This ever happen to you?

Can't say it has ... but I avoid the interstates as much as possible when towing. I'm a slow driver and there's no advantage for me on a high speed interstate.

GordonThree wrote:
Can't say it has ... but I avoid the interstates as much as possible when towing. I'm a slow driver and there's no advantage for me on a high speed interstate.

But for a car it isn't fun to be caught behind a big slow driver on a two lane highway. On a freeway I can always pass without worrying about on coming traffic.

It also depends on the road - passing on a flat midwestern road is different from passing on a curvy mountainous road. There we often have to wait for the passing lane on climbs.

Truth is. The trucks passing me don't affect me hardly at all. I have way more trouble out of the full size vans.

Truly I have rarely seen an issue with big rigs anywhere in this country.

Of all my traveling full time around it, they seem to be the victims of dopes in cars that don't realize it's hard to stop a truck or RV short or quickly change course.

Only once have I seen a trucker really out of line.

There was an exit ahead and cars were going down a bit of the breakdown lane to get off the exit. That may not be ideal, but it does bleed off quite a few cars that would otherwise be making even more traffic. It's a good thing. This guy tried ramming each car that came down the breakdown lane. I reported it.

In Washington state the only problems are with Canadian truckers. They speed with impunity and drive dangerously.
One time I saw one coming up from quite a distance behind me. I was in the middle lane because the right lane was ending. This guy came roaring up in the right lane, pulled his trailer up beside me and just moved over on me. Had the left lane not been empty (where he should have passed me) we would have all ended up in a bad collision.
Called state patrol, they couldn't care less.

Two of the worst times I have been cut off were by semis. Once was on the rural interstate, there was a rest stop that a truck was leaving. Two lanes, I was in the right lane, another truck in the left preventing me from getting over. Truck entering the highway merged in well before the end of the accleration lane, right in front of me, going probably 25 MPH slower than I was going. Braked hard, avoided collision.

Another time a semi was trying to pass. His closing speed was fine until we got not an incline. The back of his trailer was barely past my cab, and he was slowing down rapidly due to the incline, he still decided to come into the lane I was in, and then immediately over to exit the highway.

I know we rely on truckers, but I am of the opinion that many of them drive like jackwads. Like when they decide to pass each other on a two lane interstate, the passing truck going maybe one MPH faster than the one in the right lane, and still 10 MPH below the speed limit. Causing them to hang in the left lane for a couple miles while all the traffic piles up behind them.

That is where I REALLY wish there would be a left lane minimum speed.

I was a trucker for 31 years.
I go by the 10% law.
10% of any group are a@@s, regardless if they are trucker or RV'ers, doctors or whatever.
90% go about their business in a quiet, calm deliberate way, and no one notices. But the 10% get all the attention. EVERYONE has seen someone doing something stupid or dangerous at one time or another. Learn from it, don't join the 10%
Highways are more crowded than ever and will only be getting worse.

As far as the state patrol not caring. They are all dealing with budget ,and personnel cuts so there might not be a patrolman within 25 to 50 miles, or more, of you at any time. The 10% rule applies to them also.

I average about 8,000 miles a year with my fifth-wheel, and I cannot recall being cut off by a big truck. But I can recall many times when a small four-wheeler has changed lanes so close in front of me that I have had to brake. And a lot of times that car will then slow down to the point that I have to pass it!

"But for a car it isn't fun to be caught behind a big slow driver on a two lane highway. On a freeway I can always pass without worrying about oncoming traffic."
I drive 55 to 60 mph on state and US highways. If I get cars behind me that can't pass due to traffic, I will pull over after a couple of miles. While driving across SD, ND, WY, or MT there is usually no traffic to worry about so people pass me without a problem. Why do some people feel that it is a sin to drive slower than warp speed?
Here in Wisconsin the speed limit on two lane roads is 55. I do the speed limit without problem. The speeders can get by me when they find a passing zone. I don't worry about them at all. I get flipped off once in a while but I just ignore at them as they go by. No need in setting off some road rage moron.
I avoid the interstate because the speed limits run anywhere from 70 to 80 mph. I don't drive that fast.

I agree with Tyler, it's that 10% that cause the majority of the problems and get all the attention. My wife HATED being behind a truck and always insisted I pass but it wasn't always practical especially when we were towing. I don't like being beside them because there is no place to go if someone messes up.