The ohio drivers sux thread

That same argument could easily be made for the trucker. So, I should have to lose 20 mph for 10 minutes so he doesn’t have to give up 1-2 mph for a bit longer?

 

true enough.

this illustrates the point of the original post though. why move out of the left lane and potentially get locked into the right lane? or, faster traffic can pass in the left lane, then get back over. trucks, cars, everyone.

i used to struggle with this a lot. back when ohio had trucks limited to 55, i used to run 62, but stressed about getting a ticket. then i did the math, saw that i wasn't really saving that much time over running at 59, and started just running the slower speed. its amazing how many times the same "faster" trucks would pass me over the course of 300 miles.

 

I drive the Northeast corridor a lot FL, VA, TN, all the way up to Maine. I also make frequent trips to IN and AR from TN. Yes, drivers, in general, are worst today than 20 years ago, especially hanging out in the left lane. I can tell you for sure the SE is the worst for the left lane losers. Also, when I become president of the highways I am banning all tractor trailers and anyone with a 5th wheel camper from the farther left lane of the highway they are one. As stated to take 5 f#$king miles to pass another truck is just being a pain in everyone else's ass because you can be. That and people texting on their GD f*cking cell phones should be beaten to a pulp with said cell phone. I hate big brother but there should be some technology that limits phones to just GPS and music functions at speeds over 10 miles hour.

 

You do realize on most federal highways, with three lanes or more, trucks are already restricted to the two right lanes or prohibited in the left lane already, right? Maybe you don’t. I’d think, since you specifically mentioned the southeast, you’d remember the countless signage posted everywhere.

 

Sorry boys, Puerto Rico takes the cake. After driving there for 3 weeks, everywhere else is a cakewalk.

 

I’m not going to defend asshole truck drivers. But, it’s not just truck drivers; it’s everyone. It’s easy to take an opposing position, because you’re not one of “them”, no matter the vehicle you operate.

What many people don’t understand is the environment truck drivers are put in. Since the mandate of electronic logging devices, things have gotten exponentially worse. There’s no cheating the thing. The feds can audit a driver’s records and issue citations, months down the road. Now, truck stops are overwhelmed, because drivers can’t cheat and continue on down the road until they DO find parking. Rest areas are being closed, because of funding cuts, so there’s less parking. There are more people, so more commerce and trucks on the road. Because LEO’s are no longer writing the easy logbook violations, they’ve lost that stream of revenue. Now, they’ve turned to writing tickets for parking on entry/exit ramps, parking on rest area ramps, and performing far more inspections (which eat time off the clock), chasing revenue. Shopping centers are creating barriers and layouts to keep out trucks. Cities are passing ordinances banning truck parking within their city limits. The whole time the driver is dealing with the above, the timer on their e-log is steadily counting (my last system had 4 timers ticking away). On top of that, companies have their speeds governed. Since dispatch can see your GPS location and your logging device, in real time, they’re planning what more they can get out of the driver in the time left. And, they push for everything they can get. Instead of fudging one’s log book where the driver can lay down every night and get good rest, drivers are being ran like machines, because they have hours and are expected to run. If they don’t, dispatch is on their ass. The government continually preaches how much safer the industry is because of their efforts, yet, there are still truck accidents, drivers falling asleep, service issues, etc, just as before. Nothing has changed for the good, except for the government revenue counters. For the driver, the industry has become a place of people so hard up for a job they’ll do anything, whether they’re competent behind the wheel or not. Imagine a foreigner from a background of never having any type of motorized vehicle in their family tree getting an expedient “training” lesson (Hey Swift!), then, being turned loose behind the wheel of an 80K pound vehicle. On top of that, drivers are paid by the mile and get a menial “stop pay”. When they’re sitting in traffic or held up at customers, they’re making shit and their timer is ticking away. The veteran drivers have had enough and are walking away. Getting good, solid drivers (people who are destined to drive) is almost non-existent. What is out there in the hiring pool are people who have nothing better left in their life, going to a CDL school to pursue what they perceive to be a hope of something better than what they have. It’s not worth it, anymore.

