LIE2ME

This ever happen to you?

I am cruising down the interstate, doing about 78 mph in the wee hours of the morning, rockin' to a little Springsteen (Born to run). I'm in the passing lane with not another car on the road. Up ahead I can see a slow moving 18 wheeler in the right lane, following an old pick-up truck. I am coming up pretty fast. Well, just as I get about even with the back bumper of the semi, he swings out right in front of me! No signals, nothing. I hit the brakes just in time, but now the worst part, as every rock, stone, and piece of gravel on the road is being spit out by his rear tires and directly into the front bumper and windshield of my new Corvette. I swear it sounded like machine gun fire! Of course he takes his sweet time passing the pick up and when he finally gets back over, I trump the gas, and am gone.

Now this SOB must have clearly seen that as I approached there were no other cars behind me. He could have waited another 2 seconds before pulling out and putting the lives of two drivers at risk. But NOOOOO, he waited until just the right moment and nearly another driver off the road..

I have not yet inspected the front of my 'vette for any damage, for I am still cooling off...

Okay, I'm done

LFZ

People do this all the time... Not just truck drivers. I suppose it's human nature to get out in front of someone while the wait is not worth it. Just clean your car and you'll be alright...there are definitely more important things in life to stress about nowadays.

Ozarkwoods

years ago I was driving home a supra I had bought in AZ. In Texas as I was in the passing lane this trucker who was second of a line of trucks pulled out the same way took his sweet time passing the other truck then stayed in the left lane. I thought nothing of it except thinking dumb***. I decide to pass on the right as I was about even with the trailer axle he came over into the right lane I had nowhere to go except the shoulder as I hit the brakes and got over to the to the left lane he did the same thing. I was in the middle of nowhere a bunch of truckers having a good ole time jacking with me. So I waited a time in the left lane changed to the right again and kicked in the turbo. I was up to his right side door before he started over again. I had a bit of the shoulder on that move.
So now that I am passed him I am thinking call the state patrol and report this guy. Middle of nowhere, my word against a bunch of truckers, having to come back to court to testify, the time it would take to get a trooper to respond, make the report, was all going through my mind......no was not going to do it. I took a deep breath and looked at the opportunity to clean out the carbon and moved on with my life.

I so wanted to go "POSTAL" on the guy.

Did your driver do this on purpose, most likely so can you prove it...no file it away as a life experience and move on.

cegusa

Probably wasn't even paying attention to what he was doing. He may have been on the cell on one of those oh so important calls that can't wait or texting. Especially at that time of the day.

MARSC6

Anything to avoid touching their brakes. They do it all the time to everybody.

LIE2ME

I really think he did it on purpose, but I might just be pissed.

Having owned a few really nice sports cars in my time, I have discovered another trucker trick. If a semi driver decides you are following to close, and he can see in his mirrors you are driving a nice car, he will deliberately veer just a little onto the shoulder. This causes his wheels to kick gravel and debris from the shoulder, which then gets shot at high velocity directly into the front of your treasured ride...

Of course he did it deliberately. Now prove it...

Goatdad

Unfortunately, not many people look back when passing.

Joe B.

Some of them get their yucks doing that which is why I avoid the Interstates on road trips. I80 is the worst.

Stan0324

He might have looked back and saw your lights but did not realize how fast your were going and how quick you would be upon him.

just saying

Leo23

Being as it was "the wee hours", the trucker likely just saw your headlights, but had no idea what you were driving, or how fast you were closing on him. Stuff happens. Life is too short to worry about most of it.

sprta

Next time something like this happens...get the tele number on the truck or company name. Contact the company and state the driver was driving recklessly, where, time of day and when (so they know who it was). Also state that now that they were informed of this person's recklessness they will be held liable if somewhere down the line he has an accident. Once the company is on the line for damages caused by this driver they will take action because it now affects them.

myfunz

A few years back going to Carlisle same thing happen to me. I was coming up on a trailer who was behind a slow moving truck for about a quarter mile I proceeded to go into the fast lane to pass as I approached the rig he pulled into the fast lane just missing me and the *** end of the rig went onto the shoulder of the fast lane and back as I hit the bakes in my C4. This was almost the perfect storm event because the roads were wet, almost missed my first year at Carlisle!

