Why do truck drivers pass eachother on the highway?

[klogaroth]

Just wait for the fun days of being stuck behind a truck with Google ads on the back driving itself whilst your car drives itself.

[Tijuana]

Where I live all along the highway trucks are not allowed in the passing/left lane they will get pulled over if a cop sees them. They really need to stop driving these behemoth vehicles so fast anyways. If you're an impatient person probably don't sign up to be a truck driver

I mean it could also be they are trying to make more money. Don't confuse truck driver habits with your personal driving habits. They are at work, not just tooling around for fun or whatever.

[Alvito]

Many only have 2 lanes.

Yes, it is damn annoying being unable to overtake for ages because of a truck wanting to arrive 10 seconds faster than the other truck.

When you are driving for hours that speed adds up.

[Tijuana]

Honestly, I can't wait for affordable driverless vehicles.

Never. I'll never let a car drive for me because I'll never own a car that isn't fun to drive.

[klogaroth]

Honestly, I can't wait for affordable driverless vehicles.

We'll be able to post on MMO-C with car thoughts as they happen.

Oh the shitposting that could produce.

[Dug]

I mean it could also be they are trying to make more money. Don't confuse truck driver habits with your personal driving habits. They are at work, not just tooling around for fun or whatever.

That's not an excuse for driving over the speed limit or trying to pass people driving the speed limit because you're running late/trying to make it faster to "get more money". I can excuse wanting to pass somebody deliberately driving under the speed limit but in my experience half the time they're just driving over the limit and being assholes in their giant steel deathtraps of a vehicle.

And if its against the law for you to use the passing lane as a truck driver you should follow it. Or don't and suffer whatever consequences happen. I can assure you getting pulled over will fuck your time more than just being stuck behind somebody

[monkmastaeq]

the real takeaway i got from this was that your highways are 130 kph , wth ours are mostly 100-110.

[endlesswaltz]

not sure if this is entirely true but during my trip in Germany i found out that all the lorry's have to stay in the far right lane. and its common courtesy to merge lanes if you notice a car speeding up behind you, unlike in California where it seems the other way around.

nonetheless once you drive in Tijuana or other low income places in Mexico you are prepared for any road. literally have to drive with no concern for others safety lol, fun, but nerve wrecking

[petej0]

Pretty much this. Every truck driver I've ran into was an obnoxious person. I don't know if it's that trade that attracts such people or is it the work that makes them so, but facts speak for themselves.

I dont think all are like this. I drive a lot. I drive on highways A LOT. There are some real idiot drivers out there and I am not talking truckers. They will see a trucker attempt to move over into the left lane (to give space for someone who happens to be pulled to the side of the road) and immediately close that space so the trucker cant move over. In my area we have a lot of warehouse distribution centers (Home Depot, Amazon, ULine, Wal-Mart ) so there is a lot of truck traffic, I ALWAYS see idiots in car cut off a Semi to get off at exits. Its literally a daily thing. If a Semi passes another vehicle in the left lane, before that semi is able to move back into the right lane a person will cut over into the right lane to then pass that semi which then causes more people to do the same. Before you know it the semi is kinda stuck in the left lane because everyone is passing him on the right and not allowing him to move back over. People have no respect for these vehicles.

It's perfectly fine to stick to the left lane if you're moving faster than average and aren't obstructing the road for anyone else. I tend to stay on the left lane until I see a car moving much faster than me, then I let them pass and get back on the left lane. I'm usually speeding, so I end up passing a ton of other cars and am only rarely getting passed myself, so it's not very practical to keep popping right and left every 500 meters.

Except EVERYONE does that and they are just doing the speed limit.

What I'm trying to say is that unless you want to adhere strictly to the regulations, you need to be flexible, not just assume everyone is going to adapt to you. You're not alone on the road and you sure as hell aren't the center of the world.

I am not a self centered person and I am very respectful and courteous on the road. I cant tell you how many times I have seen people move into the left lane (we are talking border line cutting me off) which causes me to slow down. Then when that person passes the other person they stay in the left lane which causes me to have to pass them on the right. People just dont give a damn. They dont care about other people who are on the highway, they are in their own little bubble.

