Tailgating truckies.

[blackf6]

The tailgating trucker phenomenon may soon be about to end. Camera's will be installed within most trucks within 5 years. Sending the footage of the hapless drivers to their superiors. So expect delays now when you have people dawdling under the limit as always. Now the professional will have to keep to a safe distance thus slowing with the dawdler.
http://www.lytx.com/
I had one installed a month ago. Totally changed my driving habits now.

[Grippy]

Thats great, but I find a lot of the time truckies try to do the right thing by leaving a decent gap, but people see that as an invitation to merge in front of them. It goes both ways I guess.

[Bill M]

for every truck driver who does the right thing there are an equal number of truck drivers who couldn't care less.

[chevypower]

Cars can accelerate, decelerate, and maneuver much quicker, easier, and more efficiently than trucks. In general, car drivers need to remember this; put aside who has the "right" of way and just be more courteous. Don't put up a fight for your spot in your lane, just let the truck driver through. He/she is at work delivering products to the store that you are going to buy, not out for a joyride. The truck is bigger and heavier; if you collide, it doesn't matter who is technically in the wrong if you are dead. Seriously, if you are driving a car and are causing a semi to drive slower, something is wrong with your driving. Push the right pedal a little harder.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by Bill M

for every truck driver who does the right thing there are an equal number of truck drivers who couldn't care less.

I highly dispute this.......most truckies are top bloody drivers doing a difficult job in difficult times.

we tend to remember and berate the very few extremely bad ones but forget to praise the good ones.

Nothing but praise for the vast majority from me.

The camera is simply a little bit more unnecessary pressure which a current affair will love.

[BPXR6T]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

I highly dispute this.......most truckies are top bloody drivers doing a difficult job in difficult times.

we tend to remember and berate the very few extremely bad ones but forget to praise the good ones.

Nothing but praise for the vast majority from me.

The camera is simply a little bit more unnecessary pressure which a current affair will love.

Could have fooled me. Barely a week goes by without a close shave with a grain truck. Cutting corners is my biggest gripe. I've come around a corner twice in the last six months to be head on with a truck and run off the road. Just last week I was nearly killed by an idiot who was flying. Too fast obviously and couldn't keep to his side of the road. I had my front window smashed, nearly rolled, and ended up in a paddock. Driver knew what he done and kept going.

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by BPXR6T

Could have fooled me. Barely a week goes by without a close shave with a grain truck. Cutting corners is my biggest gripe. I've come around a corner twice in the last six months to be head on with a truck and run off the road. Just last week I was nearly killed by an idiot who was flying. Too fast obviously and couldn't keep to his side of the road. I had my front window smashed, nearly rolled, and ended up in a paddock. Driver knew what he done and kept going.

Try staying out of their way.

[mif73]

I call the cops on tailgaters whether they are cars or even worse, b doubles.

And no i dont sit in the right lane holding up traffic.
I get tailgated in the middle and left lane even with cars in front of me and no where for me to go.

Must be the work car that attracts them ( corolla), didnt really happen when i had a falcon or commode company car.

[Trevor 57]

In 100k zones, when most car drivers are cruising along do 100k's by their speedo's, trucks catch them, so the car driver assumes the truck is speeding, in fact trucks are speed limited based on time over distance (GPS will prove this)

It will take a truck doing a proper 100k's an awful long way to pass a car doing 95 (100 by their speedo), to gain some extra distance the truck driver will close up behind the car to lessen the amount of time on the wrong side of the road, how do I know all this, coz I used to drive speed limited B-Doubles for a living - just saying

Having a truck (or car) sit closely behind you is only a problem if you stop quickly or do something stupid, they can see a lot further down the road than you can, so they can anticipate a lot of what is going to happen

How many 'truck into the rear of car' accidents do you see, then how many 'car into the back car' accidents do you see - just saying

Yes it is intimidating having a truck closely behind, but Duel was only a film everyone

