Keith A. Hamblin
January 9, 1995
I don't understand something. Well actually there are a lot of things I don't understand but lets take them one at a time..
Why is it such a horrible thing for a big truck to pass you?? I mean, I realize it is a pain to be stuck right behind one because you can't see around the trailer; that is unless you maintain a reasonable following distance which I know is way too much to ask..
What I'm talking about is when I'm driving along some rural freeway and the traffic is very light. Now I'll be the first to admit that I have a lead foot. Luckily the trucks I drive all have cruise control. This is why I have only had one speeding ticket in the last 12 or 13 years and I got that one in my pick em up truck..
I always set the cruise control right at the speed limit or even a little less to protect my livelihood. It never fails, I always come up on someone who is driving just a little slower than I am.. This doesn't bother me at all. In fact I wish I had time to slow down and see the sights a little bit myself but that is a luxury truckers do not have..
It would be no problem at all for me to change lanes and pass you. I don't expect you to slow down either, heck I'll even speed up a little just to get it done quickly and get out of your way. This is where the problem usually arises. I don't know what it is but almost invariably, whomever I am trying to pass will speed up about the time their front bumper is even with the middle of my trailer.
I can understand that someone might be embarrassed that an 80,000 lb. truck could pass their pride and joy. Let me assure you right now that showing up your pride and joy is the last thing on my mind. The average day for a truck driver is 3 to 6 hundred miles long and we are not out there to race or play games..
Maybe the people who do this just like the shade that the trailer provides. That sun can get awful bright and it strains the eyes looking at all those pretty sights. Well friend, you would be much safer sitting under a 50-year-old willow tree in a wind storm than you are rolling next to a truck.
I'm no mathematician but I figure if my truck is rolling 65 miles per hour, then it stands to reason that my tires are spinning at a pretty good clip. Now if I throw the tread off one of those tires, which is fairly common, and it hits your windshield, it is not even going to slow down before it is well behind whoever WAS sitting in the front seat. Furthermore if we top a hill and find a stalled vehicle parked in my lane, you are blocking my escape route. Now I wouldn't intentionally hurt you or anyone else but if I have to choose between going over the top of a stalled car or side swiping one that is rolling along beside me, I'm pushing you out of the way. This is not out of cruelty or a desire to get even. It is just that you have a better chance of surviving than the people in and around that stalled car. Not to mention the fact that I have a better chance also...Please don't force me to make that choice...
The thing that bothers me the most when this happens is that if I slow down to my original speed and fall back into place behind you, then you immediately fall back to your original speed and I am left standing on the brake.. This really amazes me. We are not in a contest. You don't know me and I seriously doubt that you are concerned about my safety or the well being of my kids after I am gone. If you are suicidal then please get help or atleast go home and use drugs or something that will not endanger the lives of other people. You see, I am worried about the well being of my kids after I am gone...
I know those trucks look big, slow and dumb but believe me, even with the best of professionals behind the wheel, that truck can turn into a killing machine instantly, without warning, prejudice or remorse. Your best bet is to stay away from it. If you want to go, then go! If you want to see the sights then relax and see them. I'll be around you and out of your way in no time if you'll just let me...
I am really not as bitter as I sound.. For the most part, the drivers out on the road are safe and courteous. To read my articles, one might think that all DOT officers are bad, all shippers are uncaring and all trucking companies are dishonest... None of the above is the rule. It is just that there are enough of the bad ones out there that It can make a truckers' life very difficult. Sure we get ornery and this causes people to dislike us. My whole purpose for any of my articles is to show that our side of the coin has its merits too. No one that I know of has ever been forced at gun point to drive a truck for a living.. The life is one we chose but if we do not do everything in our power to make that life better, just the same as you do in the career you have chosen, then we are no better than sheep.. The trucker is always on the road. He has no time to make changes or express his opinions like much of the rest of the world does.. His load is hot and if he don't stay on schedule he might not get another load. This would make anybody ornery and I hope you will consider these things when you are dealing with the people who have brought you every single thing you own. The lumber for your house. The wire for your phone line and yes even the seed for those vegetables you are eating from the garden.. As you should already know,