As Jay Mohr says. "If you are going to cut me off Get Smaller" meaning you are obviously in a hurry and leaving me in the dust.

[grandpab]

This kind of stuff bugs the shit out of me. There's a road I take to work every day and it's freakin ridiculous for there to be 1 truck in each lane, there's 3 lanes, and they all drive right next to each other at the same speed. Earlier this week I was driving a couple hundred feet behind a few trucks and I saw 2 trucks in the middle lane and one in the left lane. Then the truck in the left lane moved into the middle lane. The right lane about a mile ahead merged off the road and onto another road, so I can understand them all driving in the middle lane instead of the right lane. As soon as the truck in the left lane got into the middle lane the 2 other trucks immediately switched lanes into opposite lands and I was stuck behind all 3 of them.

I think they do this shit just to piss people off too. I was going down alligator alley once, which is like a 2 hour drive down a road with 2 lanes going each direction and it's straight the entire way, not a single bend, curve, or turn. Anyway, there was 2 box trucks driving together in the same lane, but once I got closer one of the trucks moved into my lane, pulled up next to the other truck, and then matched his speed for probably a good 10 minutes. They were also going well below the speed limit.

[Tijuana]

That's not an excuse for driving over the speed limit or trying to pass people driving the speed limit because you're running late/trying to make it faster to "get more money". I can excuse wanting to pass somebody deliberately driving under the speed limit but in my experience half the time they're just driving over the limit and being assholes in their giant steel deathtraps of a vehicle.

And if its against the law for you to use the passing lane as a truck driver you should follow it. Or don't and suffer whatever consequences happen. I can assure you getting pulled over will fuck your time more than just being stuck behind somebody

Yeah but you said they were driving fast due to impatience, which is laughably ignorant.

[Dug]

Yeah but you said they were driving fast due to impatience, which is laughably ignorant.

How so? If you can't drive a semi without going over the speed limit you're either a) impatient b) greedy c)a jackass. Take your pick

[Airlick]

I dont think all are like this. I drive a lot. I drive on highways A LOT. There are some real idiot drivers out there and I am not talking truckers. They will see a trucker attempt to move over into the left lane (to give space for someone who happens to be pulled to the side of the road) and immediately close that space so the trucker cant move over. In my area we have a lot of warehouse distribution centers (Home Depot, Amazon, ULine, Wal-Mart ) so there is a lot of truck traffic, I ALWAYS see idiots in car cut off a Semi to get off at exits. Its literally a daily thing. If a Semi passes another vehicle in the left lane, before that semi is able to move back into the right lane a person will cut over into the right lane to then pass that semi which then causes more people to do the same. Before you know it the semi is kinda stuck in the left lane because everyone is passing him on the right and not allowing him to move back over. People have no respect for these vehicles.

Except EVERYONE does that and they are just doing the speed limit.

I am not a self centered person and I am very respectful and courteous on the road. I cant tell you how many times I have seen people move into the left lane (we are talking border line cutting me off) which causes me to slow down. Then when that person passes the other person they stay in the left lane which causes me to have to pass them on the right. People just dont give a damn. They dont care about other people who are on the highway, they are in their own little bubble.

As Jay Mohr says. "If you are going to cut me off Get Smaller" meaning you are obviously in a hurry and leaving me in the dust.

I rather meant what they're like when they get out of the trucks. You can usually tell an asshole by his behaviour on the road, and most truck drivers are assholes. They just don't get that many opportunities to show it off on highways, but they definitely do on smaller roads. I lived in a transit town for my whole life until last year and honestly, if I got a dollar every time I saw a truck speeding within town limits, forcing right of way, not letting pedestrians through the street, not signalling turns etc., I'd be VERY rich.

I'm not going to argue whether you are respectful on the road, it's just that the tone of your post reminded me of my own bad experiences and I felt the need to rant. ^^ Stay respectful, we need more people like this on the roads.

