That he was only going 70, or that in the past he’s gone 85-90? Because I gotta tell you, my car doesn’t do well at 90 and I’m not real comfortable there myself, and if there’s anywhere failing to go 90 makes you a dick, I’m guilty from the get-go. And if I’m going 70-75 on a 2-lane back road, I don’t even feel that obligated to get over on the shoulder so someone can blow past at 90.
I wouldn’t absolve the truck driver of guilt, but isn’t it true that the OP made an already bad situation worse?
Fair enough, but speeding up once you see someone trying to pass is being a dick. I should know, I do it all the time on the Beltway 
I don’t think so. The only way it gets worse is if the trucker is so inattentive that he merges back into the trailing car. That’s remotely possible. On the other hand, a successful pass, of just the trailing car, definitely reduces the trailing driver’s visibility.
Shit, we didn’t even do this in New Jersey. New Jersey has notoriously bad traffic and yes, some of the most egregious examples of shitty driving I have ever witnessed, but I never once had someone try to block me in when I was trying to pass or get over. There seems to be a universal mentality over there of ‘‘We’re all in this traffic shitstorm together,’’ and the result is that if you decide you need to take a certain action (like change lanes) people will let you do it.
I got so used to it that when I moved back to Michigan it took some adjusting. In NJ putting on your blinker means, ‘‘I’m getting over now.’’ In Michigan it means, ‘‘Hi, how are you, would you mind maybe if I got over? I’m just going to sit here for twenty years and wait to see if that’s okay with you. Okay, no? Okay, have a nice day anyway!’’
It’s an extremely inefficient way to drive.
That’s just silly. People drive behind trucks all the time. It’s ridiculous to think driving behind one is a safety hazard. Never mind the fact their is nothing stopping the trailing driver from slowing down until visibility is regained.
Perhaps I’m misunderstanding, but I read that there was a space big enough for the truck to pull into between the OP and the car ahead, but when the truck attempted to pass, the OP sped up, closing that space and preventing the truck from passing.
I don’t know about anyone else, but if two cars are spaced out far enough for me to safely get between them, I will pass one, and then slide back into the lane, and when it is safe to do so, I will pull out again and pass the next one. Having the car in front speed up when I try to pass, closing that gap and forcing me into the oncoming lane for longer is definitely a dick move.
If I’m the car being passed, I generally back off on the gas just a little to allow them to get past me quicker, because that’s the nice thing to do.
I think this is generally true, but one time I was merging onto the freeway with a semi truck directly in front of me and the damned thing turned too sharp, slipped a tire off the road and flipped right over. We weren’t driving at a very high rate of speed and there was a lot of traffic, so I was in pretty close range. I can’t describe to you the feeling of abject horror in the seconds before you know a semi truck is about to flip over directly in front of you, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
Fortunately, everybody involved was okay. The driver was shaking like a leaf, but not injured. I had plenty of time to stop.
I’m generally more cautious about driving behind trucks, now.
The trucker was trying to build up speed before the hill. Say the trucker made it around you on his first attempt. Then he could have been passing the second car where he instead passed you, 700’ before the hill. By the time he starts slowing down, you and the other car have the open lane going up the hill and can get back around him. Neither you or the other car are slowed down, and he maintains a little more constant speed himself. How is the trucker’s move dickish?
If you had been on the other car’s tail already and refused to drop back to let the truck in, that’s a little rude but not dickish. But speeding up to close the gap? Sorry, but you’re definitely the dick in this case.
OP: “He runs out of space and drops back until he can see another spot to pass – which happens to be 700’ before a hill with a passing lane. When we reach the hill, the semi is right beside me, about to enter the passing lane; the guy in front speeds up to 75, I speed up with him, and the semi is left behind, moving into the right lane as it grinds up the short hill.”
I still don’t get it. If it’s a two-lane road, how is he “beside” you if he is not in the passing lane yet?
Exactly. It’s much more difficult to pass two vehicles at once, especially with a heavy load.
The trucker may very well be able to generate enough momentum that he would not necessarily slow the cars behind, and all could go on their way as before.
It isn’t. Momentum on hills is absolutely critical for a trucker. If forced to slow down before a steep grade, he’s going have to downshift to an appropriate gear and start a crawl up that hill, gear after gear after gear.
Have to agree, but I give props for OP’s having second thoughts enough to even post the question.
Not so much, if they compress the distance between them.
Seriously? You think you’re not less safe with a huge vehicle directly in front of you, completely blocking your view of what’s in front of them? People have died, thinking this, right up until the brake lights came on.
That’s probably what the OP meant by being “pushed back.”
Certainly, slowing down a lot–or pulling over for a minute–would be safer than holding position after a massive truck swoops in front of you. Lotta people would be annoyed at having to do that.
See, for example, the many lawyers’ sites with pages like this. They want you to come to them to sue the trucking company for “underride guard failure,” after your loved one is decapitated going under the trailer.
Idaho, guess I didn’t read it fully that sort of road would be 65-70.
As long as you are at a safe following distance being behind a truck should be no more dangerous.
Yes. And worse than being a dick, you increase the chance of danger (e.g. if an idiot enters the opposite lane without looking to the left for wrong-lane (i.e. passing) traffic — danger likely to be serious at that speed.
I live in Thailand. Whatever bad driving you experience in the U.S.A. multiply by fifty to get an idea of the bad driving here two decades ago. (Driving has been steadily improving, but the country still has one of the higher fatalities per passenger-mile in the world.)
I asked some of my Western friends, “When someone is trying to pass you, do you slow down and make it easier for them?” They said “No” and looked at me like I was crazy. I think people who don’t make it easier for the other driver, however stupid he may be, are the idiots. Indeed the appropriateness of making it easier for them increases the stupider they are.
I’m not always in a good mood, and have occasionally misbehaved worse than OP. Buy me a beer and I’ll tell you stories which still almost give me nightmares.
Moving at highway speed, I would much rather be behind a truck than in front of one.
If I am inattentive enough to drive into the rear of truck, I get what I deserve. If the truck behind drives into me, I am a victim.
I get the point. But if you’re close behind, the value of your attention is substantially circumscribed. You can’t react to what you literally cannot see.
Honestly, given the truck and behavior described, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere around him.
I noticed this too. East coast, blinker on, everyone around you kind of adjusts their speed to let you move over. West and middle parts, they flat-out ignore your signal. I think it’s kind of rude. Plus it can make for some frenetic and not terribly safe driving if you’ve never been there before and didn’t realize your exit was coming up in time to smoothly move over.
I hate driving behind trucks. They do indeed block your visibility even if you have a nice safe following distance.