Dear Semi Drivers,

"sellphones2493" (sellphones2493)
12/11/2014 at 22:13 • Filed to: None

I respect your job. I know you deal with assholes on the road everyday, but please don't cut me off on a 2-lane highway to pass your crony doing .3MPH faster.

Just drove from New Haven CT to Baltimore MD today.

Left at 12:37 and arrived at 6:58
364.8 Miles
24.9 MPG

It took longer than usual due to near whiteout conditions in Western PA, me getting pizza in Old Forge, PA (worth stopping), and 18-Wheelers.

I swear, I would have saved about 30 minutes if I didn't have to deal with these slow-motion overtakes...

Pictures of my car (with it's new goodies) will appear tomorrow. I haven't seen it in daylight, but I'm pretty sure it's dirtier than it's ever been

DISCUSSION (28)

ly2v8-Brian > sellphones2493
12/11/2014 at 22:16

chill, He's working, you're not.

haveacarortwoorthree > ly2v8-Brian
12/11/2014 at 22:20

Just because someone is working does not excuse him from being an uncourteous dumbass.

ly2v8-Brian > haveacarortwoorthree
12/11/2014 at 22:26

So? Why get upset? oh shit that truck slowed me down for a little bit. That'll cost an entire half minute (or maybe even a WHOLE minute) delay ON MY SIX HOUR DRIVE.

sellphones2493 > ly2v8-Brian
12/11/2014 at 22:29

So you'd be perfectly content when you're cruising at 80mph, then have to break to 50mph?

Aside from being downright annoying, it's also unsafe.

DrJohannVegas > ly2v8-Brian
12/11/2014 at 22:30

One might argue that the same criticism cuts the other way. Actually, one just did.

Grindintosecond > sellphones2493
12/11/2014 at 22:33

I drove a governed at 70 diesel rental truck to move my family cros country. I can tell you this. On some of those hills even just slow rolling hills, they are at foot down max power and to lift and brake would kill the momentum they built up over the last five miles. They are cutting you off and making a pass because the guy in front of them, also foot to the floor, isn't as fast and if they dont commit now, they will have to hit the brakes and then spend the next five minutes trying to orchestrate the pass. Heck they'll travel at +/- 15 mph because of the weight. Some aren't so heavily loaded so they are more flexible but the guys who cut you off are seizing an opportunity to get past the slow poke in front of them thats held them up for the last half hour because the rest of us keep whipping around them without signaling and driving offensively.

The problem here is the belief that they have the power reserve and braking performance and handling performance we do in our cars. They can weigh up to 80,000 pounds on the road. Wanna bet their brakes are as good as yours? and even if they have 1,000 pounds of diesel torque that's still a power to weight ratio of 80:1. Yes eighty pounds per pound of torque....and probably 90:1 for horsepower.

Walk a mile in their shoes said mr. Finch.

ly2v8-Brian > sellphones2493
12/11/2014 at 22:43

Not at all. I'm in full control of my vehicle so a slowdown is no big deal.

ly2v8-Brian > Grindintosecond
12/11/2014 at 22:53

Exactly.

greasemonkey235097 > sellphones2493
12/11/2014 at 23:09

Who said is safe to be cruising at 80 in 65mph limit...

thebigbossyboss > Grindintosecond
12/11/2014 at 23:13

To this I proclaim "meh". If I am in the fast lane passing them I don't have to signal, that I am going to keep passing them.

Also there's a limit man...

I've followed a truck for up to 10 miles trying to pass another truck. Even on a twelve hour drive a speed differential of .1 mph won't make a difference.

thebigbossyboss > DrJohannVegas
12/11/2014 at 23:14

HAHAHA yes.

thebigbossyboss > ly2v8-Brian
12/11/2014 at 23:15

Once when I live in Africa a truck that was going 35 mph cut in fron of the car I was in that was going 100 mph. Just about wrecked on that one.

thebigbossyboss > greasemonkey235097
12/11/2014 at 23:21

Here in Ontario that's how we do. If it's clear the avg speed of traffic on the 401 is 80 mph.

ttyymmnn > sellphones2493
12/11/2014 at 23:23

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we drove the width of Arkansas. They have tiered speed limits, where the cars are allowed 70 while the trucks are allowed 65. I lost track of how many times a truck going 66 moved out to pass a truck going 65, holding up the entire left lane for miles. Drove me crazy.

