A truckers perspective

I went to a gathering at  a neighbors over the weekend and spent some time talking with a “long-haul trucker”.  I found out that as much as us “car jockeys” complain about truckers….the truckers have just as many, if not more, complaints about us.

One of the biggest complaints I heard about was how a car will start to pass, then just dart in front of them to get back in the right lane and then slow down. The other big one was the effects of distracted driving by cars.  Eating, drinking, texting, talking on the phone, putting on makeup, etc.. cause drivers to weave or not to maintain a steady speed.  This too causes truckers to adjust their speed down, then throttle back up to get to a cruising speed.  While it doesn’t sound like much, truckers are very concerned about keeping fuel economy maximized and each time they have to throttle down and then back up, causes a “waste” of fuel.

All truckers go through some sort of annual driver safety training and are for the most part, very safe drivers.  Their main issue is not the weather, or the roads, its sharing the road with “car jockey’s”.   “Why shouldn’t all drivers go through some sort of driving safety school on regular intervals?”  I sort of agree.  For most of us the only time we get any sort of refresher course is when we get a ticket and the court mandates some sort of defensive driving course.  Sure, this is for ticket dismissal and seems like some sort of necessary evil to go through along with our fines, but would it make sense to at least have to take a defensive driving course when we renew our license every few years?

Next time you’re out on the highway, think about the trucker and what they’re controlling.  100,000 pounds of vehicle versus your 5000 pound car.  Give them room.  Stay out of their blind spots and be patient with them.  They’ve got a lot more to control than you do.