Why do people cut off semi trucks?

[fraublugher]

Spatial engineering training doesn't happen behind the wheel so much unless you have a wide open country and a beater to abuse with impunity.

It comes from oddball places like building things and learning to dance and sports maybe even operating a loom.
I know I sound ridiculous but I'm right.

 

[giacomini]

I think people cutting off trucks are plain ignorant/stupid/whatever...

I'm aware of the danger it is to be close to a truck in a road, so I treat those monsters with respect, specially when I'm on my motorcycle; everytime I have to pass one I make sure the driver is actually seeing me because I don't want that big truck changing lanes right by my side and crushing me into the guardrails.

Yes, I hate when truckers slow everybody down when they're passing each other, but hey, it is part of the road game...

 

[Herrick]

Why do people cut off semi trucks?

Same reason they cut off other vehicles, slowwwwwly turn from a side street onto the road you're driving on at 60 mph, or run through stop signs when other vehicles are about to stop or are already stopped...They Are Inconsiderate "Morans" Gotta risk my life so I can get to Taco Bell yeah!

 

[Unrepresented]

Ignorance in the purest sense. Very few people have operated a vehicle that large and just don't have the appreciation for how dangerous it is to limit their space cushion.

Being able correctly answer the dangers of doing so in a true or false test doesn't equate to actual empathy and firsthand experience.

That whole "walk a mile in another man's shoes" is also apt when driving in another man's truck.

 

[Stilettoprefer]

I've had two semi's try merging on top of me. Maybe they just don't see my little Honda at 3am, but its really scary having to spontaneously jump 2 lanes to avoid being trapped under a billion spinning wheels in an old import car that accelerates at close to the same rate as the truck.

My dad has had the same experience as me. We both have a 15 mile interstate commute and have to deal with truckers a lot. We both give them a ton of space when we can, but when you're in the right lane and a trucker comes up on your left and tries merging without making sure that a car isn't there.... Man, its just ridiculous.

What I see truckers do at intersections is horrifying! I work in an industrial district and trucks are all over the place. Every day I see them running red lights while making left turns at large intersections. Occasionally I see one making a right on red while jumping two lanes to get into a turning lane, all while traffic is coming at them.

Pulling into the parking lot at work a raw material delivery trucker just about used my car as a speed bump. He came ripping around the corner of the building while I was driving past. We both slammed on the breaks and watched each other throwing cussing storms about how close that was, inside our vehicles. We were about 5 feet from a head on collision. My little accord against his big ole semi. I would have probably died.

Just saying, truckers need to have some common sense too. I know there's tons of dumb car drivers, but running red lights, ignoring stop signs and speeding around one lane blind corners is just idiocracy at its finest.

 

[nortonrider]

Ripping on the ability of some truck drivers was not the intention of this thread.
just keep in mind.........
A Semi Truck is a lot more difficult to operate than your car, therefore you are bound to see them doing things that are not necessary to do in your car.
(using two lanes to get around a corner, taking longer to get through an intersection, accelerate, ect...)

On the topic of cutting off a big truck, it really happens so often that it can easily be called "commonplace".
Sometimes it almost seems to be instinctual, people just automatically do it. like chickens going back into the coop at night.

That's what got me wondering about the psychology behind it. There has to be a reason a person feels the need to jump into the gap between a semi and a car in front of it.
The need to fill a hole?
sense of accomplishment?
watched too many nascar races?

If people just took the time to consider, they would see that the gap is there to create a little bit of reaction time for the driver should the traffic ahead slam on the brakes. when a car jumps in that hole, the reaction zone just went from 25 feet between bumpers, to 3 feet between a semi and YOUR rear bumper.
you just became the "crumple zone".

Due to the size and weight of a truck, their accidents are obviously bigger and more catastrophic, increasing the potential to kill more people. Stats show that accident rates are a lot higher for trucks.
Trucks make up 3% of the vehicles on the road but are involved in 15% of accidents.

They are more dangerous on the road than a car (80,000 vs. 2500 lbs.) so..........
Be safe and give them plenty of room.

 

[alembicguy]

Cause there are just as many idiots in small cars as there are in big rigs. It's too easy to obtain and maintain a drivers license.
Ever been to a grocery store and see somebody with a shopping cart in everyone's way with no disregard for anybody around them???
They drove there in a car or semi.
It's the people not the vehicle.