BTW, I do not condone tailgating as intimidation, and I have seen trucks, cars and buses doing that

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

In 100k zones, when most car drivers are cruising along do 100k's by their speedo's, trucks catch them, so the car driver assumes the truck is speeding, in fact trucks are speed limited based on time over distance (GPS will prove this)

It will take a truck doing a proper 100k's an awful long way to pass a car doing 95 (100 by their speedo), to gain some extra distance the truck driver will close up behind the car to lessen the amount of time on the wrong side of the road, how do I know all this, coz I used to drive speed limited B-Doubles for a living - just saying

Having a truck (or car) sit closely behind you is only a problem if you stop quickly or do something stupid, they can see a lot further down the road than you can, so they can anticipate a lot of what is going to happen

How many 'truck into the rear of car' accidents do you see, then how many 'car into the back car' accidents do you see - just saying

Yes it is intimidating having a truck closely behind, but Duel was only a film everyone

BTW, I do not condone tailgating as intimidation, and I have seen trucks, cars and buses doing that

I can understand a truck being up & close ready to overtake but when they sit up your rear as if they are going to drive over the top of you is B.S & you know it..... No excuses.

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

In 100k zones, when most car drivers are cruising along do 100k's by their speedo's, trucks catch them, so the car driver assumes the truck is speeding, in fact trucks are speed limited based on time over distance (GPS will prove this)

It will take a truck doing a proper 100k's an awful long way to pass a car doing 95 (100 by their speedo), to gain some extra distance the truck driver will close up behind the car to lessen the amount of time on the wrong side of the road, how do I know all this, coz I used to drive speed limited B-Doubles for a living - just saying

Having a truck (or car) sit closely behind you is only a problem if you stop quickly or do something stupid, they can see a lot further down the road than you can, so they can anticipate a lot of what is going to happen

How many 'truck into the rear of car' accidents do you see, then how many 'car into the back car' accidents do you see - just saying

Yes it is intimidating having a truck closely behind, but Duel was only a film everyone

BTW, I do not condone tailgating as intimidation, and I have seen trucks, cars and buses doing that

Trev, a lot of your posts are pretty good.... But that one old son, is codswallop.

I have had trucks sit far to close to me many times while I have boon sitting on 105 (via that famous GPS we all assume is correct) in my XR. I've also had the idiots sit wat too close when driving the ambulane vehicle. So much for speed governing.

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by GCRXR6

Trev, a lot of your posts are pretty good.... But that one old son, is codswallop.

I have had trucks sit far to close to me many times while I have boon sitting on 105 (via that famous GPS we all assume is correct) in my XR.

and how many of these trucks have rear ended your car?

This is the real world not Duel

[mif73]

Ok man.
So i myself havnt seen many trucks into the back of a car. Doesnt mean it doesnt happen.

Why tempt fate by sitting a metre off someones bum that cant go any quicker coz of a wall of
Cars in front of them.
Its still not a good thing. Its very intimidating and also illegal.

Its kinda like walking around town waving a gun at everyone and those people freak out, but when the cops arrest you, you then you admit you werent really gonna shoot anyone, but you might still go to jail coz its illegal and wrong.

Even as a pro truck driver, im sure you would rather not be on the edge of your seat with your brake foot quivering in anticipation of a 0.2 second reaction time coz you have only left enough room to stop in 0.1 second.
Wouldnt you rather leave more than 1 metre gap at 60kmh and moreso at freeway speed to make your own job less stressful?
Im sure the 2 second gap rule (dry weather) would need to be adhered to especially in a truck with trailer brakes that lock up in a cloud of blue smoke.

Again i never did say that car drivers are the best and truck drivers suck.

I merely stated that if anyone on 2 wheels, 4 wheels or more tailgates and weaves forcefully in and out of lanes etc like the b double we had up our bum (about 1 metre behind me and in the middle lane) on a busy inner city freeway, then they need an attitude adjustment and if they keep doing it then i call the cops.

