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You bastard! I knew there was a reason I liked you.

 

I was a company driver and reasonably safe. But at times after a long day it's just too hard to give in to those idiots who try to whip over at the last second. On that road and many others there are warning signs and arrows farther back. Also the lines on the road show the right lane blending to the left over a ciity block back.

I remember a few other times when I-55 had road destruction and the right lane would have a hundred orange barrels, signs, barracades, ect warning people to get in the left lane. The binking signs would start over a mile back but a few dummys had to speed up on the right and cut in at the last second.
I can still see the red late model Cadillac now. Honking, waving me to slow down, , and running out of room . I wonder how bad those large sand filled 55 gallon plastic barrels damaged that shinny Caddy? And what did he tell the "good hands" people?
You can run me off the road in my Escort, '55 Chevy, RV, or pick up truck. But don't mess around with 18 wheels.

In reality almost all delays in lane closers are those fools who stay in the lane that will be closed trying to cut in.

 

I just bought myself some shampoo a few days ago. It said SHAMPOO on the bottle and was cheap so I bought it. After we got home and my wife took it out of the bag she asked " is this good for your hair?" I told her I have no idea and don't care it says SHAMPOO so it must be good!

 

Most ding-dongs on the road who don't respect tractor trailers are self centered idiots who probably barely passed Drivers Ed. Meanwhile every big rig driver on the road is a "professional driver" (with tons of training, schooling and random drug testing...)
But all of that aside, one rule a good friend taught me a long time ago: A Semi truck always has right of weight.

 

That's one of the theories on that I-5 bridge collapse North of me in Skagit County, Washington; the bridge had 14' clearance (the minimum allowed by the Interstate Highway standards), but the crosswise supports are arched, allowing 14'6" or something like that in the left lane while the end over the right lane's right edge is actually lower by a few inches. The bridge had been repaved over the concrete decking sometime years before the collapse, and the actual height had been changed by it. Been a few years now, but I'm reasonably sure Mr. Oversize Truck Driver and his employer will take it in the shorts when the final draft of the report comes out.

 

I let way more people cut in than not and only a few paid the consiquinces. Anyone in their right mind should have brains enough to slow down as they run out of lane. Sometimes I felt badly when they hit the barriers.. sometimes I didn't.
I've always stayed clear of big rigs when possible. Even before I drove a big truck I'd seen pieces of tires fly across the roads. Also the driver can't always see our little car beside them, even with mirrors.

Every big rig driver on the road is a "professional driver" (with tons of training, schooling and random drug testing...)------ This is true but truckers are only human. Some still drive like idiots and are far from professional. One big change has been over the years newer and stricter rules, plus companies with supervisors like I had a few times........... "we're givin you a day off because you didn't make production yesterday." Yesterday was a snow storm and I saw management following me as I slipped and slid over the highway. I was at the factory long before they arrived in a 4-wheel drive Bronco. Super admitted he got slowed down in slippery bad weather! Yet in his warm dry office all he saw was my paper tac and paperwork showed I was wasting time.
So now that more drivers are on production and a tight schedule short cuts must be made. If you are in their way they may crowd you over.
Sadly many truckers are a few bricks short of a full load anyway.

Overpasses must be marked and the right shoulder should be the lowest area.
Once with our 5th wheel RV I took a "short cut" to the Smokey Mtns. After many miles on a narrow county road I came to a culvert type one lane wide opening under a RR. There were vines growing down all along it. I don't remember what the hight limit was but my trailer was under it by a little. Still it looked very low with those vines there.
Had my wife walk over to the other side and watch. She was ordered to signal for me to stop if she couldn't see daylight above the AC, the highest part. Staying in the center of the culvert I crept thru with no problems. It would have been miles back around to the main highway. Those signs are not always right.
Back in the good ole days of my State Farm free atlas it was the only way to travel. I still don't know if Jane Doe on a GPS knows about all low overpasses.

 

Now, you see, if you could write GPS apps, a comprehensive database of height-restricted roads, highways and interstates would be a truck driver's or RV driver's best pal. My brother Geoff got stopped by a short overpass with zero signs at the turnoff a few miles back. So I know you can feel his pain of having to back up those few miles as there was NO place to turn a 379 Pete long- wheelbase and 55' dry trailer full of office furniture.

 

I know little about a GPS or anything else like cell phones and computers. I've owned a GPS for over six years because my wife thought the built in back up camera might be good for the old UltraVan motorhome which I never got around to working on. That's still in the box.
Still from riding with friends and relatives who use a GPS to go eight miles to town on the same road they've traveled for years I'd bet they do tell about most overpasses and other hazzards.
I know friend Jim's always tells him OFF ROUTE, OFF ROUTE when the clover leaf makes him go farther before the turn. Then his wife starts in giving him more directions.
My wife does good enough telling me where to go without some smartalec computer lady butting in.

So yes modern GPS' probably warn about low bridges.

 

Lots of You Tube Channels on truck drivers.
Here's a few i watch on occasion:

Trucker Josh - Canadian. Goes into the midwest U.S. as well.
https://www.youtube.com/user/truckerjosh456

Allie Knight - drives for Jim Palmer Trucking. Goes all over the U.S.
https://www.youtube.com/user/AllieKnight

Sergei Dratchev - Canada and the U.S. (haven't watched too many of his...)
https://www.youtube.com/user/smd5231

 

Isn't Sergei Dratchev on Ice Road Truckers? Or is his name just similar-sounding to the name of the driver who is?

 

Don't think so........

 

OK, then. I'm just too lazy to Google it.

 

What the...?