Driving slow on fast freeways?

[scarysharkface]

Funny thing, if this were on advrider.com, another forum I frequent, someone would have already started a thread titled "Driving fast on slow freeways?" and it would have 50 posts by now.. :coffeedrink:

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Funny thing, if this were on advrider.com, another forum I frequent, someone would have already started a thread titled "Driving fast on slow freeways?" and it would have 50 posts by now.. :coffeedrink:

Now thats what I am talking about!!

 

[DrMoab]

I don't hate trucks. Far from it. I just don't like being intolerant of others who have just as much right as you do to use the interstate highway system in a completely legal fashion. The RV folks aren't telling me to get off the road if I'm doing 5-under the speed limit. As for commercial traffic having priority over recreational traffic, I think it's more a matter of taxpayers having access to something we've all paid for. Truckers are heavily subsidized by the government (with our tax dollars) simply by using public roads.

Again, I don't hate trucks or truckers, I simply disagree with your position on this.

I don't think I said that trucks should have priority on the highways. The only point I have made is that very slow vehicles are a danger. Not just to trucks but other cars. One of my good friends dad was killed in a pickup truck by running into the back of a slow moving truck. This was in a place where the truck should have been going a lot faster than he was. BTW I feel exactly the same when it comes to slow trucks. There is a company who runs US-30 a lot in Wyoming and Idaho. The speed limit is 65 and these guys run about 61. They will back traffic up for miles and miles. I get just as aggrevated by them as I do anyone else going too slow. There is no reason in the world they couldn't boost their speed limiters up to 66 or 67.

When I see slow RV'ers or other vehicles it most often isn't the trucks that cause problems with them. It is the impatient people in cars who do incredibly stupid things by trying to pass them in unsafe areas.

As far as subsidies for trucking companies. I would like to see some. I put about 120 gallons of fuel in my truck every day. The tax rate in Utah for trucks is about $.49 a gallon right now. Thats just under $60 bucks a day I am paying to drive on the highway. Throw a $450 dollar oversize-over weight permit on top of that every year. Several thousands of dollars to license, insure and register my truck in every state that I drive it in. Plus even more over-weight permits depending on what state I am in (Nevada's permit alone is over $4,000.00) a year.

Trust me there are no tax breaks.

 

[scarysharkface]

I don't think I said that trucks should have priority on the highways. The only point I have made is that very slow vehicles are a danger. Not just to trucks but other cars. One of my good friends dad was killed in a pickup truck by running into the back of a slow moving truck. This was in a place where the truck should have been going a lot faster than he was. BTW I feel exactly the same when it comes to slow trucks. There is a company who runs US-30 a lot in Wyoming and Idaho. The speed limit is 65 and these guys run about 61. They will back traffic up for miles and miles. I get just as aggrevated by them as I do anyone else going too slow. There is no reason in the world they couldn't boost their speed limiters up to 66 or 67.

When I see slow RV'ers or other vehicles it most often isn't the trucks that cause problems with them. It is the impatient people in cars who do incredibly stupid things by trying to pass them in unsafe areas.

As far as subsidies for trucking companies. I would like to see some. I put about 120 gallons of fuel in my truck every day. The tax rate in Utah for trucks is about $.49 a gallon right now. Thats just under $60 bucks a day I am paying to drive on the highway. Throw a $450 dollar oversize-over weight permit on top of that every year. Several thousands of dollars to license, insure and register my truck in every state that I drive it in. Plus even more over-weight permits depending on what state I am in (Nevada's permit alone is over $4,000.00) a year.

Trust me there are no tax breaks.

$4k doesn't buy a whole lot of pavement or law-enforcement in Indiana. It may be different in Nevada.

4 miles under the limit doesn't sound so bad to me, but I'm certain a large truck has a harder time getting around that. I agree about idiots passing when they shouldn't.

I'm sorry about your friend's father.

My wife informs me that if I stay online chatting with you folks I'll miss the chocolate chip cookies, so I'm signing off for obvious reasons!

