Why do people drive next to big trucks if theyre scared of them?

Question

as a trucker one thing i cant stand is when people cruise along side of me . specially the ones who are scared by the size of the truck and constantly watching the wheels to make sure its not in their lane . you would think common sense would kick in . either slow up or speed up . its not the fact people are passing you . but anyone who is scared of a big truck and spend their time cruising next to a truck is a safety hazard. i may have someone coming off a freeway ramp merging into traffic or someone on the shoulder of the highway or freeway . you think if a trucker had a chance to go head up with someone or push someone off the highway he would choose pushing the person off the highway ,which happens to either be that individual who either scared of the truck or just the one who doesnt care who cocky and ignores the truckers blinker. i know there are some rude truckers on the road ,but theyre are rude motorist rather its a car or truck be smart and use common sense.

Answer 1

These people lack the knowledge of safe driving and know little about the rules of the road plus dont understand just what can really happen..

Answer 2

It's actually normal human behavior -- when in doubt or when intimidated, confused, scared -- folks hesitate, hold back, become what they think is overly "careful." Which in most cases, like driving, is the absolute WRONG thing to do.

One problem with this is that it becomes difficult if not impossible to tell what the nervous driver is going to do next! Is s/he going to slow down, speed up, move over, puke, what? I have to remind my wife about this constantly, that one of the "tricks" to driving safely is doing what the other guy expects you to do... hesitation screws that all up.

Answer 3

I've been in trucks and the driver stated that do to the driver of cars that it made it harder on him because do you know what those trucks can do to a car if you get involve in a crash with them not to say what can happen to the truck driver if they try to get out of the way of the car make a rude move.Be a safer driver in a car and give those rigs some space is a good idea.

Answer 4

I drive a small car (Toyota Corolla). On the highway I try to avoid traveling right beside the big trucks as much as possible. I'm not scared of big trucks but it does make me nervous to travel right beside them because I know they can't see me. What does tend to frighten me though is the local metro bus because I've seen more than one accident where they actually ran over the car directly ahead of them.

If I'm going to pass a truck I don't re-enter the lane until I can see both truck headlights in my rear view mirror.

Most of the truckers I've been around seem to be pretty decent drivers. ...but there are the few who can't stay in one lane longer than 5 seconds. ...and the very rare psycho driver.

Five years ago I had a rather terrifying experience with a psycho truck driver. I was on my way to work (westbound) in the morning, traveling in the right lane. At that time I owned a Volvo 240 sedan. There were no other vehicles around me other than one big truck about 1/4 mile behind me, closing a little on the fast side. It wasn't long before he was riding my bumper. He finally decided that 70mph was too slow so he changed lanes and started traveling right beside me in the left lane, matching my speed. The cab of the truck had a window in the door. I don't know why I did it but I looked. The only thing I saw was the barrel of a shotgun pointed right at me. Naturally that freaked me out so I hit the brakes to slow the car down. VERY bad idea. When the trucker noticed me slowing down he immediately started moving over into my lane trying to crush me against the concrete wall of the bridge. When I saw that happening I mashed the brakes as hard as I could while moving over to the shoulder. I figured that was my only chance of survival. The car came to a complete stop at the same time the back right side of the trailer came within an inch or two of running over my car. At that point the car was less than 4 inches from the concrete wall. After that happened I just sat there on the shoulder shaking like a leaf for several minutes.

Answer 5

I've wondered that myself when I drove truck. Those drivers don't realize just how much damage could occur to their vehicle & how seriously they could be injured if the trailer or rig blows a tire or throws a cap at highway speed.

They can't see what's happening on the right side of the rig most of the time running beside the left side of the rig, unless they hang out closer to the trailer & can see under the trailer. And if that is the case, then they are more than likely to be in the drivers blindspot & risk getting hit, ran over or ran off the road if the semi has a vehicle coming on the highway & doesn't yield @ the end of the ramp & the rig has to change lanes & is unaware that a smaller vehicle is in his blindspot.

Other than the professionals operating those big rigs, most do not realize that the blindspot on the right side of the rig is large enough to hide a decent sized 2 story house in it.

A few states have incorporated in their drivers handbooks a section on safely sharing the road with a commercial vehicle. It would be great if all 50 states would adopt that policy.

Answer 6

Well, I don't do it and my wife doesn't do it. Neither of us likes the experience. It's not that we're paranoid, just see too many roadhogs in giant vehicles.   I appreciate that you're concerned for safety and not one of the road hogs who plague us. Unfortunately, there are too many in both cars and trucks.

The big difference is that most of us are not driving freight cars on wheels with a small locomotive. What I have to respect is that an abusive 18-wheeler can kill me and the people with me with a lot less trouble than a car. Size matters. But it seems that in our area, there are also far too many people coming on two lane roads who cross the line.

Our problem is that a huge percentage of the trucks are continually crossing the line. To the point of causing a collision if there's no where to go. That's especially true when there are two semis side by side on a divided six late highway.

Too many times you're caught in a box where you're trapped there. That's even more unpleasant from a car drivers side. And depending on the truck, it can damage your ear drums.

There is the other trap of being a car driver who doesn't want to be targeted for a speeding ticket for getting past a truck.

The relatively few seriously bad drivers in Trucks can drive people crazy. I have a sports car as a secondary driver. I've driven it twice the length of the Jersey turnpike and the noise is enough to kill you - and truck drivers treat small cars the same way many of us treat bikes.  The other problem is the all too frequent cowboys in trucks, deadheading back. Their tactics are so aggressive as to constitute a threat to life in the legal sense.

If you want a really bad example in the same area, the stretch of expressway from the Jersey turnpike to Harrisburg and then I-81 south. There are times when you're trying to get through but you're blocked by a truck in the left lane alongside or too close to another truck.

Which brings up one of my pet peeves about trucks What is it that makes it so difficult for trucks to comply with the "No trucks in left lane" signs. I understand that there are sometimes rules that make little sense to truckers, but that one is the law.

One of the things I'd like to see is a clear marking on the trailer that anyone can read at 60 mph so they can identify it for a complaint. There are offenses by drivers generally that are just bad news. But when a trucker forgets he's driving something that size. (and what about badly secured loads.

What is it about the Hutchinson parkway in NY and the Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways in Connecticut don't allow trucks or commercial vehicles. I got stopped in a pickup because some of the load could be seen. But there are very large signs that warn "NO TRUCKS" and "Low Clearances"

With some regularity, an 18 wheeler ignores the signs and heads notheast only to discover the signs are there for a reason. There really isn't enough clearance. So you seem trucks with the roofs sliced off along with that of the trailer. The effect depends, but it's never good. But usually it involves a load scattered across the Road.

I suppose what I really don't like is that no one seems interested in making this easier for both us and the trucks. Most traffic enforcement seems aimed at revenue more than safety.

As on the I-78 I-81 run, my guess is that 95 percent of the truckers are cool. It's those other b****ds that cause trouble.