Those Crazy Four Wheelers!

& The Importance of Proactive Driving

This article’s title is intended mostly as comic, but with more than a grain of truth as well.  As a truck driver, the view through the windshield of your fellow motorists and the things they do will change significantly.  Most of us notice others driving poorly or rudely, but not only do you notice it more from a truck, but the actions of others in the vicinity of a truck can be mind boggling.  Many people do not realize that some of their actions borderline on suicidal and a few cross well over the line.  Any dangerous move becomes far more dangerous when done near a vehicle as large and heavy as an eighteen-wheeler.

You have surely heard the term “Defensive Driving,” and understand the basics behind it.  This article is going to try to take a slightly different approach and rename that term to “Proactive Driving.”  The importance of driving according to those around you cannot be overestimated.  No matter which term you use, it is essential that you are constantly reading the road and its clues.  The word “defensive” intones that a driver REact to events in his or her vicinity, but too often, allowing a situation to develop to the point that a reaction is required turns it into an emergency situation.  Taking a PROactive approach prevents such situations from ever starting.

It takes a great deal of patience and professionalism to deal with other motorists and their antics day in and day out.  I hope that this article can help you know what to expect, though it is still bound to amaze you when some of these things actually happen in front of you.

You Will Get Cut Off 100 Times Per Day!

You probably get “cut off” plenty often while driving your car and chances are you don’t like it much.  Get ready because it gets much worse when driving a truck.  You will often be moving slower than surrounding traffic so you will be passed (and cut off) more often. 

Smaller vehicles do not usually like being behind a truck, so they will be more inclined to pass.  Many motorists don’t understand the importance of allowing more room before returning to the right lane and will return to the right lane too quickly.  It makes little difference if you are on level terrain or headed down a steep hill because most motorists do not understand how strong the force gravity is for a large truck.

People tend to dislike being behind trucks so much that they will pass, cut back in front, and slam on the brakes just to take the next exit.  City drivingis often far more aggressive, though at slower speeds. 

Passing Desperation

Many problems occur because of motorists’ desperation to pass a big truck.  If you, as a large truck, perform a pass and do not return to the right lane fairly quickly, chances are that the traffic will begin to pass you on your right side.  This is a dangerous practice, but happens constantly.  One must assume that most cars just do not have any idea how risky and dangerous this can be.  To guard against this, signal early and return to the right lane as soon the moment it is safe to do so.  If you catch yourself “spacing off,” and realize you have allowed space for vehicles to enter on your right, be very careful that no one has snuck into your blind spot. 

In some situations, other motorists become absolutely determined to get around you, even if it means taking a shoulder.  This is more common in construction zones or in any other situation where traffic is backed up and moving slowly, such as your basic, everyday traffic jam.

Turn Signals

Most people do not use them.  You will find more motorists use signals when turning, but rarely use them for lane changes.  A proactive approach is to learn to read a motorist’s body language and to read other clues about their intentions.  Do not expect them to use their signals.  Many people tend to look in the direction they intend to turn. 

At the Side of the Road

When people have breakdowns at the side of the road, they are understandably distracted.  They may be trying to perform mechanical repairs or change a tire.  They will often be so distracted by what they are trying to do that they will open their vehicle’s doors or step into the roadway – directly in your path. 

When you see a vehicle on the side of the road, move left if at all possible.  In some states, it is required by law that you move left when emergency vehicles are stopped at the side of the roadway.  Required or not, it is a good and recommended practice.

Stopping

A person who has never been in and/or around a truck usually is completely unaware as to what it takes to stop a truck.  Truck driving students are often quite shocked to learn just how much space is required, so you must assume that the everyday motorist has no idea whatsoever.  Because of this lack of knowledge, people will not hesitate to slam on their brakes and not take into account that there is a large, heavy vehicle behind them.  It is up to you to maintain a stopping distance.  (Also often referred to as a following distance.) 

Other motorists will constantly take this space away from you and you will constantly have to regain it.  This is extremely important and a critical element of safe and proactive driving!  The vehicle trucks most often hit is the one in front of them!

Another critical element of proactive driving is a long eye-lead time.  This simply means that you are looking as far in the distance as possible.  Your eyes should always be moving from side to side, to the area behind you, to the area immediately in front, to the area far ahead.  You must be able to stop in the distance you can see ahead. 

Unfortunately, most motorists do not use the above rule and drive much faster than they can see ahead.  Furthermore, without training, many motorists never learn to watch the area far ahead of them.  Because of this, traffic jams, crashes, animals in the road and other hazards often catch people by surprise and force them to slam on the brakes.  You will see things in the roadway ahead and notice other motorists still going full speed ahead. 

A proactive approach to this is to slow in plenty of time, since you should know that the unprepared motorist is going to soon make a hard brake check.  If you develop your proactive driving tendencies well, you will often know what other motorists are going to do before they ever do it.

