It’s I-70, actually. There’s a whole series of similar signs. And as a question for Lucy do feel insulted seeing signs like that or are they helpful?
I’ve had a couple of run ins on the road with truckers, but as other posters have noted, four wheel drivers are definitely the largest slice on the Asshole pie chart. Case in point: There’s a bridge between Lafayette, LA and Baton Rouge, LA that’s 18 miles long, mostly over swamp, with only one exit. We had a spate of several serious crashes so they lowered the speed limit to (if I remember correctly) 60 mph for cars and 55 mph for truckers.
You can predict what you see on the bridge. A long line of trucks in the right hand lane trudging along at 55 mph, and a gazillion cars driving as fast as they possibly can, buzzing in and out of the lanes like gnats. Needless to say, the lowered speed limit didn’t do a thing but slow the trucks down. What they need is speed limit enforcement, although I’m not sure how they do that on an 18 mile long bridge short of air patrols.
European-style traffic cameras, the type that get a reasonably clear picture from three different angles.
This is a great thread!
When I was a kid I always got dragged on camping trips with the family, in the station wagon, pulling the trailer. My dad decided to get a CB partially for safety, and mostly for entertainment. Some of the conversations were totally R-rated, and from what I gather, women in skirts flapping the bippy in the breeze was a lot more common in the '70s…
A friend of mine, who has a CB radio in her pickup, was driving along the four-lane highway that runs through our town when she spotted a four-wheeler and two big trucks from the local sand and gravel operation just ahead, and heard the two truck drivers planning over the CB to play some head games with the woman driving the four-wheeler.
As they started to close in on her my friend yelled over the CB, “You guys better not do that or I’ll call the dispatcher at B_______ W_______ and report you, so knock it off!” The trucks backed off, and stayed backed off the whole time my friend tailed them in her pickup, till they turned off to wherever they were bound.
Lucy, do you think this sort of assholery is more likely to be found in short-haul guys, or is it spread throughout the industry?
You guys and gals are all way to kind. (Did ya’ll notice that this is the Pit?) 
Okay … here we go again.
I’m partial to oatmeal/raisin myself, but chocolate chip will do nicely, too. 
Usually, it takes just a few seconds to roll the scale. Even if the port is backed up, it seldom takes more than a minute or two – with a couple of exceptions:
#1: You may get asked to park, walk in, and show your permits and other legal documents to the port personnel. This will usually add about 5 minutes to a port call. In Wyoming, everybody goes in - this is the only state that I’m aware of that does this.
#1a: If your documents are not in order, hang it up … you’re gonna be there for a while.
#1b: If your log book is not up to date, or you are over on your hours, you’re probably going to get a ticket, and in the later case, could be shut down for 8 hours. Either way, hang it up … you’re gonna be there for a while.
#2: If DOT is in the port, you could be selected for an inspection. There are 3 levels:
Level 1: Basically a simple walk around. Essentially not much more than what is required for pretrip and post trip inspections. Adds about 10 - 15 minutes.
Level 2: A little more involved, will add 15 to 30 minutes.
Level 3: Full blown inspection, will add 60 minutes.
And, if they find anything seriously wrong, your truck will be put out of service until necessary repairs are made.
Best way to describe the difference is this: Level 1, walk around. Level 2, walk around with a magnifying glass. Level 3, walk around with a microscope. And, yes, they even crawl up (you know where!)
No. Besides, if you try to bypass a port because the truck is overweight, odds are pretty good you’ll just be adding additional fines for bypassing a scale to your overweight fine. (Hint: Law enforcement officers know all the possible bypass routes. Probability of getting caught is in excess of 80% … what you said earlier in your post is pretty good evidence of that fact.)
Not very prevalent at all, actually. Overloading your truck is a very foolish thing to do. In addition to the fixed scales at the ports, DOT inspectors carry portable scales in their vehicles. Overweight trucks are actually pretty easy to spot if you know what you’re looking for.
And the fines can be ridiculous. I failed to scale my truck after loading back in, oh, I guess it would have been about 1996 when I was hauling equipment. Had 700 pounds of mud on the truck that I failed to account for. IF I had scaled the truck, I would have known that I was overweight and corrected the situation. 700 lbs. = $315.00 fine. Yep! That’s 45 cents a pound for you calculator cripples. If I had been 1000 lbs. or more over the legal limit, the fine would have jumped to 65 cents per pound. And that was way back when Mr. Flintstone first got his radials. The fines are worse now. Oh, yeah, they don’t let you leave until you have corrected the problem, and, at least here in NV and next door in UT, you must pay the fine before you leave the county. Policies and fines in other states vary.
I’m constantly amazed by the number of Doug Adams fans there are in this community. I’m currently half way thru the series for the umptienth time … I doubt Doug would have had a problem with your parody, btw. 
Not at all. Signs like these are very helpful to Drivers who have not traveled the route before, flat-lander Drivers (don’t drive in the mountains much), and especially rookies. The signs on Donner Pass actually were written by Drivers and adopted and posted by CA, IIRC.
Next?
Lucy
Whoa … snuck in when I wasn’t lookin’!
Frankly, I think your friend should have grabbed a coulple of truck numbers and called “B_______ W_______” and told them what she overheard and what happened when she challenged them.
When I was doin’ dirt work back in the olden days, that kind of call would have gotten a coulple of drivers a day or two off.
Short haul. Especially something like dirt work. Load. Drive to job site. Dump. Drive back to pit. Load. Wash, rinse, repeat as necessary. OG, what boring work it can become. I spent 3 years working on the I-15 Rebuild in Salt Lake City. Had to get out cause I think I was starting to lose IQ points.
Doesn’t justify the kind of school yard stuff you described, though. Those guys need a break. Or should that be brake?