Its even worse if a so called pro driver does it, they generally have any where from 10 to 50 times the mass of a passenger car and it intimidates and makes people nervous, driving is stressfull enough these days without someone playing games wouldnt you agree?

Again i have no probs with truck drivers, if they give me enough warning to adjust speed etc, i let them in front with my highbeam flick and they get in front and alternate their indicators as a thankyou and everyone is happy, what ever makes the traffic flow better and less stressful then thats good for everyone.

I only have a problem with anyone who is inconsiderate or severely unskilled or both.

Im sure these dash cams will catch heaps of bad car drivers too.

Bye now.

Ps: yes i have seen duel and it doesnt make me freak when i see a Kenworth or the like, even a black one with dark tint.

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

and how many of these trucks have rear ended your car?

This is the real world not Duel

Yeah Trev ... None.. due to bloody good luck and having an opportunity sometimes of pulling over and let the morons go on (and exceeding 110 as well).

Trev, I have truckers in my family, from my uncles side. It's a family tradition. They agree that there are too many idiots giving the industry a bad name. My son in law (a diesel fitter working for a western firm) was asked on more than one occasion to over ride the governor with the trusty laptop. Not very popular when he said no.

Try those arguments all you like Trev... there is never any excuse to drive closer than a minimum of at least 2 seconds from the vehicle ahead. We all know about reaction times and braking efficiency....bla bla etc etc.

[Cuyper]

That's great, if you've ever been behind a truck when he's made an emergency stop you'll know that you can make yourself a picnic and enjoy the smoke and rubber show while you casually wait for him to slide to a stop... The things just don't stop, it makes you really stress when one is right up your **** on a dodgy country highway in the middle of the night when anything could happen at any time. It really compromises your options if you have to stop in a hurry.

I've been pushed off the road a few times in my life by rouge truckies so I'm not a fan of them in general although I do realise the few times I have had problems are outweighed thousands to one by the trucks that haven't run me off the road . Still it's the few maniacs that you remember the most. Some years ago in my youth one of them ****ed me off by squeezing me into the bush so much I had a quite bad case of road rage and followed him for about 100km in a direction I wasn't even originally going too, continuously passing him and slowing down in front of him, pulling off the road and repeating..... . That wasn't cool on my behalf but I was very angry about it. Just lately I've seen a few tare sitting on 115km/h on a flat straights continuously too, what's up with that, no one watching the speed limiters any more?.

[castellan]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

In 100k zones, when most car drivers are cruising along do 100k's by their speedo's, trucks catch them, so the car driver assumes the truck is speeding, in fact trucks are speed limited based on time over distance (GPS will prove this)

It will take a truck doing a proper 100k's an awful long way to pass a car doing 95 (100 by their speedo), to gain some extra distance the truck driver will close up behind the car to lessen the amount of time on the wrong side of the road, how do I know all this, coz I used to drive speed limited B-Doubles for a living - just saying

Having a truck (or car) sit closely behind you is only a problem if you stop quickly or do something stupid, they can see a lot further down the road than you can, so they can anticipate a lot of what is going to happen

How many 'truck into the rear of car' accidents do you see, then how many 'car into the back car' accidents do you see - just saying

Yes it is intimidating having a truck closely behind, but Duel was only a film everyone

BTW, I do not condone tailgating as intimidation, and I have seen trucks, cars and buses doing that

That's true.
Now i was down NSW driving the wifes Aurion and had this B double sit right up my rear real close, i did not give a hoot about that really but thought he was a fool, there is no reason for disrespecting the distance rule, but then again i think the speedo must be out on this 2011 Aurion original tyres and all but i just set the cruse control dead on the speed limit and let it do its thing. if it was up to me i would be ok siting even on 200 KM/H on a good road. but i was not going to let others push me to cop a speeding fine and i don't drive fast when i don't know the road.

