Yeah, I’ve known so many people that swore up and down that they were absolutely safe drivers when they had been heavily drinking
In fact, some of these people swore that they drove better after heavily drinking, versus some people that were sober
Can’t say I agreed with them
Pennsylvania too doesn’t allow bars to be open on election day until something like 7:00. Seems kinda silly to me. Sometimes much medication is needed on election day. We had a summer camp there on election day and had to wait until the bars open. Not a lot else to do at camp.
I’ve never understood what so many people have against trucks. Fear of them seems irrational to me since truck drivers are involved in so few accidents. I’d rather be surrounded by professional drivers than amateurs, especially when I’m on a motorcycle.
Who said anything about fear? There’s lots of reasons to dislike trucks on the road when you’re out sightseeing or just enjoying a drive. They can impede traffic through steep terrain, they can get upset and tailgate if you’re just out on a leisurely drive and in their way, they block the views and belch diesel fumes…
Mostly, I agree.
Yes, I have occasionally been tailgated by trucks, but I would estimate that ~98% of the time when I am being tailgated by somebody, it is a young-ish woman driving either a German-made car or a “yuge” SUV.
My theories for this female-dominated unsafe practice include…
…not understanding how much distance is actually required for braking…
…being involved in the rush of business and/or being distracted from their driving tasks…
and…
…because a man who engaged in that practice would be likely to have his lights punched out at the next traffic light, but women are much less likely to experience that type of reaction. Most people are reluctant to engage in violence against women in situations like that, so most women haven’t experienced the potential consequences of getting somebody REALLY pissed-off through their unsafe driving behaviors.
That would be me.
…with fear being just one of the many reasons people don’t like them.
I guess next time I should spell that out more explicitly. O_O
Another reason I find it illogical to dislike commercial trucks is that they’re bringing people the stuff they want. The trucking industry doesn’t create demand for their services, they just respond to demand.
I’m not against trucks on the weekends, especially if they are bringing me my most recent Amazon order
They don’t really bother me at all. As you surmised, I was just responding to that tidbit about it being motivated by fear. I’m usually one of the people placing online orders on a Friday and waiting for the truck on Sunday 
I don’t mind trucks on the road like a 4 lane interstate, part of driving I guess, and love when I will slow down blink the brights if the left turn signal is on to let them know it is safe to pull into the passing lane, go slower for a bit till they get around and get the blink blink bling from the rear lights as a thank you.
Since we’re discussing truck driving signals, there are actually two ways for a trucker to say “thank you.” One way is to temporarily cut off the marker/tail lights (but not the headlights), flicking the switch two or three times. This is what most truckers do at night. During the day, they will turn on their hazard lights for a few seconds to let them flash a few times, but some people use this signal day or night.
There are similar methods of flashing your lights to let a driver know he or she is clear to pull into your lane. If you’re driving during the day with your lights off, you flash your head lights. If you’re driving at night, you don’t want to turn off your lights to flash them, so you flash your high beams.
If you’re driving a motorcycle, there is no way to turn off your lights or flash hazards, so you flash your high beam to say “all clear” and you wave to say “thank you.”
Are there any other driving signals I should know about that I haven’t mentioned?
Can’t forget the flash of high beams warning there is a bear ahead, though be warned my dad got a ticket for doing that.
He did not say he drove better or more safely when he was drunk. I do not even remember ever talking to him. Other people noted when he started sobering up, he drove wild and they noticed him and nailed him, When he was plastered, he drove very slowly and the cops may have assumed it was an old farmer at his normal speed. (Old farmers in the Midwest in those days did often drive around 20 mph all the way to town and back.) Since I never talked to him, naturally I cannot have an opinion as to whether it was true or not. I do know most people seem to think they are driving great when they are plastered, and in reality are all over the road. If he was different, that may have been why people noticed it and discussed it.
Hmm . . .
I thought patrol officers also watch out for people driving especially slow at night, much slower than prevailing traffic, and perhaps under the posted speed limit
Apparently, some patrol officers are wise to the dui drivers who think they’ll be “smart” and drive slow, thus avoiding unwanted attention
But if you’re driving 55mph on the freeway, and everybody else is whizzing by at 75 or 80 . . . and you’re the ONLY one behaving this way
I’ve seen highway patrol officers drive next to cars on the freeway and hang with them. Then while the driver watches the road, the other officer observes the behaviour of the the guy they’re driving next to. At some point they’ll also shine the searchlight at that car, to see what happens. Often times, they’re satisfied, turn off the light and leave the guy alone.
The most used one around here involves the middle finger…
Ah, digital hand communication. Common on today’s roads. 