 

[Unprofessional]

Self-centered and stupid is a dangerous combination. I don't believe most who cut off trucks are particularly targeting trucks. They just see them as one more thing that's "in my way" just like every other vehicle that happens to be around them that day.
It's the same mentality that causes people to drive around railroad crossing barriers.
Waiting one's turn is a rapidly dying concept in our society. I see that as the root of the whole thing.

 

[alembicguy]

Self-centered and stupid is a dangerous combination. I don't believe most who cut off trucks are particularly targeting trucks. They just see them as one more thing that's "in my way" just like every other vehicle that happens to be around them that day.
It's the same mentality that causes people to drive around railroad crossing barriers.
Waiting one's turn is a rapidly dying concept in our society. I see that as the root of the whole thing.

Nicely put!
I agree with the "wait my turn theory" you see that more and more with everything in life.

 

[hrodbert696]

Ripping on the ability of some truck drivers was not the intention of this thread.
just keep in mind.........
A Semi Truck is a lot more difficult to operate than your car, therefore you are bound to see them doing things that are not necessary to do in your car.
(using two lanes to get around a corner, taking longer to get through an intersection, accelerate, ect...)

On the topic of cutting off a big truck, it really happens so often that it can easily be called "commonplace".
Sometimes it almost seems to be instinctual, people just automatically do it. like chickens going back into the coop at night.

That's what got me wondering about the psychology behind it. There has to be a reason a person feels the need to jump into the gap between a semi and a car in front of it.
The need to fill a hole?
sense of accomplishment?
watched too many nascar races?

If people just took the time to consider, they would see that the gap is there to create a little bit of reaction time for the driver should the traffic ahead slam on the brakes. when a car jumps in that hole, the reaction zone just went from 25 feet between bumpers, to 3 feet between a semi and YOUR rear bumper.
you just became the "crumple zone".

Due to the size and weight of a truck, their accidents are obviously bigger and more catastrophic, increasing the potential to kill more people. Stats show that accident rates are a lot higher for trucks.
Trucks make up 3% of the vehicles on the road but are involved in 15% of accidents.

They are more dangerous on the road than a car (80,000 vs. 2500 lbs.) so..........
Be safe and give them plenty of room.

All true, but nevertheless it doesn't guarantee that all truck drivers are responsible drivers all of the time. I have respect for their challenges, but I've seen some trucks throw their weight around in totally unnecessary ways.

 

[sloasdaylight]

Honestly, people cutting off semis in cars is one thing. I just chalk that up to the drivers being full of dumb and mucking about with a death wish, so it doesn't irritate me all that much. Neither do truckers passing each other. I mean, it's a mild inconvenience for me for a minute or so, but it usually doesn't irritate me very much. What however infuriates the living hell out of me is when trucks come blasting up your ass when you're driving down a country road and buffet the living piss out of you.

Slow truck drivers I can deal with. They're irritating, but usually harmless. The guys who think they're Mario Andretti with 18 wheels make me want to follow them to their next gas station and kick them in the balls.

 

[Unprofessional]

see also, the movie "Duel"

 

[Gopherbassist]

See, that is just it - they DON'T have to take the gap when they get it.

They can just slow down a couple miles per hour and NOT PASS if there is no way to pass safely.

Don't got enough space to pass quickly, or governed to the point where you can't pass without creating a large traffic backup? Slow down and don't pass.

Same goes for cars.

Most of the time there is a tight schedule for the truck driver, so being behind a slow truck isn't really an option. If they're pulling right in front of someone, and by that I mean less than a couple car lengths, then there is certainly a problem there.

But there's also the issue of trucks having their blinker ignored. If the truck has had its blinker on for a quarter mile or more, it's getting over. And if the driver sees some little car trying to close the gap to not let him in they're just going to get over anyway.

 

[NWB]

That's what got me wondering about the psychology behind it. There has to be a reason a person feels the need to jump into the gap between a semi and a car in front of it.
The need to fill a hole?
sense of accomplishment?
watched too many nascar races?

A death wish? Suicide by truck.

I watched a young girl in a Honda Civic tailgate a semi. About two to three feet from the back of the trailer. I'm sure the driver had no idea she was there at that distance. She survived that episode, but probably not the next one if that's her normal driving practice.

