Best Practices: Highway Driving
We all know that I am a truck driver. I am also one to follow the safety of the road and the law due to the kind of license I hold, I am responsible for the motoring public. I’ll bet you didn’t actually know that, did you? We as truck drivers, because we are professionals are responsible for the motoring public around us. Crazy right? But we are taught this going into this field. We are the PROFESSIONALS, so it falls on us if something goes usually wrong.
Let’s discuss a few BEST PRACTICES on the road!
On Ramps: What are they for?
I know this seems like a dumb question, BUT let’s ask it. Do you know what that ramp is actually called? It isn’t really an ON RAMP. It is actually an acceleration ramp. It is MEANT for you to speed up and enter the flow of traffic on the freeway in a safe manner. It is meant for you to get in the lane, and ACCELERATE to join traffic without impeding traffic flow. Did you know that? It isn’t meant for you to hold up traffic, it isn’t meant for you to slow down, it isn’t meant for you to poke and hope that the vehicles will let you on.
Know what you are getting into, visualize it if you can. That way you can make a safer transition for all of us.
Hazards on the Road: Or Side of it
Ok, now this one gets to me as a driver. I know that most of the motoring public finds us big rigs cumbersome and in their way. I get it, we are slow and take up a bunch of real estate on the freeway. However, we have rules to follow that are far more strict than you could ever imagine. We have to follow these quite closely or we end up facing huge fines.
This is just a snippet of this law and there is only ONE state that doesn’t use this law, anyone guess what state it is? Montana! So if you want to read all about the move over laws in each state please click here and it will take you there.
However, it is easier if we all just share the road. If you see someone on the side of the road with their hazards on MOVE OVER TO THE LANE that is clear. Usually this will be to the left. However, we semi drivers put on our blinker and suddenly the race is on! Because moving over doesn’t seem to be an option. Please know that we don’t get over to get in your way, we are doing it because we are required to!
It is’t a race
Please keep in mind that to everyone out there what they are doing the most important thing at that moment. While to you it may be, however your rush is not worth my life. Just like I say on the CB all the time, my life is more important that the load you are hauling. Please keep in mind again, we take up large chunks of real estate on the road, we don’t move as quickly as y’all might like. But we are trying and we are trying to make sure that we are following the rules set before us. Now not all the truckers in the world are like that, however a most of us are. It is not an easy task to make sure that we are in compliance at all times but we do try.
So when you see a construction zone pop up, please keep in mind we have to bend that 84 feet of steel moving around those cones at a blazing speed. Then you come up thinking you are going to win the race attempt to pass and get mad when the trailer swings into your lane because well, physics. Keep in mind I can’t bend steel, my superhero abilities haven’t been given to me yet, I Think that is on the 35th year I am a driver, so I can’t do it until then. Or it might be when I am able to control the matrix, either way, until then please be patient.