John

 

[DrMoab]

4 miles under the limit doesn't sound so bad to me, but I'm certain a large truck has a harder time getting around that. I agree about idiots passing when they shouldn't.

Thats the rub with me. If it was a car going 4 under it would be easy to pass him in my truck. Even a motorhome or any type of vehicle that would frequent this site it's not a big deal but in Wyoming I'm pulling two trailers and I am just under 100 ft in length. These guys are also pulling doubles. When you make a decision to pass something that long with something else that long its a decision you can not make lightly. When he is going slow and then it backs me up, then it backs the guy up doing the same thing behind me and another one behind him. Now you have a huge safety issue when the little jerk in a car decides we are all going too slow and he has to pass all of us.

Ironically the guys going super super slow on two lane roads are not as much of a problem as the guys going just under the speed limit. If I see a guy is going super slow I usually stay way back and wait till its clear. This gives me plenty of time to build speed up before I change lanes to pass. If he is going closer to the speed limit that is much harder to do. Interstates are a different animal though because then you are dealing with the guys going 80-90 coming up behind you and getting upset when they feel you cut them off to pass the guy going slower than you.

 

[VicHanson]

Wow, I spend a half a day driving 55 on a four lane road and this whole thing has exploded into a fighting match!! :smiley_drive:

To Jnich77 and Dr. Moab:

Why is it wrong for me to want to save money by driving 55 (which is legal) but it is OK for you to make more money by driving 70 or 75 depending on the speed limit (or 77 which is breaking the law!)? You are willing to risk lives (usually other people's) to make more money. Seems to be a big inconsistency here! You have made a huge case for how dangerous it is because you take so long to stop at that speed. Now you are doing this in traffic on busy freeways, so if someone in front of you has an accident or other problem, I would think that you will probably plow into them as well. You are telling us how dangerous it is, but you are doing it anyway because you make more money! Oh, and you suggest you (or other truckers) might also fudge your log book because you are driving too many hours and haven't gotten the rest you need. I'm so glad we are sharing the road with trained and safe professionals!! :Wow1:

Why do California and some other states have slower speed limits for truck and vehicles pulling trailers? Because they can't stop as quickly as other vehicles, and the higher speeds compound the issue. Sounds like they are trying to do something to make the roads safer for all of us. I'm so glad that all the the truckers are so concerned for our safety that they obey these lower limits! Oh, wait a minute...you admit that this is universally ignored by truckers and trailer pullers...and it appears that you think this is a good idea.

I'm not trying to argue here, and yes I am being a little sarcastic but I have lost respect for you as this discussion has progressed. It's all about you because you choose to be a trucker and that is the way you make a living. I choose to be retired and live on a budget because I have worked for over 40 years and reached retirement age.

How about if we try to work together to find a solution that we can both live with? Truckers are going to be on the road and so are RVers. The suggestion was made at the beginning about getting a CB radio and communicating with the truckers with this. Would this be a help?

By the way Jnich77, I thank you and respect you for serving your country. I am also a vet, but one who enlisted in the Army to avoid the draft during Viet Nam, and got sent to Hawaii!!

I don't drink beer but I will join you around a campfire some night and we can talk about motorcycles. Oh, wait....I have a Honda CRF230L and I ride it at 55 mph.... on two lane highways! I go 65 on the freeway! :bike_rider:

Vic

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

"The suggestion was made at the beginning about getting a CB radio and communicating with the truckers with this. Would this be a help?"


My 1 million miles of 18 wheel experience says Yes. That's why I mentioned it. Yes I did it for a living, for a time.

(you can see it in my sig)



.

