Crazy Christmas RV Drivers

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

Since deer have come up on this thread a few times, here is a link to GEICO deer safety tips: https://www.geico.com/more/driving/a...g-a-collision/

I just KNEW that link was going to recommend getting "deer whistles"... but they did the right thing and advise to forget them.
My wife and I have killed numerous deer (over a dozen) here in central TX over the last 30 years.... the last time she hit a deer with the right front of her car, and it was repaired, and the very next week hit another with the LEFT front of her car. When we picked it up from the shop I noticed the shop owner had a set of "deer whistles" on his desk and I (tongue-in-cheek baited him) asked if he recommended them.
He replied that he was required to replace each and every damaged item on a full-repair and that he has as many whistle-equipped deer-collisions as non-equipped...but he has to include the whistles for replacement purposes if the auto had them when it came into the shop. LOL
I've never figured out how auto owners can believe that a plastic whistle sound is taught to the baby deer by their mothers means to run away.... while cars with whining-tires, screaming fan blades, and roaring engines without the silent whistle are OK to stand in front of. I guess deer can't hear the regular sounds ...and therefore it's ridiculous for deer hunters to try to be silent with no whispering or heavy breathing while hunting.
(I think it's the same people who put snake-oil in their engines and fuel tanks.)

[Rocinante]

That GEICO link did, however, recommend slowing down and flashing your lights if you see a deer, which is probably akin to featherbedder’s suggestion of momentarily killing the headlights.

<edit>
Also, an insurance company that has to pay out claims when folks run into deer is likely to provide advice based on what will save them money. Statistically-driven evidence vs. uninformed opinions. What a concept!
</edit>

[rmkrum]

Scientific analysis of the real-world data? What a concept...

Always was taught that, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t understand it”. Thank you, Professor Cooper...best electronics teacher ever, may he Rest In Peace...

[tevake]

Yes it's nice getting statistical support of observations and logical conclusions.

Thanks for the link.
Will add, my insurance co suggested it's safer, to my story, if asked.

Cheers Richard

[Rocinante]

Anyway, to go back to SailorSam205’s original post, that was one heck of a video. Very scary. I would posit, however, that there’s one more place to go that the driver / videographer failed to explore: Come to a full and complete stop as quickly as possible. Just stop. Right there on the highway. Until that maniac was well past him. He said he could not get over due to soft sandy shoulders, but he could have stopped - especially given he said the folks behind him were friends and co-travelers on this drive. Just one more option to consider.

[rmkrum]

In any case, letting the dangerous driver get way far away is preferable to being run off the road...

I’ve had to go full smoke on TV and AS to avoid stupidity like that. Flat spots on tires are irritating, a collision can be much worse....

[Silverpuller]

Originally Posted by Barretta2

Second, I know of no state where it is legat to tow at 75 or 80 MPH. The vast majority of states have a 65 max tow speed, some (like California) enforce a 55 limit!

I agree with everything you write. But FYI, in at least two States it is foolishly legal to tow at the same speed authorized for a car. Posted maximum speed on Idaho and Wyoming interstates is 80mph. Probably similar in several other wide-open western States.

[rmkrum]

Just because the speed limit is ridiculously high somewhere does not mean that you can’t plant your rig in the rightmost lane and drive at a reasonable speed for conditions.

I agree that an AS tows really well at car speed limits, as I discovered out in the flats of West Texas... and when I realized I was at that speed by checking the speedometer I gently reduced pressure on the gas pedal.

Nice to know the setup will do it, but I’m not on that big a hurry to get anywhere. The big rigs went by me, and I flashed my lights to let them back in, no huhu...

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

Anyway, to go back to SailorSam205’s original post, that was one heck of a video. Very scary. I would posit, however, that there’s one more place to go that the driver / videographer failed to explore: Come to a full and complete stop as quickly as possible. Just stop. Right there on the highway. Until that maniac was well past him. He said he could not get over due to soft sandy shoulders, but he could have stopped - especially given he said the folks behind him were friends and co-travelers on this drive. Just one more option to consider.

I learned the hard way that it is illegal to come to a full-stop on an Interstate as long as traffic is moving. Insurance totalled my car when the texting Class-A driver rear-ended me for stopping to keep from running over a puppy in the road.... Insurance held me responsible for the accident rather than the texting Class-A driver who had over 1/4 mile to observe me stopped..... and the Ft Worth police did not issue any citation to the Class-A driver despite witnesses who confirmed what happened. (Lab pup died of course when my vehicle was propelled over the dog by the rear-ending, and I awoke in the back of the vehicle covered in glass, temporarily paralyzed with neck injury. My driver's seat was ripped from the floor and the seat back broken-down.
So.... slamming on the brakes to a complete stop is probably not a good idea. Slowing down rapidly to facilitate their ability to change over into your lane is clearly a good idea.

