Confessions of an Expediter

[Lawrence]

Guys and Gals out there in Expediter Land....

I had to meet a friend the other day in the heart of the Bluegrass. As I was southbound - I realized how incredibly fast everyone was traveling on I-75. Now, in my Suburban- you will generally find me in the hammer lane...but this day I took it easy and took my time.

I kept it at the posted speed limit of 65 MPH.

I was really shocked to see everyone moving at least 75 - 80 MPH and beyond. It wasn't that long ago when we are at 55 MPH that 60 MPH seemed like you were flying. I counted a 100 vehicles moving south on I-75 and 85 were doing well above 65 MPH.

What do you think about this?

Does this affect your safety?

Your thoughts....



Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com

PS For the record the "55 Arrive Alive Campaign" of the 80's was proved to be false and misleading - I'm not advocating speeding.






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[x06col]

Oh yes, it's a mess out there. Cant believe the big trucks that could get 6-7 MPG but, I bet they achieve little more than 4-5.
Foolish. A person can hardly stay outa their way. I Travel I-75 at
65 and when I get in the hammer lane to pass, before I can get back in the right lane they've piled up behind me so much I look like the pace car at Indy. Interesting in the citys that the local delivery
guys making by the hour are running harder than the rest looking for that ticket. That ain't too bright making by the hour. Like you, it amazes me, I see it every day.

 

[LDB]

I'm not interested in tickets or watching my fuel gauge spiral down like an altimeter so I generally never run over 65 and I also generally never run more than 4-5 over the posted limit. On 75 that puts me running 59-60 mph and just about everyone passes me. I console myself with the knowledge my fuel bill is about 10% lower than it would otherwise be and I'm still making a good bottom line.

Leo
truck 767

Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[davekc]

It has become the US autobahn. 10,20,70,80, and 65 kind of are the same. 77 is the same once you leave OH. We usually run at the posted speed and sometimes slower. The bigger the rear bumper the better.
Reminds me of Hillary's new bumper sticker that says "RUN,RUN,RUN.
The democrats put it on the rear of their vehicle and the republicans put it on the front.
Davekc

 

[trump]

It really is a challenge driving the freeways anymore. I work the Detroit area daily as my dispatcher relies on me to get the hot shots there on time .I drive 5 over the limit and if Thats not fast enough to get it there then I did my best. It's not uncommon to see cars doing 80 or 90 mph any time of the day or night on 94 and 75 even in the construction zones. Now if it's Raining thats a whole new game.
My motto is if the weather is bad dont pass.

 

[terryandrene]

There are representatives from all segments of society that seem to ignore the speed limits, but the most egregious group of violators , that I consistently observe, is all 9 or 12 passenger vans with church or school lettering on the sides. The operators of these vehicles must think their time is more important than the lives or safety of their passengers.

 

[highway star]

The 401 is the biggest Autobahn going in my opinion. I can be running 120k's and get people flashing there lights behind me. T/t's are the worst offenders. When they pass you can often count on a one finger salute because you didn't move over fast enough. You would think fuel was only 30 cents a gallon.

 

[Lawrence]

Agree on the 401.

That is the fastest Interstate I have ever been on. I recall coming out of Barrie going toward Toronto, I was in the hammer lane doing 75 MPH - to pass. I looked and saw a little Honda on my bumper flashing her lights. I floored it, moved over and she nearly blew my doors off, then she passed me in the middle lane.

Funny thing was that a OPP was on her donkey and she moved over for him, then he also moved into the middle lane and I beleive the cars that passed all of us were easily doing 90 MPH. This was around 7:00 am. OPP didn't flinch as they went pass him doing excess of 90 MPH.

Never have forgot that.

Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com


Education is the best defense against the media.


The Lord's Prayer is 66 words, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words, there are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence, but government regulations on the sale of cabbage total 26,911 words.



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[RichM]

Very good points.I have been contemplating getting out of the business for some time and the biggest reason is the speed of other vehicles especially semi combinations and overall road rage. Today I ran I 75 from Macon Ga to Lake city Fl,speed limit 70,GA fuel $2.07 per gallon.I cruise at 65 and I passed no one but the number of vehicles doing 80-85-90 was incredible. Little Hondas with 13 inch wheels driven by 20 year olds doing 85,blows your mind.One huge RV towing a car from Alaska must have been doing 90. Out west it gets even worse.

 

[MillerTime]

This has been a very big concern of mine,also,for several years now. However, where it's really bad is in any state where there is a split speed limit between cars and trucks. It seems that the trucks,knowing that the D.O.T. is watching them,stay close to their posted limits(i.e. 55mph),while the cars seem to think nothing of exceeding their limit(i.e.70mph) by maybe 15 to 20mph,thereby creating a truck to car speed difference of almost 35 miles per hour.I am a very firm believer that the split speed limits are the single most dangerous device to ever be put in place anywhere on our highways.You hear people complaining about"speeding trucks" an awful lot,but I wonder how many of the truck drivers are speeding to actually make things safer by reducing that speed gap between themselves and the cars- you know-like where the on-ramps have cars coming on at 75mph or on the roads where there are two lanes each direction and not much room for error or room to move over or slow down to prevent a crash. I could go on too, about when you hear on the news about all the"truck drivers" who are involved in wrecks who were really just a driver in a pickup truck or an S.U.V.,but the media always says just "truck",or "truck driver". It just isn't fair to the professional driver. Thanks for the opportunity to let those of us who are concerned to at least write about it here. Drive safely,bye for now. ;-)

