Over the weekend, I was a passenger in my wife’s car when I saw the following amazing sight, and reported it on Twitter:
Just saw a tractor-trailer do a U-turn at Gervais and Huger. Really. Brown Trucking Co. of Lithonia, Ga.
Seriously. We were several cars back from the light on Gervais, waiting to proceed eastward (with the McDonald’s on our right) and this truck, which was going the way we were, pulled out into the intersection, cut way left and swung across several lanes to turn all the way around within the intersection, and head back toward the bridge over the river. Cars converging on the intersection from four directions just froze — probably in amazement. He did it on the first try, which makes me think it wasn’t his first time.
And this got me to thinking of something. I got to thinking about how you seldom see truckers do really crazy stuff anymore.
I mean, compared to back in the ’70s, about the time of the CB radio craze. Back then, it was seemingly an outlaw culture. Driving on an interstate in a normal car (much less my Volkswagen Rabbit I had back then), was truly taking your life in your hands, with kamikaze behemoths hurtling down upon you at ungodly speeds.
If you saw a trucker doing less than 80 in those days, it meant he was climbing a steep grade and hadn’t gotten as much of a running start as he’d like.
It was SOP for truckers to bear down upon you from the rear (especially if you dared to get into the left lane to pass somebody), closing at speeds that would ensure that it was all over if you tapped your brakes. You had to veer out of their way the first chance you got; it was imperative to survival.
Then, suddenly, just a few years ago (I want to say it was the middle of the last decade), I noticed something — truckers were almost all driving at or below the speed limit. They were no longer aggressive, much less homicidal. Cars passed them, instead of the other way around. The interstate seemed much less dangerous than it had been.
Anybody else notice this? And does anyone know why it happened? Was it:
- Rising fuel prices, which made it imperative that they drive in a more economical fashion?
- Tougher enforcement? (If it was this, it happened in multiple states at once.)
- Those “How Safe is My Driving” signs with the phone numbers?
- A change in trucker culture, a maturation beyond the “Smoky and the Bandit” stage?
Or something else I’m not thinking of?
Theories are welcomed. Anyone who actually knows something from within the industry would be even more so.
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Black boxes, speed governors, GPS fleet tracking, better/tougher enforcement, more fleet drivers, less independents, higher speed limits (no double-nickel) and other factors all contributed.
Thanks, Silence! I had meant to mention speed governors among my theories, and forgot. A related thought was to wonder whether trucks just aren’t built for higher speeds any more…
Notice how, in that picture I linked to, Chester looks like a shrimp next to Matt Dillon. That’s because — I just looked it up — James Arness was 6’7″. Dennis Weaver was a comparatively diminutive 6’2″…
can’t watch the clip here, streaming media ist verboten, but I’ll watch tonight.
I think possibly the biggest single factor in trucker “compliance” is that speed limits are higher now, generally 65 or 70 instead of 55, so truckers, like most everyone else, can speed a little less.
Statistically fatalities peaked in 2005 when 95 persons were killed in crashes involving heavy trucks. This dropped steadily, probably because of the recession and resulting slowdown in trucks carrying goods, to 52 by 2010. Preliminary figures through November 30, 2011 indicate this has increased to at least 63 for 2011.
I got rear-ended a few years ago on Hwy 1 because a truck signaled to turn into the left-hand land and then immediately took a right-hand turn. I hit the brakes, the guy behind me didn’t. The trucker basically cut me off and never stopped. There are still a few idiots out there. A couple months ago a guy exitting I-26 at Hwy 1 never attempted to slow down as he merged onto Hwy 1. I followed him all the way to I-20 and he probably never got below 50 mph and was swerving in and out of traffic.
Addition: The trucker that cut me off, turned right from the left-hand lane.
Did you watch the Dennis Weaver clip? Wonderful paranoia movie, and since it came out in 1971, it was ahead of its time. Later, driving on the highways at anytime felt like you were Dennis Weaver… Go, Chester!
Since I see the bad behavior you describe on the remaining 2 lane sections of US 521 all the time, I think they must have just moved off the 4 lane interstates to the 2 lane roads. It must be less distracting to talk on cell phones on the 2 lanes. And, it’s just as easy to go 80 on 2 lanes as on 4.
Steven,
Trucks often have to swing left to turn right for a tight turn; which can be casued by the inside curb radius, vehicles in the cross lane, etc. If you had to hit your brakes hard, you were following too close to the truck.
I see my share of aggressive truckes, but I see far more cars and pickups darting around the trucks, especially entering the lane in front of the truck in heavy traffic. A truck can be 100,000 lbs. – they don’t stop on a dime and they aren’t nimble.
