Between The Lines Please

I try not to complain about my fellow drivers but sometimes speaking out is necessary.

I have noticed and experienced more trucks drifting out of their lane while either being passed or passing lately. Just the other night I was passing a KLLM and he suddenly crossed over into my lane forcing me to the inside shoulder. Luckily, there was plenty of room for me to safely run it long enough to get separation from him. If this had happened just a few miles up the road where there was construction going on, the outcome would have been horrific. He was obviously too sleepy to be driving. After I got by him and entered the construction zone he was directly behind me. I watched him drift back and forth (I sped through the zone to get way ahead of him) until he fell out of sight.

That is one of many lane incursions I have witnessed lately. Isn't it bad enough that we have to treat every four wheeler as if they are going to do something stupid forcing us to be extremely vigilant around them? Going down the road with other big rigs should not be a concern... But now it is.

Please, if you are tired, pull over and take a power nap or get out and stretch or whatever to wake yourself up. Stay off the phone unless you can safely talk hands free. We are supposed to be professional drivers who take a higher stock in our own and others lives while on the road. Every decision we make while rolling should begin with a heavy emphasis on safety.

Crashing in one of these has very real and serious consequences for ourselves and any unfortunate soul who may unnecessarily be taken away from loved ones. I view every four wheeler as if there is an innocent child in it and I see every big rig as being driven by a father or mother with little kids at home who would be devastated if they lost them. I started thinking this way in the beginning and now I instincively react to any possible hazard with these thoughts guiding me. I just wish everyone else did as well.

Thanks for reading this and be safe.

Yeah I've encountered this several times. When I was with my trainer a driver was pushing us into the shoulder, trainer blew airhorn at guy and he didn't go back into lane. Then I saw a guy falling asleep on 80 one night, he was all over the road , swerving so bad I could see the whole side of truck and trailer. Also saw a kid driving for swift drifting onto shoulder repeatedly as I passed him he was playing with his radio. Then on 44 in mo a guy was passing me holding his cell phone up in his line of sight, probably on Facebook. I thought he was an idiot until he started drifting toward me forcing me to shoulder until I layed on the air horn. I ended up catching his company name and grabbed a trailer number and messaged the company about their driver being more concerned about his phone than driving. Prime equips their truck with lane mitigation systems that make noise if you start getting close to the edge of your lane, it can be annoying but I also think it could serve a good purpose if manufacturers started including it in their trucks.

Prime equips their truck with lane mitigation systems that make noise if you start getting close to the edge of your lane, it can be annoying but I also think it could serve a good purpose if manufacturers started including it in their trucks.

I don't know about in a big rig, but that system is definitely freakin' annoying in a minivan. Mom's new Odyssey has one, and it only took me about 5 minutes on the interstate to figure out how to turn the dang thing off because it kept beeping when I went to change lanes.

It can be very annoying. Especially if they have the sensitivity set too high from the factory and it's jamming up the brakes about to throw you through the dash because a bridge cast a shadow lol.

The brakes have to do with the meritor/Bendix radar system. On the trucks the lane mitigation system goes off if you get within a few inches of the line. As far as lane changes the blinker overrides the system, which you should be signaling anyways so that's not an issue

I get the "usefulness" of the technology, but, we should not need it. We should be driving the truck and alert to our surroundings while the wheels are turning. Ask a pilot and if they prefer to be hands on the controls or let a computer fly the plane. My guess is the answer would be there is no substitute for the human yet.

We just have to be better drivers.

I get the "usefulness" of the technology, but, we should not need it. We should be driving the truck and alert to our surroundings while the wheels are turning. Ask a pilot and if they prefer to be hands on the controls or let a computer fly the plane. My guess is the answer would be there is no substitute for the human yet.

We just have to be better drivers.

I agree with you that technology can not replace that humans can do. But as a pilot I can tell you we use technology to reduce our workload not to replace us. You turn the auto pilot on when flying in route, so you can look out for other aircraft. Check maps, and approach plates. But you don't fly with it on when you're in the ice. The autopilot has no idea when you get ice on your controls, it just keeps changing the configuration of the aircraft until you stall. I find the technology in trucks useful to some extent. I don't see the auto brake systems in the trucks helping me. If I am too tired to notice that I am over taking a car then I should have pulled over and taken a nap or pulled in some wear to take my 10. The lane control system, again if I am too tired, should have got a nap or a 10. The GPS and elogs are very useful tools but that's it. They're just tools. My map book is a tool, as well as my truck stop book and my note book of safe places to park to get some rest. All tools are only as good as the person using them. I tell my students there is a diseases, that kills thousand of people a year it's called "get there itis". It's when a person just had to get somewhere, and try to push through the tiredness, being sick, or just driving outside of their skills, such as coming across the 80 in Wyoming with the 3 sisters iced up in 45 mph cross winds. There are times we just need to stop. And only the person sitting in the left seat knows when it's time. But all too often we think we're safe when we are not.

Sorry for the rant just had to respond. The polywog.

Not a rant murderspolywog. Getting input is always helpful and it puts the post back up top so more eyes can see it... Which hopefully will mean more drivers will think about it out there.

Rolling thunder, you used the word "should". I agree with the concept that all drivers SHOULD be safe and attentive to their situation. "Should" also implies some aren't. But there's no way to tell who the "aren't"s are.

Can you state here, in front of your peers, that you have never accidentally rolled onto that rumble or buzz strip?

Going down the road with other big rigs should not be a concern... But now it is

Oh it always has been.

Can you state here, in front of your peers, that you have never accidentally rolled onto that rumble or buzz strip?

I was gonna say those rumble strips are 1000 times more effective than any electronic safety device I've been stuck with in a truck. I noticed when they were doing road construction the other day that they were actually putting rumble strips on the yellow center line on some two lane roads out here where I live. In the country the big problem is that people cross the centerline on two lane roads. New York State has had rumble strips along the shoulder line on Interstates for quite some time but putting them on the centerline of two lane roads is going to save a lot of lives. I think rumble strips have already saved a ton of lives over the years and I hope they will put them on the centerlines more often.

As a slight tangent to this topic, I saw an interview yesterday from one of the engineers on Google's autonomous car team and he said these cars will be ready for prime time far sooner than most people would imagine. He said his son is 11 1/2 years old and in 4 1/2 years he is supposed to go for his driver's license. The engineer said, "I'm hoping he won't have to bother getting a driver's license. I'm hoping he'll be in a self-driving car."

I'm pretty comfortable saying there are plenty of people on the highways that should be in self-driving cars in the name of safety for the rest of us.