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About Me
I'm the Pickups host here at Edmunds CarSpace.com - be sure to check out the Pickups forums if you have or are interested in one!
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The Big Rigs
We're gonna talk about the big ones... trucks and buses that require those 3 marker lights front and rear. Everything from dual rear wheel pickups to class 8 trucks to the bus that takes you to work.
 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.
 Woke up to this scene this morning.
For those of you in the winter climates, be sure to check my CarSpace Guide regarding the proper way to get all that white stuff from your vehicle.
One benefit to living out here in the mountains is that the local crews really know how to plow snow... otherwise no one would get anywhere (especially emergency vehicles). Main road through town was simply wet, despite the 4 inches of fluffy water.
Fall lasted all of about 2 weeks here. The leaves were a little late in changing color, but then they came down in a hurry. Hopefully this won't be a preview of a long, cold, snowy winter... buyt then again, that's why I have the truck.
And for the record, I am standing level... my street is that angled from the local terrain.
 In the online Overdrive magazine, there was a great article about the issues faced by truckers on large hills. While the article first appeared nearly three years ago, it still holds up well today.
My home is at 1000 feet elevation. A mile later when I get on I-80, it has dropped to 770 feet... my office is around sea level. So I know about inclines - downhill to work (boy, that's a lousy coincidence) and uphill home. For that 200 foot drop in the morning, I keep my Dodge Ram 3500 in the 2 position on the trans shifter - on the way home, I hit the Tow/Haul button to keep the trans from upshifting and lugging the engine. On that morning trip, the transmission combined with the low-revving Cummins diesel keep me below 35 mph the whole way down without braking... and most days there is always somebody right up my tailgate. There are a couple of blind driveways and curves on this stretch of road, and flying down it is not a great idea... especially if it's anything besides sunny and dry.
Just past westbound I-80 exit 42 here in NJ is an unmarked grade, although an extra right lane is provided for heavier vehicles. In total, there are 5 lanes up this hill. Because there is no notice of the grade, tractor-trailers regularly find themselves in the left-center and center lanes struggling just to get to 50 mph - speed limit at this spot is 65. And rather than give them the opportunity to move to the right and downshift, most cars just go around on the right, leaving the big rig in no-man's-land until the highway levels back out and they can pick up speed again.
One of the points I made in my CarSpace guide about sharing the road with The Big Rigs was how to handle highway hills and what lane to be in. This is something that is never covered in driver's manuals, license tests, or even some driving schools. Hills and mountain passes pose serious issues for all vehicles, but the larger and heavier the truck/bus, the more attentive the drivers around that vehicle need to be.
Not a sudden thunderstorm that blows through in 20 minutes... but a good all-day rain.
It's been a law in New Jersey for over 10 years to turn all your lights on whenever sky conditions require windshield wipers. And yet far too many people don't bother. With tire spray, rain, and fog, it's REALLY easy to come up on some small car (especially silver/gray/white) with almost no warning it was there because the driver is running "dark".
Check my CarSpace guide titled Driving in Bad Weather - See and Be Seen to avoid getting rear-ended when you least expect it.
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