 

[Crazynuff]

I regulary run I-75 and other midwest and midsouth interstates . When I went to work for my former employer I was impressed by their supposed attitude toward safety . I regularly ran in Illinois and soon after starting commented to the owner , who would fill in for drivers from time to time , about the difficulty in keeping set appointments while running the 55 m.p.h. truck speed limit in IL . He said " You don't really run 55 all the time do you ? I run around 63 and they never bother me . " It was true . I saw semis get together and run 10 m.p.h. over the speed limit and never get stopped . You just wouldn't want to try running that fast out by yourself around 3 a.m. . Then you might get a ticket . AL is the worst . The truck I had then was governed at 70 . I'd set the cruise at 70 and just cruise the right lane and watch everybody fly by on the left . Truckers mostly ignore split speed limits and I rarely see any of them stopped for going 7 or 8 m.p.h. over the limit .

 

[davekc]

We usually run with where we feel it is safe. Not always the posted speed. Outside of Chicago at night, running 55 might get a truck running 70 into your rear end. That is why we view split speed states as revenue programs. Same in Ohio, we run 55 on the two lanes but much closer to 65 on the interstates.
In Ga and Fl we run 70 to 75 and very seldom pass anyone except hitchhikers. Out west it is different, there we run closer to 75 and 80. Except of course some of the mountain areas and part of Ca.
-1 seems to be the top speed in L.A.
Davekc

 

[ATeam]

We've been running since August, 2003 so we don't have the long-term history perspective veteran drivers do. Statements like tripple-digit truck mean little to us. We also have no history to compare current driving conditions to. We've heard drivers talk about increased congestion, etc. but we only know how it is today. Thus, things out there may not be as frustrating as they are for some.

We NEVER break the speed limit. If construction zone speed limits are 45 MPH, we slow to 45 MPH, even if a whole bunch of big rigs pile up behind us. If it's 65 MPH down a hill, our Jake brake kicks in to keep us at 65 MPH or less. It's never produced stress for us. We enjoy the safe space that automatically opens up in front of you when you obey the speed limits. The frustrated people behind us will get over it and be gone the first chance they get, and they'll forget all about you as soon as they get mad at the next person in front of them.

The reason we don't speed goes back to a court case where I served as the foreman on the jury. It was a traffic case where an automobile struck a bicyclist in an intersection. The judge told us that a key point of law in the case was, if the motorist was speeding, the motorist forfieted her rights in the intersection. As the case turned out, the bicyclist's lawyers could not prove the motorist was speeding and we found 100% in favor of the motorist. The bicyclist was the one that improperly entered the intersection and was deemed 100% liable....BECAUSE no evidence existed that the motorist was speeding.

I don't know how the law applies in other jurisdictions. But this case taught me that speeding is not always about the speed limit alone. In the event of an accident, things get complciated quickly.

We don't speed because of that, and because it's less stressful overall to simply obey the speed limit, bide our time, and enjoy the drive.

When we were doing our industry research before becoming expediters, one of the most valuable pieces of information we gained on the Internet came from a truck driving student that was journaling his day-by-day experiences. He spoke of how his trainer told him to simply ignore the people stacking up behind him. We took that advice to heart. For us, it works.

 

[davekc]

That is little comfort if going 55 in IL and you get rear ended by a truck going 70. I think I would prefer the preventive measure and drive for safety. Safety in IL is clearly not 55. Well unless your the governor.
Davekc

 

[ATeam]

>That is little comfort if going 55 in IL and you get rear
>ended by a truck going 70. I think I would prefer the
>preventive measure and drive for safety. Safety in IL is
>clearly not 55. Well unless your the governor.
>Davekc

Perhaps, but as stated above, I'm not willing to forfiet my rights on the road simply because I fear a rear end crash. I don't fear a rear end crash. When we proceed at the speed limit, we stay in the right lane. The fast moving big rigs tend to hang out in the left. Also, I believe that the best way to eliminate split speed limits is to obey them. Doing so slows down a whole lot of voters that may one day get tired of split speed limits themselves.

 

[LDB]

I don't drive 55 even in OH etc. for the primary reason my truck won't run in top gear below 59-60. I drive for the bottom line and that means overdrive at 59-60 versus direct at 55. The extra 4-5 mph gives me a little help with traffic as well because no more than 1 of every 1000 drive 55 but quite a lot will drive 60. I can line up with a big group of trucks doing the same and it's much safer than if I'm solo at 55. Even more importantly, it increases the bottom line for me and that's what it's all about.

Leo
truck 767

Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[davekc]

I'm not willing to forfiet my rights on the road simply because I fear a rear end crash. I don't fear a rear end crash. When we proceed at the speed limit, we stay in the right lane

Wait until you have one. I think your opinion might change. As far as voters changing the speed in split states. Not likely as it has been going on for years and they have it as a major source of revenue. Look at Ohio. Turnpike changed only because they were loosing toll revenues. In Illinois, they are set to triple the tolls there. It might happen but I will long be retired when it does.
As I stated earlier, safety is not an issue here, revenue is.
Davekc