Truckers and autos sharing the road

Richard

Richard

Final Approach
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Feb 27, 2005
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Ack...city life
I drove RT to Phoenix this last wknd. What a wild trip that was and I saw some interesting things on the road. I drove through hail, rain, snow, fog, and blistering sun.

I saw a low boy loaded with what looked like industrial generators. The load was secured with those 6" wide yellow belts ratcheted on each side. How would I in a passing light P/U make the driver aware of a severely frayed belt which looked like it would part any minute now? I thought of hand signals but without any standardization they most likely would be misinterpreted.

I also saw a reefer with two left tag wheels quite underinflated and another truck about to throw a retread. What would be the preferred method without CB to inform the driver?
 
Flash your hooters at him, then get ahead of him and pull to the side of the rode. When he gets out to kick your butt (or collect on the implied promise :hairraise: ), yell out the problem to him and take off. Not like he'll catch you :)

That's about all I could think of besides waving and pointing frantically.
 
I wonder if calling the CHP would do any good.
 
Michael said:
I wonder if calling the CHP would do any good.
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I would exhaust all other efforts before I called the fuzz on him.

I thought about writing something but then I may become the accident I wish to avoid. 75 mph on cruise, both hands on wheel due to gusting cross winds.

Joe, maybe you have hooters, but I have bumps. (shut up, Michael)
 
I was once in my convertible overtaking a semi that had the doors on the trailer open and flapping in the wind. I got alongside, made eye contact with the driver and made a hand signal with my right hand - my hand vertical and moving back and forth at the wrist like the doors swinging on the hinge and then I pointed back with my thumb. He nodded his head in thanks and pulled over.
 
Richard said:
I drove RT to Phoenix this last wknd. What a wild trip that was and I saw some interesting things on the road. I drove through hail, rain, snow, fog, and blistering sun.

I saw a low boy loaded with what looked like industrial generators. The load was secured with those 6" wide yellow belts ratcheted on each side. How would I in a passing light P/U make the driver aware of a severely frayed belt which looked like it would part any minute now? I thought of hand signals but without any standardization they most likely would be misinterpreted.

I also saw a reefer with two left tag wheels quite underinflated and another truck about to throw a retread. What would be the preferred method without CB to inform the driver?
Click to expand...

Waving frantically works now and then. Sometimes I see another truck that has a problem and try to contact them on the CB. If they don't answer, I try to pull next to them and hold my CB mic up so they'll turn theirs on. Once in a while, they don't have a CB and when I point back towards their trailer, they at least get the hint that *something* is wrong and pull over to re-inspect the truck.

Of course, your examples sound like things that should have been caught earlier, so maybe it wouldn't work. Driver should have noticed the frayed strap when he put it on. The reefer driver should have knocked his tires, and if the third driver was that close to throwing a tread (was it loose and flapping around?) he should have been able to see it in the mirrors if it was on an outside tire.

Some people just don't care. The state of the trucking industry in the US is getting steadily worse. Society generally is unkind to truckers, and with the downsides of being away from home, many just decide it isn't worth the trouble. We have companies that train new drivers, making them sign a 1-year contract in exchange for the school, and then treat them like dirt so they quit after a year and the company doesn't have to give them a raise. At least one company imports drivers from El Salvador, flying them up in a chartered jet (a BIG one) and having them drive for 6 weeks at a time before putting them back on another plane home for a week. The average turnover is terrible as well, the average driver keeps a job for less than 90 days before quitting and moving to the next job or just quitting entirely (I'm quite proud of my record so far, over 80% of my trainees made it 90 days and 67% of all of them are still here.)

Then there's the "safety" groups, whose latest "victory" has basically made it illegal for us to stop and take a nap. Nice going, guys. :eek: :no:
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Society generally is unkind to truckers, and with the downsides of being away from home, many just decide it isn't worth the trouble.
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In a previous life I worked in the IS department of a pretty large trucking company. I asked each of my staff to spend a couple of days on the road with a driver. What an eye opener. I always thought the majority of a truckers day was spent behind the wheel. I found out a huge portion is spent in dirty break rooms watching bad TV waiting for a rude customer to find a spot for them to load/unload. They take crap from the customers, from the employer, and from home. It's a tough way to make a living.

Chip
 
Richard said:
Joe, maybe you have hooters, but I have bumps. (shut up, Michael)
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I would like to clarify...I have not seen richards bumps. :no:
 
gibbons said:
In a previous life I worked in the IS department of a pretty large trucking company. I asked each of my staff to spend a couple of days on the road with a driver. What an eye opener. I always thought the majority of a truckers day was spent behind the wheel. I found out a huge portion is spent in dirty break rooms watching bad TV waiting for a rude customer to find a spot for them to load/unload. They take crap from the customers, from the employer, and from home. It's a tough way to make a living.
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Chip,

You da man! More companies should do that. Luckily, I work for a company that is small enough (290 trucks when I started, now at nearly 400) that people know me by name, know how I like to run, and are really nice. A lot of them used to drive also, including the top two guys, at least four dispatchers, etc.

The amount of time wasted at customers improved vastly after Jan. 1, 2004 due to new logging rules that limit the work day to being 14 hours long even when off-duty. So, if you drive 1/2 hr to make a delivery and sit there for eight hours, you only have 5 1/2 hours left to drive. That forced the trucking companies to finally put some pressure on the shippers to load and unload in a timely manner.

The one industry that hasn't caught on yet is grocery warehouses. They're universally slow and most of the time you have to hire a "lumper" to unload. It's very much like if the UPS guy came to your door with a package for you, and you demanded he pay you to take it. :dunno: It's bad enough that I'd quit eating if I could.

