Over the past 4 days here in Central Ohio we have had 4 semi accidents all the semi drivers fault. Including one today that damn near killed two people with the idiot semi driver cruising through a construction zone (55mph) at an estimated 75 MPH. Causing a ACDA crash which pushed a car into the center jersey wall nearly killing the two occupants.

On the way home from work the freeway was still closed from the above accident. I cruised down a City street (US Route40) and while stopped in traffic behind a semi, a different semi decided to merge into my lane nearly causing a side swipe of my P/U.

Blowing the horn and flipping him off did nothing, but tossing a handful of pennies at his truck from out my pax window caused him to open the door as I drove past him.


So for all the semi drivers out there. F***ing learn to drive you fat a$$ POS.

quote:

Originally posted by ThankGod4Sig:
but tossing a handful of pennies at his truck from out my pax window caused him to open the door as I drove past him.

Well, that was illegal and extremely hazardous.

Do you typically keep a handful in a convenient spot for such situations or was it just a coincidence that you had them available?

He was just paying for the semi-truck driver's thoughts up front.

Blind spot maybe?

This will go well I'm sure of it

No I didn't plan on using them for people. But when an 80,000 pound vehicle attempts to drive over someone, it tends to put a damper on the drive home

I am getting the popcorn ready. I think there are some truckers on the Forum. Reminds me of recent threads on motorcycles and such.

My wife and I were coming home from a UTV vacation in Utah a few years back. We were on Rt 69 in Ind. It was about 3 A.M. and we were in the left lane just starting to pass a semi. We were pulling a trailer with our UTV on it and were going about 72mph, when a semi zoomed passed us on the right and then proceeded to cut left in front of us to just miss the semi. My wife was driving as I had driven all day.
She had to stand on the brakes to keep his trailer from knocking us into the median.
Just then another semi did the same thing and that time it was a whole lot closer, she locked it up that time. I reached over and turned on our bright lights and he nailed his brakes on. Of course I always carry and really thought I was gonna have to shoot the assholes. He damned near killed us. They had to be going about 90mph.
I called the Ind State police and gave them a complete description of the two semis, but no license number. I called back the next day and no, nothing. State police must not work the grave yard shift in Ind.

^^^ Forget about the license plate on the back of the trailer. It is meaningless because trailer stock is always being swapped and pulled by different companies.

You need the plate number from the cab front, or just as good, the USDOT number and unit number from the cab door. With this info, anyone can go to www.safer.fmcsa.dot.gov and look up the company's contact information. At a minimum, you should contact the carrier about the driver's dangerous, aggressive behavior. It helps a lot if you have a dash cam to prove your story. At only $45 for a decent one, why wouldn't you have a dash cam?

There's a good chance, if you have video of what you describe, the carrier would dismiss the driver immediately. I know I would.

Back in the good old days, semis used to have spotlights on the cabs (perhaps they still do, I don't know). One of the tricks employed by drivers who were assholes was to spotlight vehicles trying to pass them or otherwise drive in a fashion that they didn't like.

I was driving one night from Bozeman to Billings with my father in the passenger seat and pulled out to pass a semi who did exactly that. I don't know how many freaking lumens that light had, but I was completely blinded and doing 70MPH. I couldn't see a thing. All I could do was slam on the brakes, hope for the best, and clean out my skivvies afterwards. The asshole could have killed us both.

I won't tell you what my father did, but it involved a firearm and several flat semi tires.

(I'm not condemning all truckers by any means as most are good folks, just those pricks.)

Well as soon as I finish my salad I'm off to Bonderant Thank you for that advice, 2 million into a job without a DOT chargeable accident, one moving violation in those 21 years. Rookie numbers but damnit a guy must start somewhere.

I willingly admit there are those who need to reevaluate their career choices, in every industry. Such a broad brush though maybe start out with a 1 1/2" sash brush.

Like most industries, a few ruin the reputation of the many.

