In praise of Truckies

Peter Ward · #1 22-12-2009, 07:49 PM

While there are a few cowboys out there, I have to take my hat off the the humble big rig driver.

The reason? I just drove a (not so big) truck 900km from Sydney to Wagga and back...and was amazed how dopey some car drivers were.

1) if you are not in a truck's mirrors, he/she can't see you.

2) if a truck indicates, it is probably going to change lanes in the direction of the indicators.

3) it is not a good time to overtake/undertake a truck when it does indicate

4) pulling infront of a truck at the last second before a red light is a little suicidal.

5) don't go the wrong way down a one way service lane and expect a truck to back up for you.

BTW went through several speed traps along the Hume. Thankfully my rig was flat out doing 100km/hr

Bassnut (Fred) · #2 22-12-2009, 07:53 PM

Well, OK, but that begs the question why a plane driver is driving a truck

PeterM · #3 22-12-2009, 08:08 PM

Delivering lots of Paramounts for Christmas?

PeterM.

mswhin63 (Malcolm) · #4 22-12-2009, 09:04 PM

Hi Peter,

There are a few good truck drivers out there and I too have a articulated low load license as well but unfortunately the are some horrible rogue trucks out there.

One of the worst is tailgaters, and I am afraid I detest those drivers.

Lately at least in WA I becoming increasingly disatified with the drivers here especially on the freeway who like to drive like a car weaving in and out of lanes during peak hour.

I admit there are pretty stupid car drivers out there as well.

Peter Ward · #5 22-12-2009, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassnut

Well, OK, but that begs the question why a plane driver is driving a truck

Well, I needed to move...not paramounts, but a houseload of furniture back to Sydney

Frankly, wouldn't be a professional truckie for quids....too many loonies on the roads.

I found the large rig drivers to be very courteous. It was the car drivers who drove me nuts....and there seemed to be a distance equation, being the closer you got to the Sydney metro area, the more erratic the car driver behaviour

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #6 22-12-2009, 09:35 PM

Trucks......Mobile Brick Walls
They need room to move and room to stop.
Can't believe how many people don't give them the elbow room they need.
And yes, there are some truckies out there who shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel, but the majority are out there to do a job, safely.

Gallifreyboy · #7 22-12-2009, 09:44 PM

Jeremy Clarkson would be pleased with this thread

AlexN · #8 22-12-2009, 09:51 PM

I get that all the time driving the work truck, people sitting right up your rear, then go to undertake you as soon as you indicate to move over for them, people pulling in front of you coming up to a red light, not only is it suicidal for the driver of the car, but you damn near have a heart attack when you're trying to pull up 20t worth of truck and you're rapidly running out of room..

Shame it wasn't a truck load of PME's and SBIG cameras !

Davros (Lauren) · #9 22-12-2009, 10:40 PM

Not a fan, trucks and cars shouldnt share the same roads as neither can play nice with each other. Freight movement by train is a much more cost effective exercise for interstate.

DavidU (Dave) · #10 22-12-2009, 10:49 PM

My wife has a truck licence.

AlexN · #11 22-12-2009, 11:09 PM

Thank god you live in Victoria Dave... Last thing I want on my roads is a FEMALE in control of a Truck!!

Teeheehee - I kid I kid... but seriously.

bloodhound31 · #12 23-12-2009, 12:28 AM

Having driven heavy vehicles for over two decades, I've seen a bit. Trucks often have a lot of gears, especially air over hydraulic split-shift. One often has to go through around 16 gears to get up to speed, then back down again. Combine this with twenty tonnes of cargo that has to be treated carefully and is very hard to get any momentum out of and even harder to stop. Center of gravity is an issue and top heavy loads are extremely dicey when cornering and stopping. Width is an issue with my most heart pounding trip being a 20 tonne Army Tadano Crane I was ordered to drive down Sydney's Broadway. The Crane and it's stabilisers were wider than the lane by two feet.

Going downhill in some of these trucks, particularly speed-limited trucks is paramount in getting up the momentum to get up the next hill, so it's a little annoying when a zippy and very capable car, stuffs around in front of you and reduces you to changing down all those gears again and stuck at 15km an hour until the next downhill. When you are driving between states it can change you a few shades of purple.

Baz.

Jen · #13 23-12-2009, 12:33 AM

Yep my hubby is a truckie and has been for 20 years now he is one of the considerate drivers that does think of other road users
Yes he has seem some idiot drivers in his time i can tell you
It all comes down to age and maturity i think

rat156 · #14 23-12-2009, 12:47 AM

Well, I have to have my say here.

NONE of the considerate truckies EVER drive on the Westgate Freeway between 8am and 9am on weekdays.

