This goes out to all of you car drivers out there. Yes, I have been one of those too for a long time & still am when I’m home, but I have to say this. When you are getting on the interstate via the on-ramp….please step on the gas & get out in front of me. Us (truck drivers) are supposed to drive in the right lane. I am a courteous driver & will gladly move over to let you in if I can, but alot of times we can’t because of other traffic. Just don’t panic because you see me coming & slow down right before the ramp runs out. I can let off the gas some, but it is hard for me to hit the brakes in time especially when hauling a heavy load. What some of you may or may not know is that most of us company drivers (the ones that don’t own our trucks) are governed to a certain top speed & it is much easier for you to step on it a little & get out in front of me. Being governed helps the company save money in fuel & is a good safety thing. I can only go 63 mph & after a certain time during my run if I am getting good fuel mileage it bumps up to 65, but that’s it. I have heard that some out there can only do 58 & 62. It takes me a lot to slow down quick & a really long time to speed up. It’s really bad if you make us slow down right before going up any kind of hill at all with a load on. That makes us drop down to between 20 & 40 mph & then causes a chain reaction that slows down everybody. I’m not asking you to speed, just jump out in front of me & keep everything flowing smoothly, I’m not gonna run over you. Thanks a bunch & I’m gonna leave you with a shot I got of the sun coming up in Kansas about a week & a half ago. Til next time peeps…
The Mindslam 