There are some good things about it though, and it's great money - Enough that I can afford to fly a lot, live well, and still put money away to go back to school. I'm not gonna be doing this much longer, but I'm going to get everything out of it that I can while I am.
 
Joe Williams said:
Flash your hooters at him, then get ahead of him and pull to the side of the rode. When he gets out to kick your butt (or collect on the implied promise :hairraise: ), yell out the problem to him and take off. Not like he'll catch you :)

That's about all I could think of besides waving and pointing frantically.
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do you take owls with you when you drive? how odd.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Waving frantically works now and then. Sometimes I see another truck that has a problem and try to contact them on the CB.
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Most drivers are in very close communication with other drivers and you'll find it won't be long before another professional driver informs them of a shifting load, loose strap, etc.

I always use a CB and these folks are a blast to listen to. They cooperate when merging and passing, look out for each other, and occasionally I learn a good joke or two:hairraise: .
 
Michael said:
I would like to clarify...I have not seen richards bumps. :no:
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Is that to mean that you have not seen his bumps?

:D :D
 
gibbons said:
In a previous life I worked in the IS department of a pretty large trucking company. I asked each of my staff to spend a couple of days on the road with a driver. What an eye opener. I always thought the majority of a truckers day was spent behind the wheel. I found out a huge portion is spent in dirty break rooms watching bad TV waiting for a rude customer to find a spot for them to load/unload. They take crap from the customers, from the employer, and from home. It's a tough way to make a living.

Chip
Click to expand...

I have a theory. I think Archie Bunker was a loading dock foreman. These guys are the lowest on the corporate food chain, but they get a daily supply of people from outside the company who have to ask them for the service of loading and unloading...and they can sh** on them with impunity.

I suspect that truckers have some devious ways of payback.
 
gibbons said:
In a previous life I worked in the IS department of a pretty large trucking company. I asked each of my staff to spend a couple of days on the road with a driver. What an eye opener. I always thought the majority of a truckers day was spent behind the wheel. I found out a huge portion is spent in dirty break rooms watching bad TV waiting for a rude customer to find a spot for them to load/unload. They take crap from the customers, from the employer, and from home. It's a tough way to make a living.

Chip
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Sounds sorta like the life of a corporate pilot.
 
mikea said:
I have a theory. I think Archie Bunker was a loading dock foreman. These guys are the lowest on the corporate food chain, but they get a daily supply of people from outside the company who have to ask them for the service of loading and unloading...and they can sh** on them with impunity.

I suspect that truckers have some devious ways of payback.
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Not only that, but if you want to move towards the head of the line to be loaded, you can expect to offer an incentive to make that happen. Greenbacks, cases of beer, restaurant coupons all work.
 
tom. said:
I always use a CB and these folks are a blast to listen to. They cooperate when merging and passing, look out for each other, and occasionally I learn a good joke or two:hairraise: .
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LOL!

You may have noticed, but CB 19 has been getting a lot quieter in the last couple of years due to the fact that we now have satellite radio to keep us entertained. About the only time you're guaranteed to have CB chatter is near a big traffic backup, and you'll hear people asking what's going on over and over as they approach the scene and turn their CB back on. I'd guess mine is only on 10% of the time at most.
 
smigaldi said:
Sounds sorta like the life of a corporate pilot.
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Sorta, except the pilot's lounges are nicer than the driver's lounges (think a pair of folding chairs, some vending machines, and a tiny room that hasn't been cleaned in months), and folks generally treat pilots with respect...
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Sorta, except the pilot's lounges are nicer than the driver's lounges
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So I'm sitting here in the pilot lounge trying to decide whether or not this is true. I think it is.

It's quiet except for the squeaking fan, and they have wireless high speed. :yes:
 
flyingcheesehead said:
About the only time you're guaranteed to have CB chatter is near a big traffic backup ...
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Between Detroit and Chicago, or Chicago and Indy, where it is really busy, there's a lot of chatter. They talk a lot in summer, too, when the convertibles are out:eek: or when there's a "JB" driver in the mix!

Once I had a heavy trailer with a rusty antique car from the 20s on the back. From Kansas to Ohio I got calls from professional drivers on the radio. What a blast.
 
Richard said:
Not only that, but if you want to move towards the head of the line to be loaded, you can expect to offer an incentive to make that happen. Greenbacks, cases of beer, restaurant coupons all work.
Click to expand...

All I do is be nice, and it works a fair amount of the time. My greenbacks are mine, it's illegal for me to carry beer (unless it's in the trailer), and... Restaurant coupons? :dunno:

Mike, as far as payback... I dunno. Usually if they're slow I'm in such a hurry to get going that I just go. I would happily entertain suggestions! I've only thought of devious methods of payback for the jerks that don't know how to back up so they park their trucks on the fuel islands while they go inside to eat, shower, etc. :mad:
 
tom. said:
Between Detroit and Chicago, or Chicago and Indy, where it is really busy, there's a lot of chatter.
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Between Chicago and Detroit right now, 10:55 PM, haven't heard a peep in over an hour. "Westbound, there's a County Mountie rollin' yer front door at the 17." (This posting to PoA thing while rolling down the road rules... And no, I'm not the one driving! :hairraise:)

They talk a lot in summer, too, when the convertibles are out:eek: or when there's a "JB" driver in the mix!
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"Hey JB, pull over in the left lane for a minute... I ain't ever seen the right side of a JB truck before!"
 
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