Turning

Even though a tractor-trailer usually has three blinking lights to indicate an impending turn, many will not see them.  Since a truck requires extra time and space when turning, especially in the city, turning can be a dangerous thing to do.  Turning a tractor-trailer any direction requires vigilance, but you must be especially careful with a right turn.  Many city streets are too narrow for a truck to complete the turn without using space from another lane.  If you swing to the left before making the right turn, in order to make room for the trailer, be very careful to always keep the trailer as close to the curb line as possible.  If you allow room to your right to open, even with all three signals flashing, there is a good chance a vehicle will try to get around you by passing on the right.  When you bring your tractor right and a motorist has snuck into the blind spot, they may crash into the side of the truck or trailer.  What makes this situation even worse is that by law this will likely be seen as your fault, since you were not in your own lane.  Of course, you probably could not have made the turn if you had not “borrowed” space from the other lane, but that does not seem to matter.  In this kind of situation, the burden is on you to protect people from themselves.

Backing

Even with your four way flashers going, many motorists will not notice that you are going backwards.  When backing, be especially watchful for vehicles trying to dart across the path behind you.  When backing in a city environment, try to find someone to spot for you.

Bad Weather

Very strange things can happen in periods of poor weather.  Some of the same vehicles that cannot normally stand to be “stuck” behind a truck latch on and follow you through a storm.  This can be somewhat nerve-wracking for you, but there is little you can do.  If you can safely leave the road, do so, but do not slam on the brakes. 

Many motorists drive too fast for poor road conditions and they will often be the first to go into the ditch or median.  When a vehicle flies past you, there is a fair chance you will see them again on up the road… but they will probably no longer actually be on the roadway.

When it rains or hails, many motorists will park under an overpass/bridge and this can cause congestion or a hazard.  During a severe rainstorm, you can see the roadway better from the seat of a truck.  Many motorists will follow along behind you for a while, but then grow tired of the scenery and pass you.  They will quickly discover that between the spray from your truck and trailer and the pounding rain, they cannot see.  They will often then slow dramatically.  Sometimes they choose to do so immediately after returning to the right lane – in front of you.

Cruise Control?  What’s that?

Surprisingly enough, many people do not use their cruise control.  You may be driving along with plenty of speed to pass another motorist, but as you pull alongside them, they speed up.  One of two things are probably happening.  Either you have lost some speed and you are not aware of it and only think they are speeding up, or they have actually sped up.  It is a very natural tendency to speed up when being passed.  Most people do not do so simply to be antagonistic, but it is easy to believe that they are.  Chances are that if they had been going slowly enough that you had been able to pass them before, they will eventually slow down again. 

On the other hand, sometimes they gas on it and take off and it never seems to fail that a few miles down the road, you catch them again.  If you have a lot of traffic backing up behind you and you don’t believe the vehicle is going to slow back down, you will probably have to slow down yourself and resume a position behind them. 

Sometimes it is easy to think that someone is playing games with you, but that really is not always the case.  Trucks usually lose at least some speed on hills.  You may be able to pass a car easily on a downhill, but on the uphill, the car will catch you again.  You may find yourself in a passing battle at times.  If you cannot get past them, sometimes it is best to exit the interstate and sit on the ramp for a few minutes, or go ahead and make the stop you were planning to make anyway. 

You will find yourself playing this little “game” with other big trucks just as often, if not more often, since trucks have the additional limitation of a speed governor. 

Other Weird Stuff

Yes, people are funny, but some of their driving maneuvers are only funny on television.  They certainly are not funny when they put themselves and others at risk.

There is no limit to the crazy stunts people will pull.  It isn’t unusual for a person, having missed an exit ramp off the interstate to back up on the shoulder.  People sometimes pass on shoulders and even in the median.  Others get confused or overtired and enter the interstate headed the wrong way.  Many people fall asleep at the wheel.  Plenty of people are drunk or under the influence of drugs, especially in the late night/early morning hours.  Passengers in the vehicle often distract the driver, especially children and/or pets. 

Cell phones, while convenient, are notorious for causing crashes.  Commuters have the strange and dangerous habits of attempting to read, put on makeup or do any number of things while driving.  These things are bad enough, but I have not even mentioned those who speed much faster than the surrounding traffic, cut across multiple lanes and in general, display a serious case of road rage. 

In Summary.. A Few Tips

·    8After passing, return to the right lane as soon as possible, in order to avoid allowing any space to open on your right, where a motorist may jump in.

·        

Mai 8Maintain a large space cushion by readjusting your following distance.  Tailgating is extremely dangerous because if the person in front of you stops suddenly, chances are very good that you will not be able to.  As mentioned before, motorists often stop suddenly and do not take your size and weight into account.

·    8Train your eyes to always keep moving and to look as far in the distance as possible.  The faster your speed, the more important this is.

·    8Move a lane away when there is an emergency, law enforcement, or other vehicle on the shoulder.

DrivDriving in today’s hurried, crowded world is not easy and will not become any easier as our highways and cities become larger and even more crowded.  As a professional commercial driver, you will be held to a higher standard.  Your success and future income depends on keeping a clean, accident free CDL.  The actions of others may confound and irritate you, but as the professional, you must learn to deal with them and, to the best of your ability, to limit and control the effect such actions have upon you and your driving environment.