I went through a CDL training program in Starke, FL and we had a few Good ole boys students who never seemed to grasp the concept of professional driver.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:

quote:

Originally posted by ThankGod4Sig:
but tossing a handful of pennies at his truck from out my pax window caused him to open the door as I drove past him.

Well, that was illegal and extremely hazardous.

In VA it's a felony. One could lose their right to own a gun.

It is becoming an everyday thing around Richmond also.

From 2004 to 2007 I worked about an hour north of Richmond, for a Sheriffs Office. I would leave the house about 430am so I could get in and relax before roll call. Almost every other day there was a roll over or some other semi accident around mile marker 107.

Every time I go home to visit, I cannot believe the traffic around Columbus especially during rush hour near I-270 and the RT 33 exit.

I know a few semi-truck drivers. They are good people. They know they are driving a 20 ton missile. They don't drive their trucks like they stole them. There are still some good truck drivers out there.

However, in my experience I see more and more truck drivers out there that seem to think they are driving a sports car. They seem to think that they can do whatever they want and everyone else will move out of their way.

Where I work is an area that is full of semi-trucks. A couple of major highways in the NE meet here. For every one good truck driver, there are 5 that shouldn't be allowed to drive even a Vespa. I think most of them can't even read because how do you miss the plethora of signs that say "NO TRUCKS" and "NO VEHICLES OVER 4 TONS" and "NO SEMI TRUCKS"? I mean seriously, do they think those signs are there just to mess with them? Do they not think there could be a good reason that those signs are there? I'm surprised the guy in the house on the corner of that road hasn't come out shooting when they drag their trailers across his front lawn.

It seems like the good, smart truckers are quickly becoming the the exception.

I use an exit with three truck stops (one of which is the busiest store for Pilot/Flying J - like top 5 in the nation busy) every day for going to and from work.

They will pull out in front of you with no regard for how close your are or what speed you are going. They don't care. Happens all the time. Been going on for the twenty years I've lived there. A certain percentage of truck drivers are just bad people. I suppose it's true for car drivers as well, but I just don't see it as often from them as I do the trucks...

quote:

Originally posted by Aquabird:
My wife and I were coming home from a UTV vacation in Utah a few years back. We were on Rt 69 in Ind. It was about 3 A.M. and we were in the left lane just starting to pass a semi. We were pulling a trailer with our UTV on it and were going about 72mph, when a semi zoomed passed us on the right and then proceeded to cut left in front of us to just miss the semi. My wife was driving as I had driven all day.
She had to stand on the brakes to keep his trailer from knocking us into the median.
Just then another semi did the same thing and that time it was a whole lot closer, she locked it up that time. I reached over and turned on our bright lights and he nailed his brakes on. Of course I always carry and really thought I was gonna have to shoot the assholes. He damned near killed us. They had to be going about 90mph.
I called the Ind State police and gave them a complete description of the two semis, but no license number. I called back the next day and no, nothing. State police must not work the grave yard shift in Ind.

Any "How's my driving" stickers?

I've driven a lot since I got my license 17 years ago. Somewhere around a million miles. I feel like I have experienced more questionable truckers in the last half of that time period. When I have had occasion to deal with truckers making poor decisions in person, they have almost always been immigrants with poor English skills, which can't make it any easier for them.

As a cop, I dealt with quite a few truckers. Most were very professional and safe. The others should not be licensed to drive a Big Wheel.
Highest radar verified semi tractor speed for me: 96MPH. Bobtail. At the bottom of a long slope. Late at night with no traffic. Brand new, recently introduced aerodynamic model Kenworth. State of the art at the time and a very cool rig. After a tour of the truck, I offered the driver a trade: No ticket if I could drive the beast. He agreed. I left the patrol car in the emergency turnaround and drove the KW for a couple of miles. I enjoyed it. And gained a little professional insight into handling a large truck.
Looking back, I would guess that any engine governor system the truck had was disabled.