Share The Road

The girl driving this car was trying to light a cigarette while getting on the freeway, ran off the road into gravel, lost control and hit a semi. She survived.

Having criss-crossed the country several times, I am still amazed at the way four-wheelers drive around big trucks. Truckers understand that their rigs are big, slow and can slow other travelers down. After all, truck drivers don't drive big trucks all the time, when we're home we are four-wheelers too. I drive a Ford F-150 4x4,  Nathan drives a Honda 1500 SE motorcycle, and we also have a Ford Ranger. We live in the boonies and often have to follow log trucks for miles before we're able to pass. It can be frustrating to drive five or ten miles an hour below the speed limit, or whatever self-imposed limit one might have, but trying to outrun or pass carelessly just isn't a good idea. Eighty thousand pounds vs. four thousand pounds--guess who's going to lose that one!

Here are a few simple rules to help us all share the road and be just a bit more friendly:

1. Don't tailgate a big truck. Slipstreaming does not improve your gas mileage and makes it impossible for the truck driver to see you. If you can't see his west coast mirrors, then he can't see you!

2. When passing a big truck, don't slide back into the lane right in front of the truck. Make sure there is at least three car lengths between you and the big truck at all times. Remember, it takes a big truck three hundred feet to come to a complete stop at fifty miles an hour.

3. Don't hang out in the hammer lane next to the trailer. The driver has blind spots and if he can't see you when he changes lanes, you aren't going to like what happens next. And neither will he, the paper work is crazy!

4.When a big truck is signalling to make a right hand turn, he really is turning right no matter how it may look from behind. Trucks make wide right turns to keep the trailer from running up on the sidewalk or taking out the signal light pole, so don't try to cut under his trailer and beat him to the turn. That is a suicidal move and you can be killed when the trailer runs over you.

5. If you are in front of a big truck, do not hit your brakes suddenly. A big truck cannot stop quickly and will run over you. Again, you will not like the results of this action.

6. There is this invention on every vehicle. It's a lever on the left side of the steering column and when you push it up the lights on the right will flash indicating you want to turn right and when you press it down, it indicates you want to turn left. This is called a turn signal and lets other drivers know what you intend to do. I don't think very many people are aware it exists because I see so few using it.

7. When coming off an exit onto a roadway, do not creep out in front of traffic. Truck drivers pay attention to get ons and will see you coming. Get up to speed and get on the road. If you creep up, you may get run over.

8. Pick a speed and stick with it, especially on two-lane roads. Do the speed limit, don't speed up and slow down only to speed up again. Trucks are heavy and it is difficult for them to get up to speed, so when they are following someone who is talking on the phone and not paying attention to their driving, this impedes their driving. Most trucks have manual transmissions and having to push on a stiff clutch to downshift and then upshift because a driver in front of them doesn't maintain their speed can cause a number of difficulties for the truck and for you.

9. Trucks are very heavy and especially slow going up hill. Be patient, they aren't driving that slow just to hold you back and when they can move out of the way to let you pass, they will. Trying to pass a truck on a hill or curve is stupid and will get you killed.

10. When road conditions are slick, please slow down and use all safety measures around big trucks. If they have to hit the brakes because a car cuts in front of them and their trailer loses traction, they may jack knife, or go into a skid. Again, you're not going to like what happens next.

11. When travelling, if you stop at a truck stop for fuel or to use the bathroom, truck parking is NOT for you. Even if you're in an RV or pulling a travel trailer, do not park in truck parking slots. Truck drivers are required by federal law to stop driving after a certain amount of time and truck stop parking lots are built specifically for this reason. Every time an RV or travel trailer uses a truck parking slot they are keeping a hard working man or woman from obeying DOT regulations. This includes rest areas as well--RV's and travel trailers can use car parking, just take two or three slots and park vertically, problem solved!

Everyone is in a hurry to get to where they're going but you want to arrive alive, so hang up your phones, eat your hamburger while stopped, read your newspaper at home, answer your email when you get to your destination and use common sense. There are more and more vehicles on the road every day and more and more big trucks, but we can all use the same roadways if we just take a few more minutes. What's five extra minutes to get somewhere compared to eternity six feet under?