 

Places in Asia and the Middle East are pretty brutal, as well.

 

I recall a Myth Busters episode where they did a truck tire losing a retread next to a motorcyclist. Took the dummys head off. I wish they'd show that to every car driver that feels like taking their time passing a semi. You should be speeding up by at least 5 mph to pass someone. These dipshits that leave the cruise on to slow pass should have their driving privileges revoked. It's far safer to speed up and spend lest time next to someone. I'm not sure why that is a hard concept to understand. On single lane roads I think many states have a rule that you can speed by some amount to pass. Same concept should hold for multi-lane roads.

And I don't care if there are only 2 lanes, Semis should not be allowed in the left lane. I mean they should be driving the speed limit and that limit is often times slower than cars, so no need to pass

 

Wait! So you, the general public, should be the only drivers allowed in the left lane and allowed to speed, as well? Are you far-left, too? That kind of ignorance exists all over California, where trucks are restricted to the right lane, meanwhile there are on-ramps placed every 1/2mi (in many areas), backed up with people trying to merge into a solid line of trucks. It’s the most dangerous scenario I’ve seen in my 27yrs of driving and an idea brought about by entitlement and ignorance of others.

 

that's how I get to work faster lol. they all jump over to the left and i cruise past all the stopped cars about 30 and jump over to the center lane right as the people merging at the entrance. and do that to the next bottle neck. it saves me 10 mins every time.

 

I totally disagree with the part about the drivers being pushed for miles.

I'm the captain of the ship. I decide how far and when ot moves. Once my dispatcher understood that, life has improved.

 

I uses to believe that until I drove in Norfolk. I saw the best driving there, and it was a huge mix of people from elsewhere.

Or maybe my memory was flawed. It's been a fair few years since I was there.

 

And to all y'all bitching about trucks passing trucks, I'm seeing more issues with trucks passing cars running 10 mph or more below the speed limit on the interstate.

 

Trucks aren't allowed to use the fast (3rd) lane here and that puts them in a foul unforgiving mood. I always defer to truck 'cause they're on the clock.

 

Then they are owner/operators or drive for the wrong company.

 

Good explanation.

I was wondering why I see so many more trucks parked on interstate ramps than I saw in the past.

 

You’re admitting your dispatcher tried to push, right? But, you pushed back.

If they can get away with it with new hires, they will. There are a ton of new people just trying to do good and appease their company. When told to “Jump!”, you just know they ask “How high?”. They’re new to trucking and just want to make it, not realizing they’re nothing more than a hamster in a wheel. I can’t tell you how many Swift, Prime, Werner, and other new hires I’ve talked to who are pushed through the night, because they have hours available. There are countless screenshots of driver’s dispatch messages, all over the boards and pages.

When I went to work where I’m at, I simply told my assigned dispatcher “I’ll go anywhere you want, but, I’m not pulling all nighters to do it.”. I’m just not running that game, because once on nights, one is stuck on nights until their 70 is up. In two years, I’ve only had two overnight loads, followed by sleeper berth the two following nights to get me back on days. If it looks like I could potentially end up being available going into the night, I just extend my break as many hours as I need and/or sandbag, to manipulate my arrival/empty time. I know I’m in bad shape between 11pm and 5am, so I try to not allow them to have me working through that time period.

 

Agree totally. Took me six months to realize the power I have as a driver. New people don't know.

Easiest way to stop the pushing is to send in a written message, stating that you can't drive X hours for safety reasons.

 

Strange. That very plan works great in Germany.

 

Sort of. To get a drivers license can take you months/ years of clases and can cost you €5000. They don't just take a written test and then a half assed drive around the block test.

But it's not a unicorns and rainbows there anymore. More eastern euros driving there who just don't give a rat's ass and the days of keep right except to pass are heading towards keep right if you feel like it unfortunately. Oh, it's 100 times better than the US but it's not the driving utopia people make it out to be anymore.