Stupid things trucks do to me virtually every morning...

Try to overtake me in the emergency stopping lane because the traffic has stopped ahead and I'm leaving a gap in front of the car
Sit so close to the rear bumper that I can only see the grill in my mirrors, again because the traffic has stopped ahead
Drive in ALL lanes of the freeway, effectively blocking traffic, particularly on the long slow ride up the bridge
Pull into the lane next to me, overtake me and then pull in in front of me in peak hour, I hope that they enjoy the 5 meters they have gained and the 5ms they've taken off the trip, that goes for cars as well
Be on a major arterial road at that time of the morning, big transport companies must be run by idiots to allow their drivers and trucks to sit for close to an hour to do maybe 20 km. Leave two hours earlier and enjoy a break at the destination or start an hour later, you'll arrive at the destination maybe half an hour later.

I could go on, but it'd take all night.

Yes, car drivers do the same things as well, but truckies are supposed to be professionals. If you want to see professional, courteous truck drivers go to Europe and observe the way they drive on major roads.

Cheers
Stuart

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #15 23-12-2009, 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexN

Thank god you live in Victoria Dave... Last thing I want on my roads is a FEMALE in control of a Truck!!

Teeheehee - I kid I kid... but seriously.

Ahem......
No more chocolate brownies for you my boy.

multiweb (Marc) · #16 23-12-2009, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rat156

If you want to see professional, courteous truck drivers go to Europe and observe the way they drive on major roads.

yeah right.

GrahamL · #17 23-12-2009, 06:57 AM

"Do not overtake turning vehicle ".. ballina being roundabout capital of the world often catches a few out .. quite regularly you will come across a car puched on the middle of the roudabout because its tried to sneak past a turning truck.

Truck drivers are always pretty responible drivers I've found ,though
I did come across one a couple of years back that was straight out that movie Duel, he just didn't want others on the road with him, tried to pass him on the crest of a hill and he through the cab into my lane pushing me onto the other side of the hwy , If something had came over the hill right then I'd of been stuffed.

supernova1965 (Warren) · #18 23-12-2009, 07:26 AM

While I do agree that there are very good Truckies and appreciate that they are needed and have a tough job to do. I do have to say that when you come across a bad one it does tend to make you forget all the good ones because they are just so big and scary one of the many bad ones I have come across happened only a month ago. My wife is currently getting her license and is on a learners and she was driving on the highway and were in an overtaking section keeping to the left and doing the speed limit until we saw a pilot car coming towards us with warnings about line marking ahead as our lane was ending meaning we had to merge and that lane was full of the lane marking truck we had to slow down there was nowhere to stop except on the road. There was a embankment on our left with maybe 1 meter of room before it. Well this big SEMI decided he would not stop but put his truck right in the same space on the road we occupied now remember the Line marking truck was driving with the center line down the middle of his truck leaving no room for us the SEMI and the line marking truck. Now my wife had only been driving for 1 month the car was clearly marked with learner stickers and I have to say she was really becoming a very good driver. Well I am sitting in the passenger seat trying to decide what to do its difficult from the passenger seat to make emergency life saving decisions so I called for my wife to make an emergency stop and pull over as far as she could to the left all this happened in a very short amount of time the SEMI was just following us to closely remember we were traveling at the speed limit of 100 going up hill and round a right hand bend. This SEMI just managed to get between us after our emergency stop and the lane marker which I would be surprise if he didn't leave some paint behind if we hadn't made the stop we did we would have been shoved by that SEMI into the embankment and wouldn't be telling this story now.

stephenb (Stephen) · #19 23-12-2009, 07:41 AM

I also do a lot of driving, and I see more bad car drivers than truck drivers.

I always consider trucks and how much room they require to turn or brake in traffic.

Regarding car drivers, yes some of the young male P platers are the hoons on the roads but I have lost count of young female drivers who take on their mobile phone whilst driving and speeding.

My problem is I follow all the speed limits, indicate correctly, use the left lane unless overtaking etc. I must be in the minority these days.

kinetic (Steve) · #20 23-12-2009, 07:41 AM

My wife had a truck change into her left lane once.
He sideswiped her and pushed her off the road before he
had even realised she was there. Datsun Sunny Vs B Double.
She mounted the kerb, missed a stobie pole by millimetres
and ended in a vacant block that might have been a house.

Truckie got out, asked if she was ok. Her entire drivers side
was mangled and driver's door wouldn't open.
She was hysterical and took ages to calm down. He was all
apologetic and tried to help her out. He left all of his details.
Truck driver got back in his cab, drove off and was interstate
within the hour.
Between him and his boss they changed their story and said
it was my wifes fault. We couldn't use their insurance.