Posted on 08/07/2011 11:53:31 AM PDT by Daffynition
Let me tell you a little about the truck driver you just flipped off because he was passing another truck, and you had to cancel the cruise control and slow down until he completed the pass and moved back over.
His truck is governed to 68 miles an hour, because the company he leases it from believes it keeps him and the public and the equipment safer.
The truck he passed was probably running under 65 mph to conserve fuel. You see, the best these trucks do for fuel economy is about 8 miles per gallon. With fuel at almost $4 per gallon -- well, you do the math. And, yes, that driver pays for his own fuel.
He needs to be 1,014 miles from where he loaded in two days. And he can't fudge his federally mandated driver log, because he no longer does it on paper; he is logged electronically.
He can drive 11 hours in a 14-hour period; then he must take a 10-hour break. And considering that the shipper where he loaded held him up for five hours because it is understaffed, he now needs to run without stopping for lunch and dinner breaks.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
I wept when I read this.
Most here probably have no idea of the hassles drivers face which include dealing with lumpers to get unloaded, dispatchers trying to get them to cheat in their logbook, the problems getting unloaded as mentioned, not being covered by minimum wage and the list goes on and on.
Hat's off to the truck drivers that make our way of life possible.
It’s a tough and important job. Unless you’re stopping at a roadside fruit stand, virtually every consumer good you buy got there by truck (even the stuff that came in on trains has to leave the train yard in something else). I always try to ease up a bit on the throttle to let a truck that is signalling, into the lane, or speed up to give him some extra space behind me. I almost always get an appreciative flash of the lights or a wave. Also, I try not to cut right in front of them if I’m changing lanes, because they need a lot more room to slow down or stop than another car or SUV.
They only run dedicated miles and with two drivers, they can make a pretty good income doing five “turns” each week.
Their life is the truck. It's not pretty or forgiving.
Could/would you, please, explain you comment.
Victim?
Thanks.
Maybe Mr. Truck Driver should stop voting for Democrats.
That sounds about right from conversations I’ve had with a truck-driving relative. His driving time is limited, so to cover more distance he needs to go faster, but to save money on gas he needs to go slower.
Truckers are the lifeblood of the country.
Hey, it wasn’t me! I drive 62 max. Slow down, save $.
My PU gets 15 mpg at 70 mph, 19 mpg at 62, 21 mpg at 55 mph. Plus, it’s 22 years old.... 316,000 miles on original drive train (rounding the moon and starting back to earth!!!). 89 FORD F150 XLT, 4.9l/300 cu in 6 cyl, 5 speed 4x2.
If you bought it,a truck brought it.
I work the traffic office for a large warehouse.
We had a guy who came in last night, he said he made it onto our property by about 90 seconds. We needed his trailer in a door at adjacent building across the campus. He asked if he could have a jockey take his trailer there because he was out of time and if he travelled faster than 5 mph it would alert DOT.
Most truckers I know are very conservative.
I respect 18 wheel drivers as they are a backbone of the American economy. I don’t respect 18 wheel drivers than haul autos. I’ve had two experiences with them that by inches almost put me on the wrong side of the grass. IMO, they have a lot of speedy, chance taking idiots in their ranks.
Grueling is more like it. To make a pretty good income it takes both of them working full time.
Regulation and the do-gooders are killing us all. Maybe I underestimate... I think they may have already killed us and the body just hasn’t gotten the message.
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