And why do people just come flying up ya rear at road works and i am siting on the given speed limit as i pass people working, i know people who have been hit by drivers passing by at the work site, it's not a joke

[mif73]

Today it happened on a freeway with a median strip.
There was no wrong side of the road.
And he was so close i could read the part number of his grille.

I wasnt driving below the speed limit either, more like 5 to 10 over, and i also use the gps speedo.

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by mif73

Today it happened on a freeway with a median strip.
There was no wrong side of the road.
And he was so close i could read the part number of his grille.

please refer to ALL my post above, thanks

[Silver Ghia]

I've noticed more recently that many more truck drivers are much better behaved in staying well back, than they used to years ago.

But I cringe whenever I see a small car cut in front of them especially when the traffic is slowing down, when the truck driver is doing the right thing. Happens too often.

[mif73]

Yep i travel heaps for work and i see heaps of cars pull in front of cars and trucks when braking.
I dont do it coz i know what a pain it is.
It sometimes happens to me when im towing and it aint nice.

I like to stay out of car and truck blind spots especially a trucks passenger side beside his door.

And i dont care how far a truckie can see in the distance, i bet my car could stop heaps quicker than 80 tonne of b double up my bum which would make my small sedan a hatchback.

Oh and i think im the only car driver that actually doesnt overtake a turning vehicle.
And i do actually let truckies and cars in front if they indicate long enough for me to adjust my speed.

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by mif73

And i dont care how far a truckie can see in the distance, i bet my car could stop heaps quicker than 80 tonne of b double up my bum which would make my small sedan a hatchback.

lots of rubber on the road, lots of good brakes on lots of axles and B-Doubles are only to 68 tonne, not 80, most run at 62t, add to that a more alert experienced driver and you might be surprised, when measured from reaction time to stop

[mif73]

Well then if a vehicle has awesome rubber and brakes and a super quick driver, it must be legal to tailgate then.

I suppose if they were up my bum and i braked and they hit me then its my fault?

I should take some speed, drinks heaps of strong coffee and take off in a porsche gt3 or the like and sit on someones bum coz its ok and the cops wont mind a bit.

And 80 tonne was a figure of speech, sounds better than 68.

Ps: not having a go at just truckies, plenty of stupid or inconsiderate (or both) car and bike drivers too.

Cheers.

[blackf6]

Originally Posted by mif73

Well then if a vehicle has awesome rubber and brakes and a super quick driver, it must be legal to tailgate then.

I suppose if they were up my bum and i braked and they hit me then its my fault?

I should take some speed, drinks heaps of strong coffee and take off in a porsche gt3 or the like and sit on someones bum coz its ok and the cops wont mind a bit.

And 80 tonne was a figure of speech, sounds better than 68.

Ps: not having a go at just truckies, plenty of stupid or inconsiderate (or both) car and bike drivers too.

Cheers.

My point in case. The camera's will stamp out most of these behaviors. If I am caught tailgating in the tanker. Might as well start looking for a job before the end of shift.

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by mif73

Well then if a vehicle has awesome rubber and brakes and a super quick driver, it must be legal to tailgate then.

sarcasm will not will win an argument, just ridicule

Originally Posted by mif73

I suppose if they were up my bum and i braked and they hit me then its my fault?

answer my question about truck in the rear of cars question, then you might be taken seriously

Originally Posted by mif73

And 80 tonne was a figure of speech, sounds better than 68.

but therein lies the problem, you sprout this **** off down the street and majority of ignoramus' will believe you

Originally Posted by mif73

Ps: not having a go at just .

yes you are

[tezxr8man]

Originally Posted by mif73

Well then if a vehicle has awesome rubber and brakes and a super quick driver, it must be legal to tailgate then.

I suppose if they were up my bum and i braked and they hit me then its my fault?

