Question for professional truckers.

[streamintrip]

Originally Posted by uraljohn

I have almost 2 million mils driving class 8 trucks all over the U.S. #1-stay in the right lane, I will go past on the left if possible. #2-If I stay behind you going down hill at 65 MPH I will be going 35/40 MPH trying to get up the hill creating an unsafe condition.


When I am towing my Airstream I am generally in the right lane with cruise set at 65 or so MPH. If I find myself playing hopscotch with a truck going up and down hills, I take that opportunity to take a restroom break. Yes, I know that is not always possible, but the truck driver is working and has a schedule and has to watch his/hers Hours of Service regulations.


If you have never experienced driving/riding in a 80k LB tractor trailer that is 70/80 feet long, you should try it sometime. Your view may change. Happy travels.

Thank goodness for someone who knows what it is like to drive a class 8 semi with close to 80k# to horse around. I have over 2 million mi and agree with the above PLUS I have the following comment:
When ANYONE is shutdown on the shoulder, try your very best to move over or SLOW DOWN. Not doing this is how police and other emergency responders are killed/injured on the highway. Also, if you are ever shutdown on the shoulder and attempting to get out for any reason, see how you feel when some 4 wheeler, towing or not, or big truck goes flying by you within inches. And when you see a big truck changing lanes to avoid someone shutdown on the shoulder, PLZ don't move to the right to pass them. Not long ago I moved to the left in this situation and was passed on the right as the shutdown vehicle's driver door opened. The driver attempted to exit and stumbled into the roadway and was hit by that careless driver. I lost a lot of driving time as I stopped to render assistance, but the offender kept going.

[Olscot]

As a general rule slower traffic keeps to the right. Pulling a trailer you can consider yourself also a 'big rig'. If the truck in question caught up to you he will move on out of your way as quick as possible. Yes we slow down more on uphills due to heavy weight. Most trucks are governed for top speed usually 65 or less depending on which part of the country. Time is money earned so we do our best to be courteous and make as many miles as possible. My pet peave was catching up to an RV hogging the passing lane and then passing me going uphill only to be in the way going downhill. We try not to wear out our brakes going downhill and use engine braking which may not be enough to stay slower than you are going. And remember you are playing where the trucker is working. He may have an appointment for delivery. Try to imagine someone
coming in where you work and laughing, playing, and being in the way. You could slow down for a couple minutes. When in our RV's the R stands for recreational not speed racer. Slow down and relax and enjoy your trip.

[Offack]

Drove quite a bit a while ago, bout 30 yrs worth, and things do change, but I was taught that, states are different, safety first, big rigs 1st two lanes only. So if your hanging in the middle lane, your in my passing lane. If you see a big rig passing in the 3rd or 4 th lane, it's should be posted open for rigs, or that ole boy is late and breaking the law. Just saying.......

Rick

[vintageracer]

The driver's test and manual says stay to the RIGHT lane unless overtaking a slower vehicle.

It does not say stay in the center lane and certainly does not say go the far left lane as fast as you can get there and then drive below the speed limit.

[featherbedder]

Illinois has passed law that is stay out of left lane except to pass, I hope that state police take action against left lane riders as many will be in left lane w/out any traffic in rite lane they are road hogs and should be arrested, 3rd time lose lic. for 6 mos. 5 times for yr. but drunks still drive w/or w/out lic. as arrests show caught numerous times. One of my crew was dui 3tmes went to aa meeting then drunk after. Pd. judge all 3 times & bragged about it didn't lose lic. needless to say did not work on my crew ever again.

[Jekerrville]

This may be a bit off topic, but, UralJohn and all the rest X and still working trucking professionals, I THANK YOU for you service to us all.

Everything I eat, drink, wear, live in and yes the aluminum I camp in was carried on your backs at some time.

American Trucking makes Our Nation great just like the folks in uniform.

Again, THANK YOU.

Common sense and thoughtfulness is a vanishing commodity on our highways.

Airstream owners can and do set an example to other travelers, by example.

Mollysdad, thanks for an excellent post!

.....Now, get out of the way, I got to get to Hell on time! )

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Jekerrville

Mollysdad, thanks for an excellent post!

Awe shucks!

I appreciate truckers weighing in.
For a while, I drove in the center lane, so trucks wouldn't have to move over to pass. I thought I was doing them a favor. But about one in ten, tooted his horn on the way by, I took to be the acoustic version of flipping me the bird.
So, from now on, I'll keep right.
Caveat: Unless the right lane is so bad it's unusable. (Torn up by trucks!)
or: close to weigh stations where the trucks MUST keep right to exit. And there's a parade of trucks leaving to merge again.

