I meet my Uncle at a funeral service this past weekend for another Uncle. He knows I am a professional driver and he asked me a question:
Can the driver of a Freight liner Columbia see me over his grill? My uncle was driving a 2door Hyundai.
Seems that they were stopped at a traffic light. The trucker stopped too close and my Uncle's car vanished. The trucker was aware of my uncle's car, but again was too close and when the trucker looked up and saw the light was green let off the gas and the automatic truck moved forward enough to "kiss" my uncle's bumper.
Yes, the trucker was at fault, my uncle is safe and his bumper has some marks on it; but its cosmetic damage and he and the car will be Ok. The truck was not injured. The trucker was embarrassed and very sorry about what he did.
This story helps to underline that a truck has a very limited field of vision. So here are some rules of thumb.
1. If you don't see the driver in the mirror from behind, he can't see you.
2. If you don't see the driver through the windshield he can't see you.
3. If a trucker has their signals on and needs to come into your lane, either pass him or flash your lights to tell him that its OK to come into your lane.
4. Give trucks lots of space to move. They really don't want to come into contact with you or your car.
5. Truck don't have crumple zones like your car does. Trucks are covered with a very thin skin which only helps move the air around the truck and decrease fuel consumption.
6. Never pick a battle with a truck. You will lose.
Be safe, and give trucks lot of room.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Observations while driving in Toronto & The GTA.
After driving this streets and highways in and around the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) which is Niagara, London, Barrie, Kingston region of Southern Ontario I have some news on what I have seen these past ten years.
1. Passing on 400 series of highways is always done on the RIGHT hand lane. The left hand lane is reserved for those who are self described "I am too important to share the road or am too busy to think about how my driving skills are lacking."
2. There is zero difference between a person using a cellphone and a drunk while driving. These drivers don't signal, don't keep their speed or lane, don't see other drivers, and do cause accidents. Using a cell phone even hands free is not safe. Turn the cell off. Also you can't txt while stopped at a red light its still a ticket. The only time you can be texting while in the car is either while parked off the road, or while a passenger.
3. Drivers enjoy the thrill and challenge of going from the far left lane into the off ramp at the last possible second while causes everybody behind them to slam on the brakes and cause a possible crash.
4. Fender benders block lanes. If you bump into another car then just pull over into the curb lane and then swap insurance etc. Stop blocking the live lane and causing a more dangerous situation. In some states its illegal to block a live lane if the cars involved can be driven off the road.
5. Trucks and other heavy equipment is NOT the cause of how slow the traffic is going. Truckers want to go as fast as possible in a safest possible way. We are professionals and though we all have our bad days, we are out here in traffic more than you are.
6.Speed limiters on Truck only causes more slow moving traffic and blocked lanes. Our provincial governments. Decided to limit trucks to 105kph. None of those politicians were or have ever driven a truck before. The end result is that trucks in an effort to pass other slower moving trucks are blocking our roads and making all traffic move slower. This might be a good result as speed kills.
7. Driver testing: All G class drivers once they have passed their final test are not tested again till they are 80. This needs to change. Did you know that all professional drivers Class A-F are tested every 5 years? These driver need to pass written and practical tests to keep their licence. We should start to pressure the government to force G class drivers to at least take a written test every 5 years. How often have you come to a set of lights and been confused about the signals? Do you really know what that sign means? Do you know how to safely navigate a "round a bout"?
There is so much a driver needs to learn and keep learning about the roads they are driving. Driving is VERY dangerous. Its a contact sport where we try not to hit each other, but when we do we can kill each other.
Driving is not for the faint of heart, the overly cautious or overly confident. Every day I am reminded how dangerous my job is.
1. Passing on 400 series of highways is always done on the RIGHT hand lane. The left hand lane is reserved for those who are self described "I am too important to share the road or am too busy to think about how my driving skills are lacking."
2. There is zero difference between a person using a cellphone and a drunk while driving. These drivers don't signal, don't keep their speed or lane, don't see other drivers, and do cause accidents. Using a cell phone even hands free is not safe. Turn the cell off. Also you can't txt while stopped at a red light its still a ticket. The only time you can be texting while in the car is either while parked off the road, or while a passenger.
3. Drivers enjoy the thrill and challenge of going from the far left lane into the off ramp at the last possible second while causes everybody behind them to slam on the brakes and cause a possible crash.
4. Fender benders block lanes. If you bump into another car then just pull over into the curb lane and then swap insurance etc. Stop blocking the live lane and causing a more dangerous situation. In some states its illegal to block a live lane if the cars involved can be driven off the road.
5. Trucks and other heavy equipment is NOT the cause of how slow the traffic is going. Truckers want to go as fast as possible in a safest possible way. We are professionals and though we all have our bad days, we are out here in traffic more than you are.
6.Speed limiters on Truck only causes more slow moving traffic and blocked lanes. Our provincial governments. Decided to limit trucks to 105kph. None of those politicians were or have ever driven a truck before. The end result is that trucks in an effort to pass other slower moving trucks are blocking our roads and making all traffic move slower. This might be a good result as speed kills.
7. Driver testing: All G class drivers once they have passed their final test are not tested again till they are 80. This needs to change. Did you know that all professional drivers Class A-F are tested every 5 years? These driver need to pass written and practical tests to keep their licence. We should start to pressure the government to force G class drivers to at least take a written test every 5 years. How often have you come to a set of lights and been confused about the signals? Do you really know what that sign means? Do you know how to safely navigate a "round a bout"?
There is so much a driver needs to learn and keep learning about the roads they are driving. Driving is VERY dangerous. Its a contact sport where we try not to hit each other, but when we do we can kill each other.
Driving is not for the faint of heart, the overly cautious or overly confident. Every day I am reminded how dangerous my job is.
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