Orange_Crusader > DrJohannVegas
12/11/2014 at 23:30

It's worse the other way, the truck driver would only have to wait for the car to pass him, which would happen much faster. Either it's ~5 seconds more to the trucker's 6 hour drive, or one minute to the car driver's trip plus knowing he's being douchey to another motorist over almost nothing.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > sellphones2493
12/11/2014 at 23:37

Most embarrassed I've ever been for something I didn't do wrong: had the cruise set at around 80 in the left lane on I-80 in the middle of nowhere. Some semi doing maybe 70 or less decides for whatever reason that he needs to be in front of me. Gives two blinks of the signal, then cuts in front of me, maybe 25 feet, probably less. I move onto the shoulder and flash my high beams several times to voice my displeasure, then back off. After an extended stay in my lane, he moves back into his rightful lane. I speed back up and pass him. My dad, who is normally a very polite and courteous individual (and who once yelled at me for honking at someone who cut me off) rolls down the passenger window and gives the trucker the finger. Air horns ensue. For some reason, I was mortified, especially because when we stopped at the next rest stop ten minutes later, the truck got off behind us. However, nothing came of it.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > sellphones2493
12/12/2014 at 03:15

this happens to me far too many times.

What annoys me is when there are no cars behind me. And they cant wait for me to pass them in 4 seconds. And then make tjeir move. No they have to block me.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > sellphones2493
12/12/2014 at 08:30

Those guys have pretty tough jobs and our economy is hilariously dependant of shipping cheap products, and food especially, thousands and thousands of miles so that folks in Medford, Oregon can enjoy improperly organic-labled produce that was shipped from China, dammit!

sellphones2493 > greasemonkey235097
12/12/2014 at 08:49

I'd take it you've never driven on I-81...

sellphones2493 > greasemonkey235097
12/12/2014 at 08:51

I take it you've never driven on I-81 in PA...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Grindintosecond
12/12/2014 at 09:10

Governed at 70?! That's just dangerous.

Grindintosecond > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/12/2014 at 10:36

well, 71.5 wich was just fine until I crossed in to Kansas. It's not dangerous really when you think about how I just had to trundle along in the right lane and everyone would pass me and I didn't have to worry about passing anyone and working that timing, and how 80% of the other actual big rigs were faster but occasionally i'd find one that was so heavy they just couldn't hold speed going up hill and i could somehow manage a bit better....but then on the down hill they'd outrun me cause of my silly limiter....and then the next hill it would happen all over again.

Before Kansas, yeah it was a challenge of how to pass who and when and then ont he downhill, *bam* im stuck at 71.5

Grindintosecond > thebigbossyboss
12/12/2014 at 10:40

And if they give up on that pass they'll have to work the next twelve miles to make that pass again. to them its more infuriating then it is to you...at a rest stop somewhere go talk to one of them. they like to talk!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Grindintosecond
12/12/2014 at 10:44

Just saying, the accelerator can be just as much of a safety device as the brakes.

At the end of an on ramp in heavy traffic, your safest option is often to get hard on the gas (and above legal speeds).

Grindintosecond > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/12/2014 at 10:51

yeah i hear that. When traffic flow is 80 where I live, its a great time for nice sounds.

thebigbossyboss > Grindintosecond
12/12/2014 at 11:21

Little known secret amongst 4 wheelers truck stops are always the best stops to stop on the highway. You can even shower there if you want! Super convenient cause then you can stay in your minivan and it's way cheaper than a hotel although it has less cable tvs.

I usually am pretty nice to most truck drivers...I try really hard not to cut them off.

I don't mind if they pass and I have to slow down a bit. A few seconds will not make a difference on most drives but especially longer ones.

I do mind if they start passing the truck then can't actually pass him and get stuck side by side.

As I said, 10 miles is not an acceptable passing range.

Think about this way. If the truck in the slow lane is going 10 miles, he is going 52,800 feet. The truck passing him has to go a bit faster to get around so he has to travel the rate of 52,800 feet for truck 1 in about 52,500 feet for truck two. This will give him 300 ft at the end...to get in front of the other truck which I think is about enough for a 53' trailer.

The speed differential at that point is only half of one percent of their total speed.

Lets say a trucker in the US drives 650 miles a day. If he passed the truck right at the beginning of his run (for simplification they both started at top speed and made zero stops btw) then he would be able to drive 653 miles instead of 650 had he stuck behind the truck.

One in that case might say "a few seconds will mot make a difference on most drives, especially longer ones".

greasemonkey235097 > sellphones2493
12/12/2014 at 12:45

I have, with a tractor trailer gorvened to 67mph.

fiverguy > thebigbossyboss
12/12/2014 at 20:02

Which is part of the reason I love driving in Canada. Same on the QEW. It's almost saddening when I get back over the Peace Bridge and have to remember that NY isn't nearly as... progressive? :D