[Foiled Again]

There's nothing funny... about causing an accident. Or sometimes avoiding one.

Years ago I drove a motorcycle because I simply could NOT afford a car, even a beater. I needed that 95 mpg to be able to afford gasoline, even when it was 30 cents a gallon. I was truly afraid of tailgaters especially as my littlt Honda could barely go 40 mph. A friend suggested taking a brick sized piece of styrofoam and painting it to look like a real brick. I strapped it to the seat and more than once waved it at a following driver to encourage him to leave a safe distance behind me.

One day it slipped out of my hand at about 30 mph. It floated away in the direction of the tailgater. Anyone with 3 living brain cells SHOULD have realized "that is not a real brick"... but dumb@@@ slammed on his brakes, lost control, and 3 trays of fast food went all over the inside of his car....
Then he came after me with murder clearly in his eyes. Went off road and cross country to escape. I rode the bus, hid the bike and bummed rides to avoid the stalker for a week, then finally told a county mountie the whole story including the license plate of the vehicle. He spoke to the driver... and assured me I would have no more trouble. I traded the bike in on a more powerful one - different color, new plates and forgot about it.

Years later an arrest was made... and I realized that I had driven to work on a rural road for over 2 years... where Jeffrey Daumer had lived as a teenager and young adult. I am glad I cannot connect those dots!

Anyway angering a stupid Or aggressive driver isn't wise. Be timid and forgettable.

[brad1]

I drive from northern Canada to Santa Cruz CA every November. The toughest part of each trip is through the Bay Area beginning in Fairfield 3 to 5 lanes most of the way. I always stay one lane out from the right curb lane. These are very very busy areas with lots of local traffic getting on and off the freeway. If you’re in the curb lane you’re constantly speeding up and slowing down and sometimes power braking when an off ramp is backed up onto the fwy. Worse, if you’re in the curb lane you’re blocking folks from getting on and off. Folks will jam in front of you then smash their brakes to make their off ramp etc. I think staying out of that lane is safer and more courteous, never mind the law. 2 lanes I’m on the curb. Incidentally, though I’m a 60 mile an hour guy most of the time on I-5, 680,and 580 I go with the flow of traffic even if it’s over 70 as it often is even in rush hour traffic. Do much less than the flow and you become a hazard. CA is a flow of traffic state and you can be ticketed for blocking the flow despite the 55-while-towing posted speed limit

[SARGE/AF]

Originally Posted by dvgofaz

I'm with you, I avoid the right lane. It is is the 'get off-get on" lane and needs to be kept open for that traffic.

Not true and could land you a citation or accident,

[SARGE/AF]

so they haul donkeys in the center lane and push anybody that is in their way.[/QUOTE]

Well I have never pushed nor have I seen any other truck do that without an accident happening... You do realize that trucks are on a time schedule that you and other shoppers mandate?

[SARGE/AF]

Originally Posted by Mattirs

They don't.

Is there a state that offers drivers training anymore?
Part of my job now is to administer Computer Based Training. Most folks just click through as fast as they can just so they can guess at the answers to the questions in the final. Gone are the days when I could have good discussions explaining the basics and answering questions. CBT is good for some stuff but a caring human being affects real change when layered on top.
But the upfront costs are less expensive, they finish in half the time, and I used for other things so a second person does need to be hired.

Matti

Most schools requirement for drivers teach is that they only have a drivers license, no education in driving.

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by SARGE/AF

so they haul donkeys in the center lane and push anybody that is in their way.

Well I have never pushed nor have I seen any other truck do that without an accident happening... You do realize that trucks are on a time schedule that you and other shoppers mandate?[/QUOTE]

That's a wild reach to justify illegal and dangerous driving.

[SARGE/AF]

Originally Posted by Boxite

Well I have never pushed nor have I seen any other truck do that without an accident happening... You do realize that trucks are on a time schedule that you and other shoppers mandate?

That's a wild reach to justify illegal and dangerous driving.[/QUOTE]

Driving 5-8 mph is not dangerous driving, not for an experienced driver, you know you are real good about sitting on here judging, walk around your house and examine your daily activities and ask yourself what you are willing to do without. Besides you don't take into account that truck drivers drive more miles in a day than most people drive in a year. Another thing I would like to see you abide by the rules we have to on a daily basis, now days most trucks are governed at 65 mph anyways.

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by SARGE/AF

Driving 5-8 mph is not dangerous driving, not for an experienced driver, you know you are real good about sitting on here judging, walk around your house and examine your daily activities and ask yourself what you are willing to do without. Besides you don't take into account that truck drivers drive more miles in a day than most people drive in a year. Another thing I would like to see you abide by the rules we have to on a daily basis, now days most trucks are governed at 65 mph anyways.