 

[DrMoab]

Wow, I spend a half a day driving 55 on a four lane road and this whole thing has exploded into a fighting match!! :smiley_drive:

To Jnich77 and Dr. Moab:

Why is it wrong for me to want to save money by driving 55 (which is legal) but it is OK for you to make more money by driving 70 or 75 depending on the speed limit (or 77 which is breaking the law!)? You are willing to risk lives (usually other people's) to make more money. Seems to be a big inconsistency here! You have made a huge case for how dangerous it is because you take so long to stop at that speed. Now you are doing this in traffic on busy freeways, so if someone in front of you has an accident or other problem, I would think that you will probably plow into them as well. You are telling us how dangerous it is, but you are doing it anyway because you make more money! Oh, and you suggest you (or other truckers) might also fudge your log book because you are driving too many hours and haven't gotten the rest you need. I'm so glad we are sharing the road with trained and safe professionals!! :Wow1:

Did you miss the point where I said I will not run that fast in traffic and always make sure I have plenty of stopping space in front of me? I have close to 1.5 million miles under my belt in a Semi and I have never ever been in a accident. Those aren't just good odds or being lucky. It's safe driving. I can tell you that the closest I have come to having serious accidents have almost always happened because of someone going too slow, not too fast. Another thing about log books and fudging them. Let me ask you. How many hours do you sleep a night? Six? Seven? Maybe eight? I am required to sleep ten hours. I physically can not do this. If I am home, in my truck on vacation or anywhere else I sleep about seven hours. What am I supposed to do with those other three hours? The log book rules were primarily made because we live in such a stupid law suit happy country. It has nothing to do with safety. In fact when the rules were changed from them requiring us to be off eight hours after driving ten hours to taking ten hours off but driving eleven the accident rate went up because drivers were pushing it harder. It used to be that in a ten hour driving period you had to take at least a half hour break. Now they got rid of that rule so drivers are pushing really hard to drive their full eleven hours with no breaks because they are no longer allowed to nap during the day. I dare you to tell me how this is safer. I used to be able to drive five or six hours, rest for a bit and then drive the remaining hours I had to make up my ten. Now we also have a 14 hour clock which means if I start at 8AM I have to be done by 10PM no matter how long of a break I take during the day. This also forces drivers to drive harder and faster to make more money. If I fudge on my log book it is usually because I got tired sometime in the day and slept for a few hours. It has nothing to do with me being tired. When I'm tired, I go to bed....period.

Why do California and some other states have slower speed limits for truck and vehicles pulling trailers? Because they can't stop as quickly as other vehicles, and the higher speeds compound the issue. Sounds like they are trying to do something to make the roads safer for all of us. I'm so glad that all the the truckers are so concerned for our safety that they obey these lower limits! Oh, wait a minute...you admit that this is universally ignored by truckers and trailer pullers...and it appears that you think this is a good idea.

The national safety board has shown this to be more unsafe than safe. They have tried unsuccessfully to get these states to do away withe the laws but in typical California fashion they won't do the reasonable thing.

I'm not trying to argue here, and yes I am being a little sarcastic but I have lost respect for you as this discussion has progressed. It's all about you because you choose to be a trucker and that is the way you make a living. I choose to be retired and live on a budget because I have worked for over 40 years and reached retirement age.

Again, I never said you shouldn't be on the road. I just think it is dangerous to move very slow if everyone around you is not. I would be more than happy for you to hop in my truck with me and give you the ability to come to your own conclusions. You might find you have a different opinion afterward. I know a lot of others who have.

I should also say that this isn't an issue that really gets to me. It's just an issue. There are plenty of other completely stupid things people do that are a way bigger issue than this is.

Since I don't have a loud voice font... I haven't been upset by anything anyone has said here. Just voicing my opinion

 

[IdaSHO]

Sorry Ryan, but for the most part you are simple finding excuses to justify driving faster.

Ive driven truck off and on for many years. Over the Road, and Rural Delivery.

The bottom line is that as a truck driver you CANNOT be in a hurry, and you CANNOT think you own the road. Mainly because the vast majority of drivers drive like morons.

Regardless of speed limits, flow of traffic, etc, etc..... The guy putting along at 55mph has the same right to be on that road as you. No more, no less.