[Bill M.]

"Many states passing on the right isn't legal. "

I do not understand this statement? I do not think I have ever see a situation with 2 lanes of traffic going in the same direction where it was illegal to pass a car that is in the left lane when you are in the right lane. Could you tell us what states?

I am only a RV driver. Not a trucker. I tend to drive in the middle lane of 3 because it is generally easier for me. But when trucks are restricted to the two right lanes I am often in the way and try to run the right lane. If I am getting passed a lot I prefer that the passer be on the left.

We know how trucks have to drive. Trucks really do go faster down hill than they do uphill. They really do take a long time to pass when they are both slowed on an upgrade. I think the question becomes how much of a moral or legal obligation do we have to stay out of their way?

[Farmer Dan]

I wish that ALL drivers with no truck driving experience could take a drive piloting a big rig down the road. It would be an eye opening experience for them !! Then the wide turns required of semi trucks / trailers would be quite obvious. Most OTR drivers are courteous and really appreciate it when drivers of cars or smaller rigs allow them space to make their turns entering and exiting from side streets and roads.


Dan

[wizardglass]

Originally Posted by Bill M.

"Many states passing on the right isn't legal. "

I do not understand this statement? I do not think I have ever see a situation with 2 lanes of traffic going in the same direction where it was illegal to pass a car that is in the left lane when you are in the right lane. Could you tell us what states?

https://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

This page specifies which states and vehicle codes. Just googled it.

This is also a safety and common sense issue. In a longer vehicle that's passing, it is difficult sometimes to judge when it's clear to move back in the right lane, especially at night or in poor weather. A car darting in the right lane because of an impatient driver trying to pass creates a dangerous situation.
Guess the moral of the story is don't be in such a hurry. Safety first

When I was training new truck drivers, I'd tell them, "don't waste time, but NEVER be in a hurry"

[Cap-N-Red]

I would prefer that you stay in the right hand lane and let me pass you on your left.

[JCWDCW]

Truckers passing on the down hill are just doing what most of the rest of us usually need to do. Get a full head of steam up before hitting the bottom of the hill. Not everyone has a honking big diesel with gobs of torque that can maintain 65 going up an incline!
I have truckers pass me in the US on the right, where there is no limited speed for them as here in Ontario (governed to 62mph+/-), but only if my center lane is full and lagging the right lane for possible higher speed. If I'm the only one in the center or left lane I always watch and move over if it makes sense.
As noted above, watch for tuckers who need to move over where there is a lot of merging traffic coming onto the Hwy. Give thema flash and either move over or slow down a bit to let them change lanes.
JCW

[gypsydad]

I know I appreciate the law in CA where the truckers are required to stay in the right lanes except to pass. In Texas, they don't have any rules, (it seems) and can scare the bejesus out anyone with or without an AS! Sucks driving here with truckers especially on 35 between San Antonio and Dallas! Many truckers don't seem to notice/care they how fast they are going, traffic conditions, or which lane they are in...most notably speed limit. The downside of CA is the speed limit for towing, aside from gas prices, and "other" issues besides truckers...but I digress..

[dkdouglas]

This has been a very informative discussion and I would like to toss up some other points. In Colorado, the law is "keep right except to pass" and passing on the right is allowed. Now a while back, Karen and I were in England and Scotland with me driving on the "proper side of the road". On the 3 lane motorways (interstates), all truckers stayed in the outside lane except to pass and then immediately went back from the middle lane to the outside. Never were allowed in the inside lane. Most autos stayed at a higher speed and were in the middle lane except to pass on the inside lane. You never stayed in the inside lane, period. Even supercars and other hi-speed nuts got out of the inside lane once they had a clear middle lane. Never had a bottle-neck on the motorway in 2 weeks and 1600 miles.
So why does everyone, truckers and cars and RVs, have to drive in the middle lane all the time and leave the outside lane empty? Many times I find slow drivers hogging the passing lane and trucks only in the middle lane, so I just go to the outside right lane and passed everyone to my heart's content. I understand that truckers don't like to get slowed down by idiots merging at slow speeds. And in some states, the merging traffic has the right-of-way. In Colorado, merging traffic does not have the right-of-way and I pull my AS in the right lane. I don't budge, maintain my speed and they have to figure out how to merge or stop. I am not going to jump to the middle lane and get stuck there while Mr Idiot Slowpoke gets up to speed, passes on my right and opens the lane for me to get back where I want to be.
I am ready for replies. :-)

[jcl]

Originally Posted by dkdouglas

I am ready for replies. :-)

We lived in England, and I worked in England and Scotland, for three years. Lane discipline there was great, as you note.

