Of Two Minds

Today's Thoughts By Jeff Head 5/21/13 Of Two Minds

Safe and legal trucking without reprisal, is it possible?  It always seems to me that a driver with this mindset is always in someone's way.  No matter how hard we try, a shipper, receiver, broker or an agent seem to have better ideas then what we do on how to get the job done, according to them anyways.  Out on the open highway, we have to contend with other drivers in other vehicles.  This can be a very challenging experience indeed sometimes.  Folks that drive cars have their way of thinking while we truck drivers have ours.  Often though, the way one driver thinks or perceives a situation is often something different then the other drivers around them. 

 

If I do this right, this article will be accompanied by an uncut video so that you, the reader can watch and make up your own mind.  I can only give you my views and tell you from my vantage point how I seen things.  What the other drivers thought, well, I shall leave that up to you to determine.

 

I am traveling at the posted speed limit one lane out from the right.  I am in this lane because in just a minute, the right lane becomes an exit only lane.  Traffic passes me on the right looking to exit while up ahead, you can see traffic coming down the ramp looking to merge onto the highway just as myself and the traffic on my right will meet them.  Any professional trucker knows that now is the time to take action to avoid a potential bad situation.  One always looks ahead and plans an escape route.  For me, this would have been to move one lane to the left. 

 

As you continue to watch, instead of moving to the lane to my left, I have moved to the left side of my lane giving the traffic on my right as much room as possible to complete the merge.  The lane to the left of me as you will notice, blocked by a speeding over-sized load that has a clear left lane beside him. Instead of moving to the left, the driver of the speeding truck figures that blowing his horn and continuing to mash his gas and continuing to pass me is the correct action.

 

Like I said, of two minds in any situation.  The posted speed limit for regular traffic is sixty miles an hour.  For oversized trucks requiring permits to move their load in the state of Louisiana, fifty five miles an hour is the max.  Instead of noticing a ramp with merging traffic ahead of me and showing some professional courtesy by slowing down or perhaps moving to the lane to his left, the drivers choice was to lay down on his horn and force me into a potential dangerous situation.

 

I know I know, everybody that watches this video will have a different point of view.  Some will side with, "if you cannot run with the big dogs then go sit in the porch."  Others, like me, will say our number one job at on that highway is to protect the lives of the people we share it with." 

 

A safe and legal driver always looks ahead and moves to keep the highway safe.  We look for potential accidents and we do our best to avoid them.  One of our biggest problems in doing this is drivers that have no time to follow the speed limit.  No time to follow the rules of the road as set by the state we are traveling in.  They figure that because they are running faster than any one else, that they can force others into bad situations.  Then, when something does go wrong and someone ends up laying there dead in the middle of the highway.  They just speed off and never even look back.

 

We as truckers are the "Knights Of The Highway."  I believe with all of my heart that we have as much a responsibility as anyone wearing a badge to keep that highway safe.  If you are trucker and you simply refuse to slow down, at least try to look ahead and allow others to navigate safely.  I know that you are in a hurry and your load is worth more than the human life you are sharing the highway with each day.  The thing is, the rest of us do not feel that way and would really like it if our loved ones made it home to us once again.  

Drive safe folks, drive sane

God Bless America

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Books By Jeff Head

Running Legal Blues

Drive Safe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYtX2UrcMho