Interesting TV over the weekend.

rjstractor wrote:
How a driver reacts to a certain situation is probably just as important as reaction speed. My 16 year old daughter certainly has faster reflexes than my 72 year old father, but when a tire blows on a 20,000 lb. pickup and trailer combination, I want my dad behind the wheel because he will instinctively take the correct actions (because he's had it happen once or twice over the years) whereas my daughter would likely panic and have no idea what to do.

Old age and treachery beats youth and exuberance. Not sure how the argument got stretched to an old man versus a 16 year old girl here though. My original comment was about me (34 years old and 10 years of experience with towing trailers) versus a recent retiree and a new heavy RV (with relatively no experience towing or driving a massive class A)

At 34 years old and 10 years pulling trailers, I have the benefit of youth and faster reaction times and experience. It seems a vocal majority on this forum would have me believe that towing at 75% of my Tundra's max tow rating is grossly unsafe and that I am risking my life, my families life and the lives of everyone on the road around me.

The 64 year old who has a $250,000 motorhome and driving at the upper end of its GVWR is inherently safe though.

I have better reaction time and experience. I am trying to control 14,000 lbs at most. The recent retiree has slowed reactions and no experience driving something this big and it trying to control 40,000+ lbs.

rjstractor wrote:
How a driver reacts to a certain situation is probably just as important as reaction speed. My 16 year old daughter certainly has faster reflexes than my 72 year old father, but when a tire blows on a 20,000 lb. pickup and trailer combination, I want my dad behind the wheel because he will instinctively take the correct actions (because he's had it happen once or twice over the years) whereas my daughter would likely panic and have no idea what to do.

On the other hand, if your daughter had had this happen, your dad has not, then you would want your daughter at the wheel.

issue with this is, until it happens to you, you have no idea how to handle it, other than what you have been told. Even then, it might take a time or two to really be used to it per say. Not that I want to get used to a tire blowing on my driving down the road, no matter how light etc the rig is! Even a tire going out on a 15-20 lb bicycle can be interesting depending upon the where and how it blew etc. Having been there done that!

marty

How a driver reacts to a certain situation is probably just as important as reaction speed. My 16 year old daughter certainly has faster reflexes than my 72 year old father, but when a tire blows on a 20,000 lb. pickup and trailer combination, I want my dad behind the wheel because he will instinctively take the correct actions (because he's had it happen once or twice over the years) whereas my daughter would likely panic and have no idea what to do.

Swamp Man wrote:
Additionally, you speak of divisiveness in the forum. For your information, I am 62 years of age and I take offense at your statement that older drivers are more likely to be involved in accidents...

spoon059 wrote:
Please, please, please find where I wrote that "older drivers are more likely to be involved in accidents". Please. I NEVER said that.

Its been a couple days... is it safe to assume that since you never replied it means that you know I never said that?

Fast Mopar wrote:
I see your point, but I think the example is poor. I don't really feel like making my point and then having you refute it, so I will try to avoid doing that. Everybody and his brother-in-law knows that reaction times get slower as age increases. My father will never consider looking at his cell phone while driving. He absolutely refuses. I would trust his reaction time over that of my teenage daughter any day of the week.

Your father versus your daughter is more of a common sense issue. Being too young and reckless is risky... being older and having slower reflexes is risky too. The risks are the same... but the reason is different. Your dad is more likely to mitigate those risks by driving slower, being more cautious and leaving more room between him and the drivers around him. I'm young enough to remember being 16 and "invincible". To this day I am shocked that I didn't get into an accident and hurt myself or others. Rather be lucky than good. I am a much better driver at 34 than at 16... but those skills will diminish as I age. I can make up for diminishing skills with increased sense and precaution though.

spoon059 wrote:

I would argue that SAFETY has a lot more to do with the driver and conditions more than the truck. Studies prove that younger drivers tend to have faster reflexes than older drivers. Studies prove that distracted driving (texting, talking on phone, eating, reading a map, adjusting GPS, etc) can be just as dangerous as drunken driving.

I would argue that it is very easy for me (34 years old) to safely drive an overloaded Tundra, but pay attention to the road, know the route, constantly scan the road ahead and beside me and not allow myself to be distracted. I would argue it is VASTLY LESS SAFE for a 60 year to drive a 40' motorhome towing a toad and trying to hold a conversation with his wife who is in the kitchen making him a sandwich to eat while he tries to navigate a busy stretch of highway that he isn't familiar with.

I see your point, but I think the example is poor. I don't really feel like making my point and then having you refute it, so I will try to avoid doing that. Everybody and his brother-in-law knows that reaction times get slower as age increases. My father will never consider looking at his cell phone while driving. He absolutely refuses. I would trust his reaction time over that of my teenage daughter any day of the week.

Swamp Man wrote:

As a police officer you should be aware of the maximum legal weights in your area of jurisdiction....

Additionally, you speak of divisiveness in the forum. For your information, I am 62 years of age and I take offense at your statement that older drivers are more likely to be involved in accidents...

May the Lord bless you and keep you and thank you for your service as a police officer. I retired from LE in 2005.

In terms of traffic law, whatever your vehicle is registered to carry, it can legally carry. If I registered my Tundra to have a GVWR of 10,000 lbs, I can legally carry that weight. Now... if I registered my vehicle to 10,000 lbs and towed a 17,000 5er that was above me rated axle weights and caused a collision that could be PROVEN to have been caused by an overloaded vehicle, I could be charged with negligent driving. The government would have to PROVE that I was over my axle ratings, that I KNEW I was over my ratings and the fact that I was over the ratings directly led to the collision or some sort of damages. Now, if I registered the vehicle for 26,001 lbs then I would have to have a CDL, DOT number and inspection and comply with commercial vehicle laws. All this******about GVWR is bunk.
Those are numbers provided by the manufacturer to balance weight ratings versus warranty claims. If my axle ratings are 8200 lbs, I can legally register for 8200 lbs and carry a payload for 8200 lbs... even though my Tundra is only approved by the manufacturer for 7200 lbs. If I had a warranty issue, Toyota might be able to deny my claim if they knew I was over THEIR rating... but legally speaking police cannot touch me.

Please, please, please find where I wrote that "older drivers are more likely to be involved in accidents". Please. I NEVER said that. I stated that studies PROVE that older drivers have slower reflexes that younger drivers. I never stated that correlation implies causation with older drivers and wrecks... People come on and complain that half tons aren't capable because it might take an additional 50 feet to stop. But a 64 year old driving a 1 ton dually that takes an additional second to even REACT to a problem is going to have a longer distance to stop as well.

Thank you for your blessing. I am halfway through... Glad you made it out alive! Enjoy retirement.

Most of the unsafe examples I encounter are related to people pulling fifth wheel trailers with HD diesel trucks and running 75+ MPH just simply because they can. And, they like to tell you they are within their limits.

A lot of idiots out there.

Saw a massive Bay Hill on I-69 south of Lansing today of being pulled by an early/mid 2000's F250. Butt down, nose high. I could just imagine probably a good 1k overweight.