Saturday, May 6, 2017

SHARE THE ROAD - YOU BUTTNUGGET!

My last post was sort of a split between a rant about the lack of respect the industry as a whole has, and the lack of respect for trucks and drivers, and the fact that a man doing his job, made a mistake and killed a woman just trying to get home after her job.

Sorry for the inconsistency, but that's what happens when you have to pause in the middle of writing and try to come back to it. Your train of thought is interrupted and the words don't exactly flow together.

As driver's we are held to a higher standard than the rest of the motoring public, but we are also regulated and targeted by law enforcement and government entities who ensure that same public safety. I'm sorry, but aren't I also part of the motoring public?

Drivers are singled out, but the statistics are that less than 7% of all accidents actually involve trucks. The trucks that are involved in accidents are often blamed because the damage when 80,000 pounds goes wrong is devastating and dramatic. Lives are lost more often in a truck-involved crash and usually, it's the 4-wheeler who gets the bad end of that stick.

The prevalence of dash-mounted cameras are also providing some even more disturbing statistics. Drivers of 4-wheelers are often the cause of a truck-related crash. They zoom across a lane for an exit or stomp their brakes in front of a semi, and run off down the road. Most of the time these drivers are unaware of the havoc they just created for the entire highway behind them.

The dash-mounted cameras are being used as evidence that something happened in front of the truck that caused the driver to react, sometimes with disastrous consequences, and other times with just a close call. But the fact remains, when something goes wrong, that truck is going to cause a much larger impact than a car. The difference is that cars just don't win that game of chicken. Lives are lost and the trucker's career is over.

I will not say that drivers of big rigs are perfect. Far from it. We're human beings. No one is perfect. I've experienced days when I can't park straight, much less actually stay between the lines. Fatigue is a huge aspect of the job. Working 14 + hours and then trying to park a 73' vehicle that bends and twists in the middle is not fun. I will often bypass difficult spaces when I'm tired because I'm worried that I will hit something. I'm just that tired.

I experienced recently an incident where the lane I was in was going to go straight but the exit I needed opened into 2 lanes going into the exit. I hit the blinker as soon as the opening for the exit branched off. This was about 1/2 mile before I lost my lane completely. The cars were behind me. They started branching into the next lane but refused to move to the far lane to let me in. Then they began edging into my trailer space.

I have my blinker on, I'm losing my lane, and they have an extra lane to allow exiting traffic to go into. But no, they have to hold the lane and encroach on my trailer knowing that I'm trying to get over there. I don't want the whole road. I just want to do my job. My job is to put on my blinker and give you in the car the opportunity to do the right thing.

I began nudging the line to indicate that I really needed that lane, and in my mirror I see the closest driver pull out a cell phone and point the camera at my truck. Really? Hey, Buttnugget! You just completely ignored the legally mandated blinker, the road splitting, and the empty right lane next to you and now you decide I'm being unruly? Inconsiderate asswipe.

Inconsideration on the road is becoming my biggest pet peeve. Follow the law, pay attention to the traffic around you, allow space for your fellow drivers to maneuver, and for the love of Pete put your cell phone away.

I try, every single day, to allow other drivers to maneuver around me. I brake to allow someone signaling to enter my lane. I brake to allow a faster vehicle to pass more quickly. I brake to keep distance between myself and the drivers who aren't paying attention. I move out of your way as much as I am allowed. And still, you have to be all that.

Well, you're not all that. You are one of the millions of cars and trucks on the road. Share it!

Thanks

Renae - The Truck Driving Woman

No comments:

Post a Comment