in New England when I moved here from NY. I just live with it. I’m NOT retiring here.
Getting outside ones self before you “react stupidly” in a 4000 lb car is as importantant as making correct choices anytime you engage in social behavior. It isn’t like driving a car is something you do in the privacy of your own home. Cars are so well insulated and kids (and adults) have more experience with video games, the consequences of their actions are much more difficult to relate to.
I swear ( sometimes too much when I make a bad shot ) to hear some people talk about driving makes one think they just finished a game of Wii and got the highest score and some how that translates into how they can safely drive in the real world with total disregard for others who actually want to make it home to their families.
I don’t get the reasoning that if everyone is driving 80 mph, you are somehow safer if you are too.
Regardless, I am not going to drive 80 towing, with my grand children on board, with a car/ truck that’s loaded that can handle it etc. Now if it isn’t safer in those situations, why would it be in others as a general statement ?
Btw, I agree @Whitey. I would much rather comment on ones behavior them who they are. I have no problem with that.
@dagosa "I don’t get the reasoning that if everyone is driving 80 mph, you are somehow safer if you are too."
You’re safer because you’re not contributing to higher speed differential vs. the prevailing speed. The difference in speed between cars and objects is what gets you. Next time you’re on the highway set your cruise control to 45 MPH and get into the left lane and see how long you last before you get run over. Then get on the highway again, observe what speed everyone else is travel at, match it, and you find that you’re not nearly a likely to get run over as you were when you going 45 MPH when everyone else was doing 70-80 MPH. It’s a pretty simple concept really.
It’s the same reason why mopeds and scooters aren’t allowed on highways but motorcycles are. The mopeds and scooters would be moving roadblocks since they cannot attain typical highway speeds, their lower top speeds would be a safety risk to all the other cars/trucks/motorcycles on the road which would be going along at double the speed. Again, it’s the speed differential that’s the issue.
@FoDaddy: “Next time you’re on the highway set your cruise control to 45 MPH and get into the left lane and see how long you last before you get run over.”
I’m afraid that wouldn’t be an accurate test, because your’re introducing two serious problems:
Lane protocol is a COMPLETELY different issue.
The minimum speed limit on many interstate highways has been raised to 50 MPH.
When we conduct experiments, we’re supposed to eliminate as many variables as possible, but you’re deliberately introducing elements into this experiment that would taint the results.
Here is a better experiment: Get on the interstate, stay in the right lane, and set your cruise control on the speed limit. This is the VERY safest way you can possibly drive. Few drivers will tailgate behind you, you won’t have to change lanes very often (until you come across a truck that is governed at 64 MPH), and your chances of being involved in a collision would be lower than if you drive 80 MPH in ANY lane. It is also the least stressful way to drive. If someone comes up behind you and tailgates you, you just hit the “coast” button on the cruise control and slow down one or two MPH. 99% of the time, the car behind you will back off and pass you when an opening appears.
If you insist on driving what you think is the average speed, there will be people going faster than you and there will be people going slower than you. Therefore, you will probably have to change lanes often. When you’re driving the speed limit in the right hand lane, you significantly reduce the number of times you have to change lanes. This alone will significantly increase your margin of safety.
I can tell you from experience, when I go places in my car or on my motorcycle, and I drive faster than the speed limit to get where I am going faster, driving can be somewhat stressful. When I’m hauling stuff, especially on a trailer, and I set the cruise control at or near the speed limit to save fuel, that is the most stress-free driving possible.
Here is a better experiment: Get on the interstate, stay in the right lane, and set your cruise control on the speed limit. This is the VERY safest way you can possibly drive.
Absolutely NOT…at least here in NH and MA. You drive at that speed when everyone else is doing 70+…you’ll be a big target. Cars will be cutting in and around you…you’ll be tailgated (usually by truckers because they aren’t allowed in the left lane). It’s not right…it’s just reality.
@MikeInNH, are there any four lane highways where the trucks aren’t allowed to use the left lane? The only highways I’ve seen with such restrictions are 6 lane or more highways (at least three lanes each direction). In other words, I’ve never seen a highway where trucks are limited to a single lane. They always have the ability to pass people in the most right-hand lane. In fact, most truckers that aren’t governed prefer to stay in the second lane so they don’t have to deal with people getting on and off the highway.
I’m telling you, when you drive the speed limit in the right-most lane or just pace the car in front of you at a safe distance, passing becomes someone else’s problem, and that alone increases your margin of safety significantly. It’s never a good idea to use cruise control in rush hour traffic, but if you try it when the traffic is light, I think you’ll see what I’m talking about. On the interstate, you’re more likely to be in an accident when changing lanes than any other time due to the fact that you have to look over your shoulder and take your eyes off the road in front of you, and due to the fact that someone else might change lanes at the same time you do.
@MikeInNH, are there any four lane highways where the trucks aren't allowed to use the left lane?
In Massachusetts…we have 3 and 4 lane interstates. On 3 and 4 lane sections of interstates Truckers are not allowed in the left. Same in NH. NY the left lane is restricted to 18-wheelers and Buses.
I'm telling you, when you drive the speed limit in the right-most lane or just pace the car in front of you at a safe distance, passing becomes someone else's problem, and that alone increases your margin of safety significantly.
I know what you’re saying…but it’s NOT the case here in NH or MA. Sorry…but that’s just reality. When traffic is real heavy…you’re crawling…so speed isn’t a factor. But at moderate traffic levels when the average speed is 70mph+…you drive in the right lane at the speed limit…you’ll be a target. Keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you…is IMPOSSIBLE. That much space just means it’s big enough for 2-3 cars to squeeze into…and they will…and they won’t do it nicely either. They’ll make sure they are pissed at you for driving the speed limit and disrupting their commute. You don’t believe me…then drive the MA or NH interstates yourself. That’s just the way it is. Either live with it or move.
@Whitey It really doesn’t matter what you’re in, if you’re the one going substantially faster or slower than what the majority of other drivers are traveling, regardless of the speed limit, then you’re the one creating the biggest speed differential, and the larger the difference in speed, the more likely there is to be an accident.
When I refer to the #1 lane or the first lane, I should be talking about the right-most lane, the slow lane, right? Where we drive on the right, are the lanes numbered from right to left?
No offense to Indiana but their truck 65 limit is one of the stupidest I’ve seen. If you set your cruise at 70 or so and drive in the right lane, the trucks can only go 65, so you are constantly having to pass in the left lane, then back to the right lane, then to the left. It is just plain stupid and dangerous. If you stay in the left lane, then you have to go 75 or so and subject to a ticket or others than want to go even faster. I understand the insurance companies have been trying to change this but to no avail.