How so? If you can't drive a semi without going over the speed limit you're either a) impatient b) greedy c)a jackass. Take your pick

D. the conditions on the road allow it. If there's no real danger of getting pulled by the cops or causing an accident, there's no harm in speeding. The speed limits are set very low. It barely feels like you're moving at all when you're doing 140 km/h on the highway (which is the limit in my country).

[Melkandor]

Because of common sense, logic, and physics. I hope I never encounter you driving.

[Tijuana]

How so? If you can't drive a semi without going over the speed limit you're either a) impatient b) greedy c)a jackass. Take your pick

Well, you picked a) and only added the others after your laughable surmise was pointed out. Just sayin...

Also, wanting to provide for your family is not greed. Earning a living is not evil.

[Pawestruck]

Has anyone here ever come close to knowing what it's like to be a truck driver?

The demands placed upon many truck drivers are so ludicrous that they are forced to "cook the books" just to get by. Many must do a certain number of miles per day to keep up, while any speeding or traffic tickets they get have massive consequences. The schedules major corporations put on these people is, from the research I've done, damn near criminal.

Oh. That, and it's a high-paying, low-skillset job that attracts society's mongrels.

So probably that, too.

[Tijuana]

Has anyone here ever come close to knowing what it's like to be a truck driver?

The demands placed upon many truck drivers are so ludicrous that they are forced to "cook the books" just to get by. Many must do a certain number of miles per day to keep up, while any speeding or traffic tickets they get have massive consequences. The schedules major corporations put on these people is, from the research I've done, damn near criminal.

Oh. That, and it's a high-paying, low-skillset job that attracts society's mongrels.

So probably that, too.

Most long distance drivers are independent. Big Corp is not always at fault. Sometimes individuals do shitty things on their own. The corporate guys are paid hourly.

[Airlick]

Has anyone here ever come close to knowing what it's like to be a truck driver?

The demands placed upon many truck drivers are so ludicrous that they are forced to "cook the books" just to get by. Many must do a certain number of miles per day to keep up, while any speeding or traffic tickets they get have massive consequences. The schedules major corporations put on these people is, from the research I've done, damn near criminal.

Oh. That, and it's a high-paying, low-skillset job that attracts society's mongrels.

So probably that, too.

One fuels the other. The job attracts "society's mongrels", who can't organize themselves and force their will on the companies. If they did and managed to boycott those companies pulling dirty moves on them, said companies would have to start treating them better or get replaced by those who would. But they can't, so the circle is closed.

[Dug]

Well, you picked a) and only added the others after your laughable surmise was pointed out. Just sayin...

Also, wanting to provide for your family is not greed. Earning a living is not evil.

Fair enough they're still not excusable when driving over the limit on a busy highway. And it is greed, just because it's providing for your family isn't an excuse to put other peoples lives in danger in your massive vehicle with giant blind spots because you're running late.

- - - Updated - - -

D. the conditions on the road allow it. If there's no real danger of getting pulled by the cops or causing an accident, there's no harm in speeding. The speed limits are set very low. It barely feels like you're moving at all when you're doing 140 km/h on the highway (which is the limit in my country).

I stated in a previous post if its not against the law then pass away if you wish, but only if somebody is going under the limit. You never have an excuse to go over the limit, not even if the road is clear and theres "no cops". Lack of police to enforce doesn't make a law go away

[petej0]

I'm not going to argue whether you are respectful on the road, it's just that the tone of your post reminded me of my own bad experiences and I felt the need to rant. ^^ Stay respectful, we need more people like this on the roads.

I am not one to tailgate, flash my lights or hang out in the left lane and purposely not let people by. I drive as I would expect others to drive. I use my turn signal before and during an expected lane change (not a single flash half way through a lane change). I follow the alternating method when merging into a single lane. If I notice someone faster then me coming up from behind, I will allow them to pass before I move into the left lane. I consider myself a great driver my only vice on the roads is I drive fast.