I should take some speed, drinks heaps of strong coffee and take off in a porsche gt3 or the like and sit on someones bum coz its ok and the cops wont mind a bit.

And 80 tonne was a figure of speech, sounds better than 68.

Ps: not having a go at just truckies, plenty of stupid or inconsiderate (or both) car and bike drivers too.

Cheers.

but you ARE having go at truckies by that remark? I would say most truckies would resent your remarks about them being speed junkies. I would have assumed that you are a car enthusiast being, you know an enthusiast forum here yeah?
I reckon you would be a fan of being labelled a hoon would you?
How about you keep those remarks to yourself. I really don't think you would walk into a truckstop and say that to their faces so how bout you keep them to yourself????

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by tezxr8man

but you ARE having go at truckies by that remark? I would say most truckies would resent your remarks about them being speed junkies. I would have assumed that you are a car enthusiast being, you know an enthusiast forum here yeah?
I reckon you would be a fan of being labelled a hoon would you?
How about you keep those remarks to yourself. I really don't think you would walk into a truckstop and say that to their faces so how bout you keep them to yourself????

he is just another person who is ignorant of the industry, 85% of all freight moved in moved within the State (intra-State), only 15% of all freight moved goes over inter-State borders, of those drivers less than 1% use stay awake drugs. In fact VicPol stats prove that there are more car drivers (by per-capita) using drugs and driving than truck drivers, but hey, lets not let the truth get in the way of a good story.

He is probably the same person to ring up and whinge when something is not delivered to his door on time (D.I.F.O.T.)

[mif73]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

he is just another person who is ignorant of the industry, 85% of all freight moved in moved within the State (intra-State), only 15% of all freight moved goes over inter-State borders, of those drivers less than 1% use stay awake drugs. In fact VicPol stats prove that there are more car drivers (by per-capita) using drugs and driving than truck drivers, but hey, lets not let the truth get in the way of a good story.

He is probably the same person to ring up and whinge when something is not delivered to his door on time (D.I.F.O.T.)

Tell me Trev when i said anything about truckies using drugs?
I thought this post was about tailgating and how its wrong and illegal to do it full stop?

Unless you are refering to the remark I made about being alert?

In that case it was if I ( as in ME) took speed and heaps of coffee and had lots of rubber on the ground then by your analogy it would be ok to stick close to another vehicle coz then the reactions would be quicker.
(yes i have tried speed once and i was awake for way too long and sharp as a tack, but never again).

I apologize if anyone took that as a generalisation that I reckon that all truckies are druggies, far from it, I reckon that the figures you produced are most probably correct. Probably a poor choice of word to use in context of the sensitivities.

So lets get back to the subject matter:

Considerate and non threatening driving =good.
Tailgating (by anyone) =bad

[Road Games]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

he is just another person who is ignorant of the industry, 85% of all freight moved in moved within the State (intra-State), only 15% of all freight moved goes over inter-State borders, of those drivers less than 1% use stay awake drugs. In fact VicPol stats prove that there are more car drivers (by per-capita) using drugs and driving than truck drivers, but hey, lets not let the truth get in the way of a good story.

He is probably the same person to ring up and whinge when something is not delivered to his door on time (D.I.F.O.T.)

I reckon you blokes should lead by example and stop being so one eyed in your responses !!

But then again it may be a slow news day ...

[GTMOND]

If people just learned to back off a bit to let the truck bye, we might not have to tailgate as it can take a fair stretch of road when there is only 5 km/h between the car and truck. I have quite regularly passed cars that get to the middle of the b/ trailer when you start to run out off road, you have your left indicator on to let them know you need to move across but they just won't back of that little bit to let you in. Can be a bit stressful.

[mik]

for every one bad truck driver there will 50 smart *** car drivers that think they are professional drivers and never do any thing wrong with their nose stuck up in air citing that nasty old truck driver did something or rather, the sad truth is about 49 of those 50 wouldn't know the truth if it bit them on the ***.