As to the initial question regarding how fast have you had your rig...
"On the advice of counsel I stand on the protection granted me by the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution and decline to answer on the grounds I may incriminate myself." You should all have that memorized cuz one day you may ALL need it!
Unless one is perfect and blameless we have all done something, probably many times which, upon calm reflection, we realise was not very wise. I applaud everyone here for their strong safety and professionalism oreinted stance, but answer me this: when the sign says speed limit 55 do you ALWAYS drive 55 or less?!? If you do you are a better man than I Gunga Din. I have always considered my self one of the safest drivers out there, not because "I am so damned good" but because I constantly think about it, live it and breathe it. It is not something you ARE it is something you must DO....actively....every second of every minute of every hour of every day out there...a single moments lapse at any time can be fatal.
My personal prectise is to drive the speed I consider safe...almost never exceeding the posted limit by more than 5mph (tickets cost more than just $$$ you know).
As to the issue of log accuracy, see my legal advice above, but HYPOTHETICALLY....back in the day it was common practise but is much too risky these days, especially with guys driving when they are WAYYY too tired and over hours to be anywhere close to safe. HOS notwithstanding, I have come off a 10 hour break, driven for two hours and felt so sleepy (for whatever reason) that I just pull it in and take a nap even though my log says I have 9 more good hours of driving available. Book larnin' ain't everything guys.
Adhere to the letter of the law as much as possible but it is to the spirit to which all true professionals should strive.
Runaway truck ramps: Rev is right, you will almost NEVER find a competent professional who knows his business on one of those, HOWEVER stuff does break now and again and I ALWAYS make it a point to know where the closest one is JUST IN CASE somethin' do break. A close friend of mine had a U-joint come apart going down a 12% grade...no jake then just "freewheelin" and foundation brakes to count on. Luckily he followed the first rule and was nt going so fast when it happened and had not been riding his service brakes so much that he was able to stop with plenty of air left and only smoked his brakes a little (no fire...just some bad smell). That is the first rule...ride that mountain down so that even if you lose it all you are not going so fast that you cannot take the ditch and live to talk about it. It deosn't really matter if the idiots pass you and give you the finger on the way down...you might see them on that ramp as you pass them later
"You can go down a mountain too slow a hundred times, but you might go down too fast only ONCE"...remember the most valuable cargo in that thing is YOUR BUTT!
One closing thought on high speed.....its fun in a Corvette (albeit still dangerous and illegal) but, if you have ever had a steer blow on you at 55 (as I have) and wrestled your way to the side so you can clean out your drawers imagine for a moment as you hit that triple digit..."what would happen if I lost a steer right NOW!"....perhaps low probability but non-zero nonetheless (and actually decidedly more likely considering the greater heat buildup and other stresses and strains that high speed driving places on tires)...you will be toast my brother!!!
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Tom
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