Next time on My Road Trip I'll be talking about DOT rules of service for motor carriers. I hope it'll help everyone understand exactly what truck drivers have to deal with on a daily basis.

A speeding Camaro lost control on a wet roadway, spun into a semi and this vehicle then rear-ended the semi. The only survivor was the truck driver.                                                                            

February 25, 2010

Hello everyone!

It's been a little while since my last post but we wound up in Kansas City for a few days due both to weather and being out of driving hours and then the ice storm hit and no loads were moving. I am not complaining however, being in a hotel with cable, shower, room service and internet access wasn't exactly difficult to live with. lol

Back on the road last Monday, we headed to Delaware to pick up secret federal documents and take them back to Kansas. They padlocked the load so unfortunately, I haven't been able to read any of them. Of course my imagination suggests the documents will reveal the truth about the Kennedy assassination, or they're all about Watergate and the Nixon administration. As Nathan said though, they're probably receipts for how much the military spent on socks last year!

The weather was cold,  but clear so we had good driving conditions, which was much appreciated through Baltimore and Washington D.C. I did hope to catch a glimpse of the President because I have a few things I'd like to say to him. Apparently he's been in meetings and I didn't get the chance!

That's all for today, so from Indiana Nathan, Rie, Harley and Sonya hope you are all having a fabulous week!

February 18, 2010

SNOW! SNOW! AND MORE SNOW!

After the ticket in Green Valley, AZ, we finally made it to Nogales to pick up a load heading to Rochester, NY instead of the planned on Florida anniversary trip. By the time we made Missouri, the cold weather had set in and only continued to get worse the farther east we went. St. Louis began the really bad weather and it took nearly an hour to get across to Illinois, and by the time we hit Indiana our top speed was about twenty six miles an hour. Needless to say, we didn't make our appointment in New York. But we did make it, which is more than some can say.

Most of the wrecks were four wheelers (cars), due to driving too fast.  We had a couple of close calls with four wheelers who didn't want to be behind or beside a big truck, so they sped by, lost control in front of us, and thanks to some great driving on Nathan's part, we avoided being caught up in their stupidity! Because of the deep snow, there were no real injuries, except to the pride of those who landed in the ditch or median. Unfortunately, there were a couple of big truck accidents that did result in injuries to the four wheelers who hit them, and I have to say, I am very proud of the drivers who chose to dump their trucks in the ditch rather than directly hit the vehicles who tangled with them.

If you saw the 40 car collision on highway 71 north of Columbus, Ohio, you know what we were dealing with. Fortunately, the wreck, with its twenty-nine mile back up, was on the southbound lanes and we didn't wind up sitting for hours at that location.

Following are some pics I took along the way. Please remember all the pics are taken while the truck is moving, and some of the roads are very rough, especially on the ice and snow, so some are blurry. My bad! :)

Sunset in AZ

F4 Phantom located in Corona, AZ at the VFW

This truck lost his trailer tandems in Oklahoma

The tandems that should be under the trailer!

The blue car was driving too fast when trying to make a left on to the on-ramp.

Snowing in Missouri near St. Louis.

Near St. Louis.

A car lost control in front of this truck and he hit the median guardrail.

Like I said, we were driving! Sorry about the focus.

The St. Louis arch in the snow.

This truck also swerved to miss hitting a car. (Illinois)

Pieces of the bumper.

The driver was injured in this crash.

This truck and car were involved with the truck above.

Westbound lane as we were heading east.

All part of the westbound wreck.

This was in Ohio on 71N.

The cab of the above truck.

This straight truck just slid off the road in front of us.

This car was involved in the 40-car pile up on 71N. 

Most of the vehicles had already been moved by the 

time we reached the wreck area, but a few cars and

quite a few trucks were still being towed.

February 10, 2010-Part Duex

Ever get the feeling you're going in circles? I certainly do and it's not just a feeling either. From Oklahoma to Kansas to Phoenix, AZ to Kentucky to Kansas City to Massachusetts to Kansas City to Phoenix, AZ! We delivered in Phoenix this morning, then got a PM, a truck wash, did laundry, took a shower, and we'll load tomorrow going....where she goes no one knows!