Prior to that, we lived in South America for three years. The words lane and discipline would never be used in the same sentence. Lane markings were treated as optional suggestions. The number of lanes was determined by how many vehicles could travel abreast, not by the lines painted on the roadway.

Here in BC, laws don’t allow heavy trucks in the left hand lane on freeways, and there is a general sense of keep right except to pass for all vehicles.

I don’t generally see that when we travel in the US. As a visitor, I generally err on the side of keeping out of other’s way.

[Donamigo]

The answers about using the right lane are correct unless you are talking about long grades. Out here in the west we have some very long grades that trucks struggle to get up and have to be careful going down. Unless you are under powered stay out of the truck lanes on long grades.

If there are no designated truck lanes and you are under powered and you see a truck slowly overtaking another truck try to stay out of the way. If the overtaking truck has to slow down he may end up having to drop a gear and he will be angry with you.

[vagem55]

Originally Posted by wizardglass

https://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

This page specifies which states and vehicle codes. Just googled it.

This is also a safety and common sense issue. In a longer vehicle that's passing, it is difficult sometimes to judge when it's clear to move back in the right lane, especially at night or in poor weather. A car darting in the right lane because of an impatient driver trying to pass creates a dangerous situation.
Guess the moral of the story is don't be in such a hurry. Safety first

When I was training new truck drivers, I'd tell them, "don't waste time, but NEVER be in a hurry"

Thank you for this information.
I, too, thought it was illegal to pass on the right in many states.
If I read the list you provided correctly, I only see Texas that restricts passing on the right lane of either a two or three lane highway (the question posted) and Connecticut for 2 lane Interstate.
Massachusetts limits it on a two lane, non-divided highway and Rhode Island a two way street, New Jersey okays it in continuous lanes.

Are there other states with restrictions to passing on the right that aren't provided in this link?

[sarge12212]

We would like you to just maintain your speed in your lane. We would rather "act" to move around you than "react" to your lane change. 😎

[Hittenstiehl]

Lane discipline, those were the good old days of driving in Europe.

This has been an informative thread with regard to the truckers chiming in but all that being said just a couple more small points of interest from my very small perspective.

Sarcasm and wit intended:
Here in the United States we tend to value personal freedom VERY high and we are free to drive in whatever lanes we want to at the moment and we'll change our minds at a moment's notice especially if Siri tells us to.

We tend to think of (Lane) Discipline as something that's intended for other people and you can all just sit in my wake while I finish making my phone call. And be advised as soon as I'm done with my phone call I will speed up and pass you.

Common decency no longer common anymore at all.

Driving courtesy no longer something that should be expected and always nice to see when it still happens.

Professional long-term truckers, it's not the same industry it used to be (bless you truckers). Most all of them still hard-working trying to make a living folks but bringing vast driving experiences from many different countries with many different education levels and experiences.

Common driving knowledge, basic driver education, driver knowledge, driver experience is vastly different than it used to be.

You even see it on the forums here. People with expertise in their fields are often ridiculed and teased and doubted because "we" know different or we have a friend who told us something or we read on the internet that it was ambiguous.

The lanes are referred to as lanes 1, 2, 3 or 4 (more sometimes if you're in Houston are other big metro cities) Lane number one is closest to the median, the center of the roadway, and often referred to as the fast lane.

Driving is already a multitasking event and yet we have turned our cars into: an office, and telephone booth, a makeup counter, a takeout restaurant a changing room, a spot to breastfeed, a place to have a sexual encounter and a place to use illicit drugs.

It's not about me and patience is something that needs to be practiced while driving. If the driver passing me constantly can't keep his speed then I can certainly slow myself down because the last place I want to be is next to him when he has a situation he can handle.

Sorry for the rant it doesn't read quite as funny as I intended it to be. Down off the box now as I'm driving (just kidding I wasn't driving).

[Bbelk]

1) pick a lane and stay there
2) middle is best, but conditions dictate left or right
3) For me, if I am playing hopscotch, I slow down a little and let them move on
4) There is no safe lane on I35 in Texas
5) Interstates are not usually my first choice.