(as in, you know, a leg or kneecap or something …)
:eek:
Lucy
OK, fuckty fuck fucking truck drivers. There, feel better?
Really? Do tell. With details and pictures if necessary.
Probably should have saved a step and explained the first time … :smack:
Trucks run on tires. Specifically rubber tires. Rubber tires that have sidewalls. Sidewalls that flex under load. When viewed from the rear, the tires bulge at the bottom.
Seriously though, experienced eyes get accustomed to how much space there is between the bulges on the dual tires with a legally loaded truck. Overweight trucks have significantly less space in that gap where the tires bulge. Very overweight trucks have almost none.
If there is a small gap between the tires on just one side, the truck probably just has a low or flat tire (this will also get you pulled over).
But if there is a small gap on both sides of the truck and/or on more than one axle …
It’s gotcha time. :eek:
Simple, huh?
Lucy
Somebody needs to move the “Submit” button a little further away from the “Preview” button …
::this was meant to have appeared right under ‘Simple, huh’? ::
“And you thought you had a problem with 'tattletale bulges” …
Okay, here’s one for ya:
Is it just their kids’ names that truckers have painted on their cabs? Do they have their wife’s name too? Do single truckers flaunt their girlfriend’s name? Advertise the harem? :dubious:
To be brutally honest, I’ve never paid any attention to that.
Guess I’ll have to ask next time I see it.
'Course the last time I looked was about 5 years ago … so this would not be a good time to practice holding your breath …
You guessed it. Chow & bed time again …
Morrow.
Lucy
Just wanted to say I’ve loved this thread from the great OP to the (surprisingly) civilized discussion that has followed 8-).
I’ve never driven a big rig, but I drove a crew cab dually with a 40+ foot horse trailer for years, and learned a whole hell of a lot about what the pros were doing and why through observation and personal experience. I had a better turning radius than the big boys, and better acceleration than the loaded ones, but they had a lot better brakes, especially as I had horses on board and was always trying to be smooth.
The Pros were always fantastically nice to me, both on the road and at the gas stations. On long hauls I’d try to do the bulk of the miles after midnight when I only had to share the road with the long-haulers–we understood each other.
We don’t have much terrain in the deep south, but every October I’d be hauling up to Columbus, Ohio for Congress, and I-75 at the Tennessee—Kentucky border is a serious cumulative grade. It’s not one long uphill run, but a series of ups and downs that always results in more altitude. If you ever lifted you were screwed and doomed to driving at 35 mph until you got over the top. It was common place to be doing 85 mph on a short downhill then 45 up the other side. The Pros would be passing at 38 mph vs 35 in the slow lane 8-). In daylight it would have been a major PITA, but at 1 am it was very professional.
These days, I drive a CR-V and always cut the Pros some slack—they are AT WORK and I am on my way to work. I can easily give up the 30 seconds to cut them into my lane.
Ok, I have a few questions:
I used to drive with high beams on when I was on the interstate, especially on I-25 in NM, which had very little traffic about 15 years ago, and the only people who flashed their brights back (indicating that they were bothered by my lights) would be truckers. Mind you, this was on a divided highway, and as a car driver bright lights in the other lane never bother me (as opposed to a undivided highway). So, do you guys get a lot more glare up there?
Speaking of night driving, how much harder is it to judge traffic in your mirrors at night?
And since we’re talking about night driving, what’s up with the occassional truck that has about a billion running lights on it? Is that the trucker’s version of spinners?
Is there really a fire extinguisher on board? Can I use it?
I can’t speak for the bazillion running lights, but yes there is always a fire extinguisher on board. It is required safety equipment.
My husband once helped put out a car fire (or at least keep it under control) when he happened upon an accident.
Just wanted to say that this is a very interesting and informative thread - just what I come hear to find (well, usually not here in the Pit - I come here for the entertainment value , but to the SDMB in general).
A couple of questions. Here in Ontario (401, 416, 417), the truck inspection stations I see are usually closed. They appear to manned only part time and there are warning signs that illuminate to tell truckers to stop for inspection when they are open. Is this common?
I also usually see a trailer or three, and often a full rig parked at the inspection stations. Am I correct in thinking these are ones that have been pulled out of service after failing a safety inspection?
Because we’re still in the Pit: Stupid fucking truck drivers who have a hard job, and haul things I use across the country. They all must drive!
I always let semis in front of me on the highway out of a combination of respect for guys doing a hard job and fear of flaming death. I don’t like flaming death. It hurts.
Also, I don’t want to piss these guys off. My father told me what can happen:
When my father was in college, he would hitchhike home to Winston-Salem from Raleigh (you could do that in the 60s). He would often ride with truckers. One night, he was hitch-hiking up US-421, which could get pretty hilly between Greensboro and Winston, and a truck picked him up. They were cruising along when a car full up high school kids passed in front of them.
At the base of every hill, they would slow down to 20 mph. At the crest, they would accelerate and zip down to wait for the truck at the base. Rinse and repeat.
After the forth or fifth time, the truck just pulled along side the car, and --==BUMP==–.
The trucker never said anything; he just stared straight ahead.
I gotta ask, as you’re a professional truck driver, what’s your opinion of those articulated Swift trucks? To me they look like they’d flip over or jackknife in a heartbeat.
I hope you won’t mind if I try to answer a couple of these.
There are certain lights that are required, the rest are just decoration. Usually the rig that is that decorated is driver owned, as many company trucks change trailers frequently.
Some have failed inspection, some are pulled off for log book violation (can’t drive for 8 hrs.) and sometimes there are a few parking spots for trucks to be parked while drivers sleep.
Oh! and the question about fire extingishers they are required equipment. My husband has never used his on his truck but for several other cars and trucks (he spends alot of time on Donner Pass).
Great thread. I was wondering how easy it is to back up a double.