Here's a few things we saw as we ran in circles!

Hello! It's me on the road and that's a Marten truck we're passing that you can see out the window!

The TA Truck Stop Corfu, NY. This driver, Ken from Holladay, TN is adding diesel treatment to keep his fuel from jelling because of the cold temps. It was about 19 degrees.

This parking lot slid on ice and lost some of the cars he was carrying outside of Cleveland, Ohio.

 We ran into a little snow west of Santa Rosa, NM

                                         Phoenix, AZ

             I thought this looked cool! Near Phoenix.

If you don't know how to drive a truck, don't get in one--even a moving truck!

February 10, 2010-Part One

     Today's addition to My Road Trip is in two parts because it's been so long since I've posted and I have a lot to say--also, today is my best friend, Candi's birthday. Candi lives in a very small town in Missouri where she's a nurse at a doctor's office. Candi and I have known one another for about five or six years now. We met because of a gigantic dog named Brutus, who was in the dog pound and about to be put down. Candi volunteered at the pound to try and find the animals homes before they were put down and ran ads in the newspaper. I answered one of those ads and adopted Brutus. Candi and I became friends and worked together to provide homes for animals from two different pounds, as well as encouraging people to have their animals spayed and neutered. Candi is like a sister to me and I love her so much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CANDI!

I promised to post pics of the truck so everyone can see how we live on the road. There are many misconceptions about living on a truck so I'm going to try and clear them up.

Isn't it expensive to live on the road?

No, it's not. We have everything we need on board, plus some things you might not think of!

Don't you have to pay for motels every night?

Not at all. Most trucks are equipped with two beds.

How do you take showers?

Nearly every truck stop has showers, which are free to drivers when they purchase fuel. Trucks usually fuel once a day and can hold from one hundred to three hundred gallons of diesel. We fuel at the Love's Truck Stop where we have unlimited free showers and coffee.

What about laundry?

Most truck stops have a laundry room with washers and dryers like the ones at your local laundromat.

What about food? Do you eat at restaurants every day?

Some truckers do, but that's expensive. We have a refrigerator/freezer and microwave on board, as well as plenty of storage. We shop at Wal-Mart and buy groceries not only for meals on the road, but also in the event we run into bad weather and wind up stuck on a road due to accidents or road closures.

Any other questions? Please leave them in your comments and I'll answer as I can!

We drive a 2006 Freightliner Columbia class with a Detroit engine and a fully automatic transmission (our first auto).

This is the tractor, or Bobtail when driven without a trailer attached.

We pull a 53' reefer that carries refrigerated and frozen items. The max weight allowed on any truck is 80,000 pounds. A reefer can take approx. 45,000 pounds cargo weight and still scale under 80k. Weights are calculated per axle. The steer axle can weigh at 12,000 pounds, the drive axle and tandems can weigh as much as 34,000 pounds.

On the scales weighing a load to make sure all axles are legal.

Trucks can carry as much as 400 gallons of fuel and have a fuel tank on each side. There are pumps on both sides so tanks are filled simultaneously.

Log books are required by the DOT for all drivers. They have specific rules for driving, loading, unloading, and off time that must be logged every day. A calculator and loose leaf log book is a drivers best friend!

The reefer trailer has a refrigerator unit at the front, thicker walls, and a fuel tank to operate the reefer, which adds extra weight and causes the cargo loads to be less than those a dry van can carry.

Sonya and Harley run things. Seriously!

                                                Command central.

TV & DVD Player

Above this shelf are more shelves I use for clothes.

Sonya on our bed. She's usually under the blankets, tunneling like a gopher!

The entire bed opens up and there is a ton of storage beneath. Above our bed is a bunk that has had the mattress removed and hinged lids added for more storage space.

                                        Microwave on top of fridge.

Bedside control panel for lights, AC/Heat, stereo, and 12 Volt plug.
                                                      

The "pantry" above microwave. As you can see, we store food, paper towels, and dishes here.

The doggies food and water next to our closet. The closet is below the TV/DVD shelf.