Boomer111

My way of thinking is that seeing the big rig and the slower old truck in front and your closing speed it would of been a warning for a possible lane change by the big rig. Which would put me in harms way. Gotta watch out for yourself, nobody else is going to.

Avoid others poor actions.

it is called defensive driving and it has not time outs!!

35 years of big rig driving and I have seen it all all the time.

Just gotta out think the other guy and be ready for any action that limits your reaction.

Just saying sh*t happens so watch out for yourself.

LIE2ME

As a final thought, I remember when the safest, most careful, and most courteous drivers on the road were the tractor trailer drivers. Now to me it seems they have gone from being the best to some of the worst (and most aggressive). I'll give one more example. Why would any tractor trailer driver who in any way understand the laws of physics, pull out and try to pass another vehicle on an uphill grade? I see this all the time, a semi in the left lane, chugging along, downshifted as low as he can go with 20 cars stacked up bumper to bumper behind him. All the time trying to pass the other 18 wheeler who was going maybe three MPH less then the semi trying to pass on that uphill grade.

Some things I'll just never understand...

Don-Vette

The bottom line is there a plenty of azz hole drivers out there who drive all sorts of things. Give them a wide birth or pass them quickly is how I deal with it.

JScottH3

I agree about I80. When our daughter lived in Knoxville, we had the misfortune of driving I80 on a regular basis. The truck traffic is horrible.

Oops! I meant I81.

2vette2

Where I live you would be doing almost 15 mph over the speed limit. If you could tell you were approaching the truck quickly, I think I would have slowed down some just as a precaution. I'm sure there are times when I have inadvertently pulled out in front of someone. Just my 2 cents.

PittMD1

In a way I can understand the truck drivers motive. It seems that using your turn signal to indicate you need to change lanes is asking to be cut off.

Wayne O

I doubt the truck driver intended to cut you off and yes, it does take some time for a tractor-trailer to pass another vehicle....it's a big rig. I'm not sure why you'd get hit by such an unusually large amount of gravel other than just bad luck. I've found the C6 paint to be 'fairly' resistent to dings so hopefully you'll be OK. All's well that ends well.

Boomer111

The big rig operators are not all cut from the same cloth as back 1/2 a century ago.

For one thing there are many many more of them and for another so many nowadays come from different ethic backgrounds with different social experiences than what is experienced here the the US.

I lived through the change.

The guys that I learned from 40 years ago where the old timers that exhibited this "Knight of the Road" attitude.

Believe me when I say that they were the most helpful group of people that I have come into contact with.

This pool has become diluted due to the influx of so many newly trained drivers and the ethic diversity I spoke of earlier.

I learned from owner operators which was a plus too. They lived and breathed trucking. It was a way of life that gave them decent living.

Around the SF Bay Area the professionalism has all but evolved into a mediocrity.

Still there are some decent drivers but their numbers are overwhelmed by the poor ones.

Case in point.

My first trip as a young driver up to Clear Lake Ca. Up and over hwy 29 leading out of the Napa Valley into the Clear Lake area. Tight winding round not built for tractor and trailer rigs. I discovered a broken leaf spring on the trailer and called for a mechanic to fix. Waited some 5 hours and a fellow driver with the same company, an old timer I spoke off, waited with me because he knew I would have problems driving back in the dark after a already long day over the St Helena mountain in the rainstorm. Ya it rained like crazy. It would be a near 4 hour trip back.

He just said follow me out I'll take it slow. He made his day a lot longer adding to an already very long week. Back in those days 18 hour days where the norm. I was a rookie and he felt it was his duty to see my back safely. Visibility was poor at best and these turns are so tight that when and oncoming rig would pass the mirrors where within inches of each other let alone the trailers.
The CB radio is used religiously while traveling the hill as to not meet another rig in one of the really tight switchbacks.

It takes teamwork to keep this mountain road safe. Over the years less and less talk on the CB. Just a new breed of driver with no reason to feel part of the " Knights of the Highway"