 

[aborgman]

Most of the time there is a tight schedule for the truck driver, so being behind a slow truck isn't really an option.

Yeah, it is. An unrealistic schedule put out by the truckers dispatch is no excuse for unsafe driving.

Basically - a truckers busy schedule is no more excuse for driving in an unsafe manner than is the busy schedule of the idiot driving a car that cuts them off.

...and remember, when we're talking a "slow" truck - it's usually going 2-3mph slower than the "fast" truck. That equates to a grand total of 30-40 miles over a 12 hour driving day, assuming you NEVER get around the slow truck.

If they're pulling right in front of someone, and by that I mean less than a couple car lengths, then there is certainly a problem there.

Absolutely an issue.

But there's also the issue of trucks having their blinker ignored. If the truck has had its blinker on for a quarter mile or more, it's getting over. And if the driver sees some little car trying to close the gap to not let him in they're just going to get over anyway.

So in other words you believe trucks should have special dispensation on the roadways vs. other vehicles.

I don't.

Everyone should follow exactly the same rules of the road.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Most of the time there is a tight schedule for the truck driver, so being behind a slow truck isn't really an option. If they're pulling right in front of someone, and by that I mean less than a couple car lengths, then there is certainly a problem there.

But there's also the issue of trucks having their blinker ignored. If the truck has had its blinker on for a quarter mile or more, it's getting over. And if the driver sees some little car trying to close the gap to not let him in they're just going to get over anyway.

Everyone has their turn signals ignored. In some places (like Texas...well, at least the DFW area), turning on your turn signal is practically indistinguishable from issuing a direct challenge to everyone behind you to see how long you can be kept from changing lanes.

 

[jp58]

They've lost the will to live.

At one time, I had a picture of three cars that were following a trucker so close that you could only see one of them in the picture.

0.o

 

[hrodbert696]

They've lost the will to live.

At one time, I had a picture of three cars that were following a trucker so close that you could only see one of them in the picture.

0.o

A girl in my high school class was killed this way. Not three cars, but she was tailgating a semi. The trucker got so irritated she (female trucker) decided to "teach her a lesson" and slammed on her brakes, and the high school girl's car plowed right into the back of the truck.

 

[SolarMan]

Honestly, people cutting off semis in cars is one thing. I just chalk that up to the drivers being full of dumb and mucking about with a death wish, so it doesn't irritate me all that much. Neither do truckers passing each other. I mean, it's a mild inconvenience for me for a minute or so, but it usually doesn't irritate me very much. What however infuriates the living hell out of me is when trucks come blasting up your ass when you're driving down a country road and buffet the living piss out of you.

Slow truck drivers I can deal with. They're irritating, but usually harmless. The guys who think they're Mario Andretti with 18 wheels make me want to follow them to their next gas station and kick them in the balls.

Yeah, I agree with the mucking about with a death wish. We have so many severly stressed out people in our society, and the way they feel comes out in their driving. Some of them feel like they would rather be dead than to continue to deal with the stressors in their life that have led them to complete burn out. Their aggressive driving is a way to blow of steam, and the risk of death actually gives them a sense of excitement - and the cutting off and "getting ahead" of other drivers is a form of dominance that otherwise does not exist in their lives.

Remember - they are risking your life too.

 

[MarkMgibson]

Yeah, I agree with the mucking about with a death wish. We have so many severly stressed out people in our society, and the way they feel comes out in their driving. Some of them feel like they would rather be dead than to continue to deal with the stressors in their life that have led them to complete burn out. Their aggressive driving is a way to blow of steam, and the risk of death actually gives them a sense of excitement - and the cutting off and "getting ahead" of other drivers is a form of dominance that otherwise does not exist in their lives.

Remember - they are risking your life too.

True, everyone should install a really nice stereo in their car, play some cool music, sing along and relax. I see people in bad traffic with smoke coming out of their ears; some of them look like they're about to have a stroke. I just turn up the music, and I couldn't care less.

I've never understood all this road rage and aggressive driving crap. It's a very odd phenomena to me. It's just a few lousy minutes out of your life; hardly worth getting stressed about, and definitely not worth killing yourself (or someone else) over. We live in strange times indeed when people are willing to risk lives over 10 or 20 minutes.