[Jaseun]

I'm new here and not a truck driver. I have always wanted to be a truck driver though. I love driving, and seeing this great country from behind the wheel.

My wife and I were recently on a 2K mile round trip vacation from Annapolis Maryland to Chicago Illinois and back. We drove up to see a concert and made our trip back home a leisurely one.

I'm a ham operator and had my rig with me in the truck. Once I hit rush hour traffic nearing Chicago I tuned into channel 19 to see what was up with the back up. I heard much of what any layman would expect to have heard. There were discussions of engines, transmissions, cb's, mudflaps, tires, weather etc... Some really interesting talk about the relationship of MPG versus transmissions and engine combos.

So we're all (rush hour commuters) approaching a 3 into 2 merge where the right lane turns into an exit ramp. It was then that I heard several truckers saying 'squeeze em up boys' . It didn't take long to figure out that I was experiencing a slow speed road rage incident. Those 'four wheelers' are a bunch of 'assholes' who need to be 'scared real good' by 'runnin em into the wall' 'don't hit em, but get real close and give em a good scare'

The radio traffic continued about how one trucker had entered the right lane and was stopping all traffic from 'squirting by' and getting in front of 'us' . Apparently you all have figured out a way to further mess up rush hour traffic and just get all mad about it at the same time.

I could go on but my point of making this post is to call you 'truckers' out. This is about the most unprofessional and discourteous driving I've ever experienced. All those commercials I hear on the radio about how truckers are 'delivering America' and how we'd all be up the creek if truckers aren't kept happy. BS!

I realize there are some decent truckers out there but I gotta say, the bad apples are making a rotting stinking mess and you all should be aware that just because we roll on four wheels doesn't make us idiots.

The trucking industry and truckers in general have lost my respect. I believed all those Johny cash songs about how truckers are honest men, raised right, honest day pay for honest day of work, family men.... blah blah blah.

thoughts? -Jaseun

[emerlin]

Maybe a couple of fools were taking things a bit far, but I've seen many more times a four wheeler hit the gas to get around a truck and then cut the truck off to turn in to the McDonalds parking lot. Your view of the world changes once you get behind the wheel of a truck or bus.

[madii'swife]

Thoughts? Well here goes.

Trucker are people, plain old human people. There's no requirement in a trucking application for a survey of how nice and respectful you are to your fellow humans. Like ALL industries, and all of life, there is wide range of types and personalities that get into trucking. Also, you mention rotten apples, well if you open up a case of apples to find 2 out of 40 rotten do you throw the whole case away?
There's nothing "glorified" about being a trucker. Its hard, sometimes back breaking work, and becomes a lifestyle, not just a job.
Is what those truckers chose to do right and moral? NO, but I don't think any of us can claim to always do the right thing.
Don't judge a book by its cover, and don't judge all truckers by one incident, it will not service you well. Many of the "good" truckers I have talked to recently rarely use their CB anymore, some for that reason. Give truckers as a whole a break, and realize they're human like all the rest of us.

[Uturn2001]

The trucking industry and truckers in general have lost my respect.

First off, before you judge so harshly you should roll a few hundred miles in a truck and see what the world looks like from that point of view.

Secondly, you need to realize that there are over 3 million truck drivers in the USA alone. Now out of that 3 million just how many do you think you encountered and out of the ones you encountered how many were really a bad example.

Next time you are on the road take a good look at how the average Joe drives around a big truck. Count up the amount of times you see things like:

Failure to yield when merging on the highway
Waiting until the last second to merge into the open lane in a construction zone just so they will have one less truck to be behind.
Speeding and passing a truck near a stop light just so they will not be behind one when the light turns green
Driving in one of the truck's blind spot.
Waiting until the last 20 feet to brake to make a turn and never using a signal. (Hey it takes a while to wind these trucks down)


And the list goes on and on.



I am not nor will I ever condone idiot driving of any kind, but the average truck driver is a safety minded person who does the next to impossible everyday and makes it look easy.

Finally before you throw out all respect for what a truck driver does, go shopping and buy only those items which did not come on a truck in some way at some point.

[kjax]

Originally Posted by Jaseun

thoughts? -Jaseun

[Some] Truck drivers sometimes have little respect for 4-wheelers?

The trucking industry and truckers in general have lost my respect.

Boohoo? The road generally goes in both directions... consider that while you're enjoying your cheese and whine.

Are you here looking for an apology, or... ?