Sarge, if you're going to quote me...please do so accurately. Your "quote" is out-of-context....and you "qualified" your previous posting that, if contained in your previous msg, ...might have avoided the criticism completely.

But to answer you properly.... There is NOTHING I find "walking around my house" that will justify the dangerous behaviour of some of the so-called "professional" truckers/drivers such as you've just described. NO ONE's life is worth ANY of the cargo being carried. Truckers have NO more right to the highways than any other motorist. In fact, they have a greater responsibility to the public than does the ordinary motorist... They have received more training and are driving greater weights and more hazardous vehicles than the average 4-wheeler or RV operator...who happen to be their customers!

Your post reveals that your attitude and those like you are the greater threat and problem. I DO abide by the rules. You don't know me. You only think you do.

[SARGE/AF]

But to answer you properly.... There is NOTHING I find "walking around my house" that will justify the dangerous behaviour of some of the so-called "professional" truckers/drivers such as you've just described. NO ONE's life is worth ANY of the cargo being carried. Truckers have NO more right to the highways than any other motorist. In fact, they have a greater responsibility to the public than does the ordinary motorist... They have received more training and are driving greater weights and more hazardous vehicles than the average 4-wheeler or RV operator...who happen to be their customers!

ANS>>I agree but disagree with you, the point that I was trying to make is while that there are a few who take chances that they should not and endanger others, it is not the whole they are the few. Your comment was grouping all truckers just like I took with you and grouped you with those few wreckless campers/car drivers who cause many accidents doing some of the stuff you mention...

Your post reveals that your attitude and those like you are the greater threat and problem. I DO abide by the rules. You don't know me. You only think you do.

ANS>> LOL, I am not going to argue, there is a point here that you missed, but you don't know me either, You want to compare my knowledge to yours, I have actually been trained in/and or driven every kind of vehicle there is, How about you? I have driven OVER 2 million miles in my life so far, just under 2 million as a truck driver, you drive maybe 50 thousand a year, I had been trained and did work as a stunt driver, how about you? I have test various vehicle set ups for safety, How about you? just a few to mention.. I never said I do stupid stuff and endanger the public, I did however say that the majority of drivers are safe and that includes me, I am a professional and lived and done as such. now
Are there stupid people out there yes, can you or me or anyone fix stupid no, but what we can do is not to assume that because a few do certain things all are that way. Trucks are under tremendous pressure to accomplish a task that the public demands, then the rules and fines trucks get and have to obey, then you add those who complicate the problem with poor driving habits ( which according to DOT, NTSA, State Police, the majority of accidents involve a semi & care are caused by the auto) and you have a prescript for the very thing you complain about.
If you was near me, and I rode with you for 25 miles you would be surprised how many things you do that add to the problem, and funny thing is its not just you, its everybody which is what this thread started about.

[SARGE/AF]

There is something I want to point out to everyone on here, in my recent conversation with Boxite he pointed out something that I missed in our conversation, and in that my first post should have been worded better. I have been on this site for a long time, and have seen this same thread many times, and it all comes back to the same thing that we and I mean everyone on here add to the problem not just semi trucks they are the least of the problem, while it may seem different and that is because every time something happens with a truck it is plastered all over the news, never or very little about vehicles, the real problem is the poor drivers out there and yall see them every day everywhere, in town, in the country, back roads and highways.

Everyone is so quick to talk about or accuse trucks of being the problem on the highways, and it should not be that way. Semi trucks are of the most safest out on the roads whether it be an interstate, city street, county road. If a truck did not have a reason for being there they wouldn't be. There is very little if anything in your homes, life, that is not handled by a truck. Secondly if automobiles had to go by half the rules that is imposed on Semi's most of you would really complain, so keep this in your mind when you want to complain about trucks. Let me mention just a few things, some are things that most of you don't know about.
1) Most All Loads on trucks are time sensitive which means they have a certain amount of time to get it delivered for what ever reason such as; manufacture supplies the line for continuous running such as in the case with auto manufactures, others is food such as that which has to go from ground to store before it spoils, Mail.
2) Trucks are weight restricted in general, autos are not. Trucks are designed to haul heavy weights, and trucks are checked constantly but yet autos are not. How many threads have been on here about people hauling trailers too heavy for the TV? and yet they are not checked or fined, How many pickups you see driving around over weight with lawn mowers, building supplies, hay, etc, nothing done about it, but trucks are fined for 100lbs over
3) Semis have to what is called a log book and must stop every so many hours, and can only drive so many hours in a week, but yet many of you put in 40-70 hours a week working then leave home and drive to your destination, something trucks are not allowed to do.
4) trucks have to have a permit for overweight or oversize loads, and are restricted on speed, what roads they travel, times they travel. Next time you see a TV & camper and it is overweight for that vehicle ask for their permit and see how many does.
5) in an accident between a vehicle and a semi, the semi is always at fault even when the vehicle caused it.