Truckers delivering locally will use the road where we live as a short-cut to I-20 or I-95. Sometimes, I can feel the breeze created when they are travelling too fast if I am in the yard. They destroy the paving and endanger the lives of the people who live in my area with their speeding. Local residents and farmers still use the road and if anyone has ever had to endure driving at a snail’s pace behind a tractor or combine knows what I am referring to.
Unfortunately, I still have to travel I-95 and I-20 more than I like and for the most part, truckers do seem to be more considerate than in the past. Maybe some of the old “Smokey and the Bandit” types have retired and and a new generation has taken over. And, it is a new lifestyle for a lot of married couples who are empty-nesters. They travel and earn a living at the same time. Most of the ones who do this are a lot more considerate and careful when driving.
@Mark, in Steven’s defense, he did NOT hit the truck, but he was hit from behind. Whatever distance he was following was sufficient for him to stop. It’s the person BEHIND him who was at fault, and clearly following too closely. A rear-end collision is ALWAYS the fault of the person trailing the lead car. One has to always assume that a car in front of you might have to brake instantaneously.
This phenomenon is sadly illustrated day after day on Blossom between Main and Pickens.
Phillip, true, except in my example above. Cut in front of a heavier vehicle and then brake hard and one is likely to be run over from behind. It may be the following vehicles legal fault; but the stupidity lies elsewhere.
I once sent a Prius sliding like a hockey puck that way once. Energy translated into momentum. The Prius was little damaged, surprisingly.
@Phillip–and on down to Henderson, as well. We hardly even notice any more when the screech of brakes is followed by a crunch.
We try to approach from Greene whenever practical, but now that the students have their own pedestrian only cycle at Pickens and Greene, plus they cross on the green, and there’s no turn on red (or green, due to the pedestrians…)
Of course, one would have to look up from the phone to see a car stopping ahead.
@Mark – I understand, but if you’re driving a truck, do you turn into the left-hand lane only to turn right and cut off the people in the right-hand lane without signaling?
For all I knew he signaled and turned into the left lane and planned on staying there. How was I to know he was going to turn right as soon as he finished changing lanes? I was not following too close, I was driving in the right-hand lane at the posted speed limit.
@Mark – “Phillip, true, except in my example above. Cut in front of a heavier vehicle and then brake hard and one is likely to be run over from behind. It may be the following vehicles legal fault; but the stupidity lies elsewhere.”
Who was trying to cut around the truck? I was just off his rear bumper no closer than he was when he was in my lane. But you tend to hit the brakes hard when you’re suddenly staring at the side of a tanker trailer sideways in your lane.
BTW Mark – Even the guy who hit me said the truck cut me off. Make a right-hand turn from a left-hand lane on a 4 lane road isn’t exactly legal or smart. If I had hit him broadside, who would have gotten a ticket and who would have likely been the one killed?
Trucks almost always swing wide to make a right handed turn. There’s frequently not enough room in the intersection for them to go from the right lane without taking out curbs, lightposts, or whatnot. He should have signaled a right, though.
Or looked in his passenger side mirror to see who’s about to run over.
Steven,
I didn’t say you were passing the truck; my example was something else. But the jig is up; you just said you were driving “just off his rear bumper no closer than when he was in my lane”. We all have a responsibility to allow for proper following distances – that’s defensive driving. Maybe you were so close that you didn’t see him signal the right turn after signaling the left movement? Trucks do that, but passenger vehicles just never seem to pay attention after the first glance; people don’t get that trucks are different – and dangerous.
I’ve only driven gooseneck trailers with GCVWR’s below 26,000 lbs. Even with a relatively short 30′ trailer there have been a number of times when I wished that trailers have flashing yellow lights on all four sides so I could warn everyone not paying attention that a crazy Ivan move was about to happen – out of necessity. It is a whole different world to drive a gooseneck, fifth wheel, or tractor-trailer where the trailer wheels do not follow the truck’s turn radius.
“Crazy Ivan” is right. That’s a very good analogy for the maneuver. For those of you not up on you Tom Clancy, here’s the meaning of the reference…
Dang it! I couldn’t find a good, concise definition.
Basically, it’s a Russian submarine maneuver. The sub makes a sudden turn to find out whether an enemy sub is behind it, hiding in its baffles (the “baffles” being the disturbance in the water created by the sub’s screws, making it difficult to detect what is behind it with passive sonar).
The danger is that if you ARE the American sub sneaking along behind the Russian, you could run into it before you can stop, when it performs this maneuver.
There complete a.holesand a.wipes I had one of their dumb ass drivers back into my truck while I was parked ok and walk away like it wasn’t no big deal I took pics I’m gona. Send them in come Monday…