Truck drivers get no respect on the roads

Jil McIntosh

Faced with a need to move a lot of stuff, I enlisted the aid of a Dodge Sprinter. I got a long-wheelbase cargo version, a windowless van seven metres long and almost three metres high, and with just four mirrors to see everything around it.

I had to get it from Mississauga to Oshawa. Based on my trip across the highway, I'm surprised that more truckers don't lose it entirely. If you ever had faith in your fellow drivers, pilot something like this and then get back to me.

A couple of times I even had a bizarre fantasy of spinning the wheel and playing pinball with a couple of car drivers, in the hopes of knocking some smarts into 'em.

Despite my lack of side windows, I had numerous drivers stick right beside me, with their front wheels even with my rear ones, for several kilometres at a stretch.

The Sprinter's brakes are good, but it's still a lot of truck to stop, especially with a full load. I stayed in the right-hand lane, but that didn't prevent people from passing and then cutting in front with just a car length to spare.

And you'd think something this big would be easy to spot, but no, I had to try out the horn on a cellphone gabber who drifted into my lane. Honey, if I can keep this van steady between the white lines on a very windy day, surely you can do the same in a Cavalier.

Unless you grew it in your backyard, every product you touch spent time on a truck. They're not going away, and car drivers need to learn how to share the road.

Ride well behind them or pass them, but don't stick alongside them. When I pass a truck, I wait until I've got empty road from its tail to its nose, and then I accelerate to get by as quickly as I can. If there's already a car alongside the truck, I wait until it's out of the way.

When you do pass, never cut in front and then slow down. According to the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a car travelling 88 km/h can stop in about 59 metres, while a fully loaded tractor-trailer needs up to 131 metres. It can also outweigh you by some 34,000 kg. You decide if you'd rather slow down for your exit ramp, or risk having that in your back seat because you'd rather dart around it and shave a couple of seconds off your commute.

I know not every tractor-trailer driver is a saint, but whenever I hear about a collision involving a big rig, my first thought is always, what stupid stunt did the car driver pull?

Trucks and cars can co-exist, but car drivers need to do their part. If you're not able or willing to share the road with trucks, then do all of us a favour and stay off the highway.

jil@ca.inter.net

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