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I was talking to Vikki (pilot of the red Pete on your left) the other night, and she told a story that emphasizes a point I made in my CarSpace Guide Driving With The Big Rigs - specifically item number 4. Vik said she was hauling a piece of construction equipment on a flatbed.  She was slowing down for a traffic light when another vehicle not only changed into her lane, but did so while slowly coasting, causing Vik to really lay into the whoa pedal.  At that point, Vikki said she heard the terrifying sound of a tie-down chain snapping due to the change in weight transfer force.  "All I could think of was that bulldozer joining me in the cab," she said.  After a barrage of bad language into the CB, Vik pulled over and replaced the chain before proceeding. The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles includes the following stat in its driver's manual: - stopping distance including reaction time from 55 mph in a car is 190 feet - stopping distance including reaction time for a loaded tractor-trailer with hot brakes is 430 feet Before you make that lane change to "jockey for position" at the red light, make sure you have not cut the available stopping room for a much larger vehicle behind you.  Unless of course, you like the idea of potentially being pushed into an intersection of cross traffic at speed.  Or as in the situation Vikki had, if the other chains had not held, you could cause serious injury or death to a trucker without ever making vehicular contact.

Too much information, or TMI... a phrase of the current time that pretty much refers to the disclosure of data you did not need to know under any circumstances. This is the dash of a 2007 Kenworth.  Compared to what's in front of the average car driver, this would indeed qualify as TMI.  Most folks driving a Chevy Aveo aren't the least bit interested in having an exhaust pyrometer, but it's required reading for a trucker...

Interesting article in the July/August 2006 issue of Road King magazine regarding the use of turn signals.  It cited a survey where the majority of Americans revealed they don't use them to change lanes, and the reasons cited are pathetic... - The number one reason, given by 42 percent of drivers: “Don’t have enough time.” - Twenty-three percent admitted they are just plain “lazy” - 17 percent said they don’t use turn signals because when they do, they forget to turn them off. - changing lanes too frequently to bother (12 percent) - it’s not important (11 percent) - because other drivers don’t (8 percent) The article worded the last group best:  And then there’s the 7 percent of drivers whose thought process makes sharing the road a whole lot scarier...