I've had a t/t pull out from a convoy directly onto my ***, leaving no room between us. I simply took my foot off the gas and slowed down, he was flashing his lights at me because we were on a hill and he had momentum and wanted to pass the truck.
He needs to realize that he doesn't have my stopping power and needs to be a safe distance back.
Seems that you need to realize the same thing. He pulled in behind you, and you took your foot off the gas, thereby
decreasing what little distance you had between you. Yeah, that's smart, considering, you know, he doesn't have your stopping power.
If you had just passed him, then you were already going faster than he was, and with seconds you would have increased the distance between the two of you. Instead, you did one of the worse things you can do in front of a big truck: suddenly reduce your speed. Even one or two miles an hour decrease can mean an accident.
I was already in the lane.
Oh, well, you certainly showed him.
But I try to be courteous and if I see cars coming in the on ramp, I slow down to let a t/t in front of me because I know its harder for him to get over.
It's also harder for them to climb hills without that momentum you are so against. Being courteous would also mean understanding how big trucks sometimes need that momentum, and getting out of their way to let them have it.
I'll flash my lights at him as well.
Flashing between the low and high beams too, I'll bet.
I just think professional drivers need to be held to a higher standard because they are driving a machine that can kill, it doesn't matter if its mostly the car drivers fault, big rig drivers need to be aware that car drivers around them can be eraddic and they need to plan for that because they can't stop on a dime.
Professional drivers
are held to a higher standard. But don't kid yourself that it doesn't matter who is at fault. It matters. 87% of all accidents involving a truck and a car are the fault of the car. That's a Federal Highway Safety Administration fact. There's only so much erratic behavior that a big truck can prepare for. Many times a big truck will slow down and put the proper distance between them and the car in front of them, only to
then have three cars promptly squeeze into the open space. You can plan for that all day long, but you cannot prevent it, and it causes accidents. So yes, it absolutely matters if it's mostly the car driver's fault.
In the case of the driver in the story, he simply changed lanes without ensuring he had a clear lane to move into. It happens hundreds of times a day every day on our highways, and it happens far more often between two cars than it does a car and a big truck. Big truck drivers are not only held to a higher standard, but they often get the blame when it's not even their fault. I'm surprised the driver of the truck in the oncoming lane wasn't cited for slamming into her car when she crossed the median. <snort> The driver of that truck was at fault, but the driver of the car failed to mentally note "What happens if that big truck decides to change lanes right about now because he's coming up on a slower truck right in front of him?"
While I'm responding to you specifically here, it's really more of a general response to some conventional thinking that pervades many drivers of all types. So don't take it personally.