For you to criticize him for saving a few $$$ to save fuel, in order to put more $$ in your pocket at the end of the day is ludicrous.

 

[DrMoab]

It amazes me how many of you jump to the wrong conclusions. I've never said I own the road. I've never said that other people shouldn't be on the road. I've just made the point that slower traffic on the freeway can be dangerous.

You will never see me out there trying to run faster than anyone else. I just want to be able to go with the flow of traffic. Nothing more or less than that. It's really hard to do this in a state like Idaho where you have a mix of trucks doing 65, farmers doing 43 and the rest driving like maniacs. I have stated here I don't excessively speed. In 15 years of over the road driving I've had one speeding ticket and that wasn't because I was trying to be the fastest vehicle on the road. It was only because I hit a 45 when I thought I was still in a 65. My fault but not because I was trying to do anything stupid.

 

[scarysharkface]

Not meaning to gloat or anything, but the cookies were fantastic.. The world needs more cookies..

John :ylsmoke:

 

[PhulesAU]

It amazes me that so many people on here, blame truckers for their problems on the roadways. he was going to fast,too slow, too wide, too long. You expect a trucker too perform with some kind of divine guidance,when you won't perform the same way. the original post boiled down to " I'll drive any speed I want, and screw everybody else". nobody blames the XXXXX that is going 55 in a 65, and just becuase you try to pass him in a truck. He finds it ok to speed up and keep you from completing a safe pass. you get on this kick of obeying the law ( posted limits) While failing to apply common sense.
Lead, Follow, Or get the Hell outta the way. the interstate system is not built for people to EAT, DRINK,TALK,PHONE,PUT ON MAKE-UP,GAWK at the Scenery. IT IS to go from point A, To point B as expediciously as possible.

 

[scarysharkface]

It amazes me that so many people on here, blame truckers for their problems on the roadways. he was going to fast,too slow, too wide, too long. You expect a trucker too perform with some kind of divine guidance,when you won't perform the same way. the original post boiled down to " I'll drive any speed I want, and screw everybody else". nobody blames the ********** that is going 55 in a 65, and just becuase you try to pass him in a truck. He finds it ok to speed up and keep you from completing a safe pass. you get on this kick of obeying the law ( posted limits) While failing to apply common sense.
Lead, Follow, Or get the Hell outta the way. the interstate system is not built for people to EAT, DRINK,TALK,PHONE,PUT ON MAKE-UP,GAWK at the Scenery. IT IS to go from point A, To point B as expediciously as possible.

Read the thread again. I don't think the OP implied that as strongly as you suggest. The fact that this thread even exists would suggest that he's concerned about doing the right thing on the road to maintain a safe passage.

John

 

[KG6BWS]

It amazes me that so many people on here, blame truckers for their problems on the roadways. he was going to fast,too slow, too wide, too long. You expect a trucker too perform with some kind of divine guidance,when you won't perform the same way. the original post boiled down to " I'll drive any speed I want, and screw everybody else". nobody blames the ********** that is going 55 in a 65, and just becuase you try to pass him in a truck. He finds it ok to speed up and keep you from completing a safe pass. you get on this kick of obeying the law ( posted limits) While failing to apply common sense.
Lead, Follow, Or get the Hell outta the way. the interstate system is not built for people to EAT, DRINK,TALK,PHONE,PUT ON MAKE-UP,GAWK at the Scenery. IT IS to go from point A, To point B as expediciously as possible.

I also disagree with that.

The OP wasnt saying "Ill drive any speed I want and screw everybody else". He was saying that he wanted to drive slowly to conserve fuel (nothing wrong with that) and was concerned about how to make it safer for everyone while doing so.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Regardless of speed limits, flow of traffic, etc, etc..... The guy putting along at 55mph has the same right to be on that road as you. No more, no less.

Exactly!!! We have the right to do the speed limit and not be in a congested environment thanks to one guy and his desire to get one more MPG.