What I have mentioned here is just a few things that most don't know about, and people should not be so quick to blame a truck. Are there bad drivers out there yes, do they need to be off the road yes, but they are few and far between and the majority who take their job seriously should not be blamed for the few, just like with those that tow a camper that exceeds the vehicle limits and cause a wreck, does this mean because of those few everyone who tows a camper is the same? should you be restricted like semis and enforced like semis?
Do I get offended when I see people blame a semi for everything YES, anyone who has been driving for more than 5 years has more experience than most of you out here. I put in 30 years of driving, and over 2 million in my life so far, and have driven just about every type of vehicle there is! so YES I get an attitude when someone who doesn't drive but 1 quarter of that in their life and it is mostly in a car or pickup makes comments about those of us who supply the life of this country.
So PLEASE think, Thank a Veteran for you being able to enjoy your freedom, Thank a Trucker for supplying your food, supplies, cars, fuel, homes, work, paychecks etc,

[featherbedder]

Originally Posted by SARGE/AF

There is something I want to point out to everyone on here, in my recent conversation with Boxite he pointed out something that I missed in our conversation, and in that my first post should have been worded better. I have been on this site for a long time, and have seen this same thread many times, and it all comes back to the same thing that we and I mean everyone on here add to the problem not just semi trucks they are the least of the problem, while it may seem different and that is because every time something happens with a truck it is plastered all over the news, never or very little about vehicles, the real problem is the poor drivers out there and yall see them every day everywhere, in town, in the country, back roads and highways.

Everyone is so quick to talk about or accuse trucks of being the problem on the highways, and it should not be that way. Semi trucks are of the most safest out on the roads whether it be an interstate, city street, county road. If a truck did not have a reason for being there they wouldn't be. There is very little if anything in your homes, life, that is not handled by a truck. Secondly if automobiles had to go by half the rules that is imposed on Semi's most of you would really complain, so keep this in your mind when you want to complain about trucks. Let me mention just a few things, some are things that most of you don't know about.
1) Most All Loads on trucks are time sensitive which means they have a certain amount of time to get it delivered for what ever reason such as; manufacture supplies the line for continuous running such as in the case with auto manufactures, others is food such as that which has to go from ground to store before it spoils, Mail.
2) Trucks are weight restricted in general, autos are not. Trucks are designed to haul heavy weights, and trucks are checked constantly but yet autos are not. How many threads have been on here about people hauling trailers too heavy for the TV? and yet they are not checked or fined, How many pickups you see driving around over weight with lawn mowers, building supplies, hay, etc, nothing done about it, but trucks are fined for 100lbs over
3) Semis have to what is called a log book and must stop every so many hours, and can only drive so many hours in a week, but yet many of you put in 40-70 hours a week working then leave home and drive to your destination, something trucks are not allowed to do.
4) trucks have to have a permit for overweight or oversize loads, and are restricted on speed, what roads they travel, times they travel. Next time you see a TV & camper and it is overweight for that vehicle ask for their permit and see how many does.
5) in an accident between a vehicle and a semi, the semi is always at fault even when the vehicle caused it.

What I have mentioned here is just a few things that most don't know about, and people should not be so quick to blame a truck. Are there bad drivers out there yes, do they need to be off the road yes, but they are few and far between and the majority who take their job seriously should not be blamed for the few, just like with those that tow a camper that exceeds the vehicle limits and cause a wreck, does this mean because of those few everyone who tows a camper is the same? should you be restricted like semis and enforced like semis?
Do I get offended when I see people blame a semi for everything YES, anyone who has been driving for more than 5 years has more experience than most of you out here. I put in 30 years of driving, and over 2 million in my life so far, and have driven just about every type of vehicle there is! so YES I get an attitude when someone who doesn't drive but 1 quarter of that in their life and it is mostly in a car or pickup makes comments about those of us who supply the life of this country.
So PLEASE think, Thank a Veteran for you being able to enjoy your freedom, Thank a Trucker for supplying your food, supplies, cars, fuel, homes, work, paychecks etc,

Not meaning to hijack your thread but everything you state is true and govt. still trying to add more ill advised rules and some proven dangerous. Another fact MANY drivers have MANY million miles of accident free and citation free miles. Another thing I did not work in trucking industry as I worked as RR conductor for accident free 40 years.