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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.
A couple of good articles from the November/December issue of Road King magazine that are worth a look...
 Color Me Safe - High visibility seat belts encourage truckers to buckle up - more truck manufacturers are offering, and more operators are installing, brightly colored seat belts.
Trying Times - During some tough years this driver discovered his resolve to succeed - a 25-year veteran of the highway shares his experiences with health, family, and finances.
And of course, it's nice to report that diesel prices have dropped dramatically from this summer, although they have not matched the far steeper drop in the price of gasoline. In July, I paid a staggering $5.179 at my local station for diesel... just 4 months later, the price at the same station is down about 45% (around $2.95), and without too much effort, I can find it for quite a bit less than that - in the $2.60 range.
Thankfully, Vikki and her red Pete 379 have been on the road, although not nearly as much as a year or two ago. She said she was getting bored very quickly at home with the Pete in the driveway, instead of catching some z's in the sleeper at a truck stop. Even though fuel prices have come back down to more sensible levels and shipping rates have dropped the fuel surcharges, the economy means keeping tighter reins on the budget for people who need to get items from point A to point B. And with financing hard to come by, the buyers aren't there for the bigger ticket items that get shipped by 18-wheeler. So the loads aren't quite back up to snuff yet.
And more in line with my thoughts and wants, NAIAS is about a month away, and Chrysler is still scheduled to reveal the 2010 Dodge Ram heavy duty models, a direct replacement to what I have now. Hopefully, the automakers will be solvent enough to actually get to next month.
 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.
 Yes, that annual assault on the highway by families with freshly-dismissed-from-school kids in the backseat playing those corny road trip games or poking each other until a parent bellows "Don't make me come back there!"
In the current issue of Road King magazine, there's an article reminding truckers that the assault is near, and to be careful of those drivers who may be in over their heads. In the article, Roehl Transport's Brian Hammond, the orientation and driver development manager, mentions something I have been saying for ages... "[Hammond] often wonders why there aren’t similar licensing requirements for driving the RVs as there are for semi-truck drivers." I don't know about you, but when I see some old guy trying to handle a full-size Winnebago on any road, I get FAR away from him. If the stricter CDL is required for people who generally still have their reflexes, you have to wonder why retirees are allowed to pilot similar sized vehicles with just the ability to pay for the thing.
 If you are planning to partake to the roads this summer, keep the same things in mind the article advises truckers. Expect everything. Yes, that car will dart out in front of you. Yes, that van will speed through the puddle and splash water 10 feet in the air before you can close your window. Yes, your kids will only want burgers and fries the whole trip. (OK< that last one really isn't a driving concern, unless you just passed a fast-food joint and the next exit with one is another 80 miles.)
But above all, be patient. If you're sitting in traffic like this, just relax. Everyone around you is also sitting in that traffic and their need to move forward is no greater or lesser than yours.
 Yesterday, there was a rather unusual weather front that passed through NJ... ahead of some heavy downpours of rain, the temps soared into the mid 70s. Today. we're back down to the normal-for-February 30s.
Roads hate that more than people.
So it was with no surprise that I heard on the traffic report on my way to work that the pothole crews were out and about on I-80, in the 7 mile area just before my exit to the office. This same stretch of highway has pothole crews on it so often, they should just leave them there all year. So as I approached the announced area, I heard the familiar sound of loose asphalt bits kicking up from tires.
The older the road, the more it's affected by the freeze-thaw cycle. Most brand new or fully-reconstructed highways are made of state of the art materials that are far less susceptible to potholes, but if you regularly travel older roads, you may as well book an appointment with the nearest suspension shop now.
The Salt Institute has a good explanation of how potholes form (and why) in this document.
Around here, this will last well into April. Every year.
The last thing a misbehaving child wants to hear on a road trip...
 New Jersey is thinking about coming back there. The state assembly has introduced bills that will strengthen the existing seat belt law to include adults in the rear seat(s), and to raise the fines for not securing a child from $20 to as much as $500.
Most of us with sense buckle up as it is, so such a law should not intrude on the majority o drivers. But it will be interesting to see if these bills face challenges, and on what grounds. There was also no immediate information as to whether the proposal would apply to cars for hire, such as taxis and limos.
Then there is the decades-old debate about seat belts for buses. Because buses in general are allowed to operate with standing passengers, a seat belt law has generally been a no-issue - how would someone holding the ceiling grab rail buckle up, and to what? Bus company owners have argued that, unlike airplanes, buses don't operate in a complete terminal-to-terminal mode - passengers can be picked up or let off en route. And a bus driver is often not in a position to verify that everyone is buckled properly, where airplanes are staffed with attendants for that purpose. Proponents of a seat belt regulation for buses have attempted to delineate the use by specifying the bus type, but this has been effectively defeated by many local transit authorities purchasing "over the road" motorcoaches for suburban express service. So I doubt this will ever happen any time soon.
Regardless, if the buckle is there, use it. It beats the alternative.
 Hope you and yours enjoyed Thanksgiving!
Those of you about to engage in the hell that is Black Friday, keep your wits about you and don't take out your frustration of missing the deep-discount sale item on the other vehicles!
 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.
 Sylvia, one of my partners in crime here at Edmunds, posted in her blog Driving Miss Crazy about texting while driving. New Jersey has addressed this issue this past week... Governor Corzine signed into law an upgraded measure regarding the use of cell phones. Previously, hand-held cell phones were not allowed while driving, but it was a secondary offense, meaning a police officer had to pull you over for another moving violation before adding a summons for using a hand-held cell phone while driving.
The new law in NJ now makes hand-held cell phone use a primary offense, with a fine of $250 for talking or $100 for texting. The revised law takes effect March 1 2008. The only other states with a primary-offense cell phone law are California, Connecticut, and New York, along with Washington DC. Washington state was the first state to ban texting.
Let's face it... do you really need to be that reachable all the time? I will not answer my cell phone while I'm behind the wheel... no matter who it is. They can leave a message and I will get back to them when I get where I'm going. And the avid texters will claim they know their phone's controls and keys so well that they don't have to look at the screen. That's an excuse not to focus on operating 2 tons of machinery at high speed amongst the otherwise unsuspecting public? There are enough people out there who don't drive properly when the only thing going on in their car is the air conditioning fan. Let's keep the distraction of trying to make/take a phone call or send a message to someone out of the equation so we're on a level playing field.
"Drop the phone, kick it over here... I SAID DROP IT!" That might not be a joke in the near future.
 Simulated image of a black hole.
But there are black holes a lot closer to than the ones in outer space... these are the people who drive around at night with most (if not all) of their lights out. And I don't mean the guy who simple forgot to turn them on... I mean the vehicle on the highway with one or two dim headlights and nothing else lit.
I was "lucky" enough to be behind one of these dolts in a full-size van on my way home from work tonight. Headlights worked, but he had no parking lights, marker lights, or tail lights. However, when he changed lanes, his turn signal lights worked just fine... so it wasn't the bulbs themselves.
I regularly check my exterior lights since I basically am on the road every weeknight - I work noon to 8 pm, so unless I am heading home early, my lights are always necessary for the trip home. And of course, I drive a dually pickup which is certainly larger than any car. Thus, my lights are important to make sure everyone can see all the corners of my vehicle as well as the side fenders. On any vehicle I've owned, a bulb has never been dead more than 24 hours. Why others don't seem to think this is important certainly eludes me.
Once in a while, give your vehicle the once-around at night with the lights turned on. Make sure that they are all functional and at full intensity. No sense in being the next black hole on the highway.
 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.
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