[madii'swife]

Originally Posted by Uturn2001

Next time you are on the road take a good look at how the average Joe drives around a big truck. Count up the amount of times you see things like:

Failure to yield when merging on the highway
Waiting until the last second to merge into the open lane in a construction zone just so they will have one less truck to be behind.
Speeding and passing a truck near a stop light just so they will not be behind one when the light turns green
Driving in one of the truck's blind spot.

Pardon the hijack for a moment, but could somebody please explain to me, in my attempt to be courteous as a "4-wheeler" where to stay out of? I have to plead dumb to where a truck's blind spots are. Thanks.

[wot i life]

Originally Posted by Jaseun

I'm new here and not a truck driver.

My wife and I were recently on a 2K mile round trip vacation from Annapolis Maryland to Chicago Illinois and back. We drove up to see a concert and made our trip back home a leisurely one.



thoughts? -Jaseun

Yes, plenty of thoughts actually.
By your own admission, you are not a professional driver, therefore have no idea what the true intentions of those drivers were; Could it just be that they were preventing a pile up at a bottleneck? Most likely!
You state that you were on a 2000 kilometre round trip, thats a lot of driving for someone who can,t possibly drive those distances on a regular basis(You,re not a driver, you said) So quite possibly you were tired, irritable and just itching to reach half way? Patience is a virtue.
Your trip home was a leisurely one? This implies that your outward bound journey was not so. In a hurry were we? That can often lead to road rage you know...Thoughts? Yeah, we professional drivers have plenty pal, and a lot of our thoughts and anticipation help keep impatient "vacation only" drivers alive.
Good day to you!

[yoopr]

So we're all (rush hour commuters) approaching a 3 into 2 merge where the right lane turns into an exit ramp. It was then that I heard several truckers saying 'squeeze em up boys' . It didn't take long to figure out that I was experiencing a slow speed road rage incident. Those 'four wheelers' are a bunch of 'assholes' who need to be 'scared real good' by 'runnin em into the wall' 'don't hit em, but get real close and give em a good scare'

You hear that kind of thing you'll know how long a person has been driving.
You kinda painted this thing with a Broad Brush.

[Twilight Flyer]

I don't drive truck....I work on the inside. In my 5+ years doing this job, my eyes have been opened to what really happens out on the road, just by dealing with drivers every day and being one of those that fields complaint calls from 4-wheelers.

Here's a few things to consider:

1. The proven facts are that somewhere around 74% of all auto/truck accidents are caused by 4-wheelers. I travel I-80 several times a day. I see the completely boneheaded moves made time and time and time again by 4-wheelers. You ever wonder why there are so many dual tire skid marks on the interstate? It's because of idiots in 4-wheelers cutting in so close a truck, the driver can't even see them. "Ima gonna beat dat der truck," Joe Bonehead says before they end up scraping him off the pavement with a spatula for his sheer stupidity, with the trucker getting the rap for it.

2. Then, I have to deal with phone calls from said 4-wheelers, most of them along the lines of "your driver wouldn't let me merge onto the interstate." Here's a clue for said 4-wheelers...buy a dictionary, look up the word YIELD. There's a big triangle sign there just for you as you merge onto an interstate. You were driven into the ditch because of your stupidity and ignorance, nothing more.

Now, that said, are there some boneheads out there in trucks, too? Absolutely. No one is arguing that, but they are in the extreme minority and to paint the whole industry with a brush stained with a couple is unfair and ignorant.

Also, do truckers harbor some contempt for 4-wheelers? Absolutely and rightly so. The actions of those drivers in Chicago were certainly not the norm and certainly not acceptable, but the anger that those actions built from is justified. 4-wheelers, as a group, are just plain stupid.

I am all for jacking up fines for "stupid 4-wheeler tricks" to exhorbant rates, as well as tacking on jail time for the truly stupid among us. And this coming from someone that drives a 4-wheeler.

Now, as far as this:

All those commercials I hear on the radio about how truckers are 'delivering America' and how we'd all be up the creek if truckers aren't kept happy. BS!

How about you toss everything you own, find a parcel of land and start from scratch. Make your own materials, build your own home, make everything you need, grow everything you eat. When you can do that, then you can come on here talking about how it's BS. Until then, you're just another ignorant fool without the first clue as to what is really going on out there.

[traveler15301]

Originally Posted by Twilight Flyer

How about you toss everything you own, find a parcel of land and start from scratch. Make your own materials, build your own home, make everything you need, grow everything you eat. When you can do that, then you can come on here talking about how it's BS. Until then, you're just another ignorant fool without the first clue as to what is really going on out there.

Bravo to you Midnight Flyer!!!