Letting Logging Trucks Pass
I spent the day driving on Highway 101 South on the Olympic Peninsula in WA state. I'm driving the speed limit (60 mph) and have logging trucks trying to goose me forward. There are no or few turnou...
Forum Discussion
Okay here is my two cents worth, I have been driving for over 60 years and can remember going up OLD highway 99 in the CA central valley back in the folks '36 Chevy Deluxe.
Back then there was a system of trucker light signals, the few I can remember are, if you were trying to pass a truck and it was safe the trucker would turn off his headlights(only his headlights), if it was not safe he flashed his brake lights. When you were passing and in front of the truck, the driver would flash his headlights or his DOT lights twice, this was usually trucker to trucker. The other one and I do know a lady who was stranded in a desolate portion of 99, flashed her headlights on three times at approaching trucks. That was the truckers signal that there was an emergency in the stopped vehicle. She did get the help she needed.
With the advent of CB radios and much faster cars and trucks, and the aging of the old time truck drivers these signals were lost for the most part. I still try and use the signals for everyone while I'm on rural highways and roads and I get a lot of response from OLDER folks.
I use CC a lot and so I have a little leeway to think about things including observing different drivers and I have developed several categories of drivers. To me, drivers in their 60's and 70' try to indicate their intentions more than those in their 40's and 50's and drivers in their 20's and 30's and sorry ladies, women in millennium age group are the fastest and most dangerous drivers at least as I have observed. I did feel that women in years past were better at driving defensively and more cautious than most men, but no longer.
So my philosophy is, drive in my comfort zone and get out of the way as required by law. When encountering aggressive drivers, I pull over and hope I won't have to stop down the road to pull them out of the wreckage of their vehicle.
As my towed's hitch cover says, " Excuse me for driving so close in front of you".
On edit, the advent of rear and side view cameras has also given those of us who are passing and edge.
Back then there was a system of trucker light signals, the few I can remember are, if you were trying to pass a truck and it was safe the trucker would turn off his headlights(only his headlights), if it was not safe he flashed his brake lights. When you were passing and in front of the truck, the driver would flash his headlights or his DOT lights twice, this was usually trucker to trucker. The other one and I do know a lady who was stranded in a desolate portion of 99, flashed her headlights on three times at approaching trucks. That was the truckers signal that there was an emergency in the stopped vehicle. She did get the help she needed.
With the advent of CB radios and much faster cars and trucks, and the aging of the old time truck drivers these signals were lost for the most part. I still try and use the signals for everyone while I'm on rural highways and roads and I get a lot of response from OLDER folks.
I use CC a lot and so I have a little leeway to think about things including observing different drivers and I have developed several categories of drivers. To me, drivers in their 60's and 70' try to indicate their intentions more than those in their 40's and 50's and drivers in their 20's and 30's and sorry ladies, women in millennium age group are the fastest and most dangerous drivers at least as I have observed. I did feel that women in years past were better at driving defensively and more cautious than most men, but no longer.
So my philosophy is, drive in my comfort zone and get out of the way as required by law. When encountering aggressive drivers, I pull over and hope I won't have to stop down the road to pull them out of the wreckage of their vehicle.
As my towed's hitch cover says, " Excuse me for driving so close in front of you".
On edit, the advent of rear and side view cameras has also given those of us who are passing and edge.
