Truck Drivers and Driving
On my drive into work this morning I fell in behind a semi traveling on the interstate at about 50 miles per hour. This may seem unimportant, at it probably is, especially since I have a car that will pull around and drive considerably faster than a semi is apt to go. So, I waited until it was safe to pull into a passing lane, accelerated, and flew past the semi with a spray of water and several very colorful words at the back of my mind. As I did this, I remembered something that hasn?t resurfaced in a few years: truck drivers swear at four wheels because of their stupid moves.
I drove semis a few years ago. Most people that know me know that. It?s nothing I?ve hidden, and at times, something I make sure most people hear. That is one fact that seems to put people at odds with their beliefs or preconceived notions about me.
However, when driving semis you live in a world of diesel and grease and the people you encounter aren?t always the most ? illuminated in the world. They are not exactly intelligent people and do what they do because they could pass the tests and because someone, somewhere, was going to offer them a job. If you are to believe the TV and radio ads, billboards, word of mouth, signs on the back of semi trailers, truck drivers in general, and the federal government, there is a severe shortage of truck drivers on the road.
While driving semis I heard, a lot, about four wheels (if you drive a car you are a four wheel) and how poorly they drove. There is a lot of truth to this because most people don?t take into consideration the stopping distance for a fully loaded semi. It?s a lot farther than for a car. People don?t pay attention to where they are in conjunction to the semi and get mad when a driver doesn?t pay attention to them.
There is this built in antagonism between truck drivers and your every day, run of the mill, automobile driver. They don?t get along and they aren?t supposed to. The responsibilities are radically different. And yet, truck drivers always get mad at four wheels for the stupid antics that they play when driving around semis.
As I was driving to the bus stop this morning this occurred to me. I fell in behind the semi because the exit was coming up. What I didn?t realize was how slow the driver was going and when I decided that driving 50 MPH was not what I wanted to be doing, I pulled around him. The way I did it, very quickly and relatively close, suggested to me that he was probably swearing up a storm to embarrass a sailor in a brothel in Singapore, because of what I did. Technically, I didn?t do anything wrong. The truck driver isn?t going to see it that way.
The notion that truck drivers are better drivers than everyone else is rather fallacious. It?s not true. Yes, they have more training. But, that training is designed to function in an environment where they have a pivot point on their vehicle and to allow them to safely slow or stop it in inclement weather. Anyone can learn the same techniques of a truck driver. They?re not hard.
One ?trick? of the trade is how you watch the road. Instead of driving defensively, the truck driver will watch the road as far ahead as he can and will, mostly subconsciously, adjust the speed and driving to account for the conditions and traffic. You don?t get into accidents when you have slowed down considerably before you ever hit congestion. If you are watching at least a half mile down the road, or as far as you can see, and not the road directly in front of your vehicle, you do drive better.
Most people don?t learn this, ever. A small car functions differently than a big semi. You can correct the swerving and driving mistakes far more efficiently. This leaves the regular driver with the impression that he is actually a good driver. There are very few good drivers. Truck drivers included.
It is my opinion that most people are just really lucky. They don?t get into accidents because they were the cause of the devastation behind them, because the God?s are shining down upon them, because they didn?t have to drive defensively, because they were lucky, that time. Everyone has driven with someone who has never been in an accident and never had a ticket and you wonder, ?Why the hell not?? That person is absolutely horrible when it comes to driving and the road. You can almost hear the destruction of vehicles, the crunch of metal, and breaking glass behind them. Many drivers really suck at driving.
There are actually many rules that, when watching people drive, are never followed. This is kind of sad. You get complacent and then things happen. However, as I drove to the bus stop this morning, and pretty much knew the truck driver was swearing at me for the speed, the way, I drove, I couldn?t help but laugh and wonder what kind of a driver he really is. Granted, the weather was slightly inclement. It was raining this morning and had been most of the night, but the weather wasn?t sufficient to justify the speed and the driver didn?t leave the interstate at the next exit.
People are going to drive however they feel they want to or should. Many are going to live under the misapprehension that they are good drivers. Most are probably wrong. Truck drivers are not excluded from this.