Paranoia or What?

[truk4u]

But Jon carriers 400 gallons of fuel and a thousand pounds of ammo. The Hummer is really a Humvee.

[hhoppe]

After traveling in other states I am releived after returning to California drivers. They drive faster, are better more experianced drivers, and have learned to blend in seamlessly with heavy traffic. When we encounter a lost soul in front of us , they usually have an out of state license plate. Trucks and busses towing have a maximum 55 MPH speed limit which keeps accidents of heavy vehicles out of the spectacular range. Heavy traffic areas usually have at least three lanes in each direction. This gives you the middle lane of traffic to travel in allowing merging traffic to join the fun. We are not without ocasional idiots and organ donors but they find a way to survive or join the lord. The key is being alert, know whats going on around you, and ignore the ocasional anoyances. You are a 10 when you start the drive, the trick is to remain a 10 to the end of the trip. Enjoy your fine machines after all you paid through the nose for the priveledge of owning your very own Prevost. Safe driving to you all.

[Kenneth Brewer]

Read this thread from the beginning today, and contemplating an additional lisinopril dose. Part of the reason is that, no matter what, no one can fix stupid. But problem mergers and lane changers are not just stupid, they are dangerous, and willfully so, it seems to me. Most interstate accidents, to my recollection and observation, are rather close to entrance/exit ramps. 'Entitlement' reasons sound about right to me, because ignorance should only be a factor for a short while, and not for the age of the drivers I see. Although this little vent doesn't really help my bp, I think I will return the favor to others in this thread. The extension of the rage will, for the most part though, only mean something to those in or from the northeast, primarily; the similar antics of drivers when approaching (and often leaving) toll booths when a bus or bus-sized vehicle is next to and/or ahead of them.

I'm sorry. No, really; I am. Because in these circumstances I enjoy using the air horns and watching the result.

[TrialGuy]

I know this is a very old thread, but several posts seem to resonate with me during these times. How is it going out there? As we are searching for buses, we are talking about steering away from anything that looks too “fancy.” Are we just being paranoid? I worry about it less than my wife, but she does have some legitimate issues she raises. It certainly doesn’t deter us from going full-time, we just want to be prepared and make wise decisions along the way.

Have you noticed any increased hostility toward Buses?

You make an excellent point. To think that the level of civil unrest that is plaguing other parts of world can't happen here is being naive.

It does make sense, however, to be ever vigilant in being aware of your surroundings and observant of those in your immediate vicinity. Don't place yourself or your family at unnecessary risk.

Not paranoid, not afraid to enjoy our lifestyle....... just prepared

[JCarrollJr]

My two cents worth again.
I think that a maybe the major problem that we are seeing in our society today is due to the age-old problem that we have been dealing with maybe the beginning of time with humanity. It's the green-eyed monster jealousy. Not present in all, but certainly in a significant number of people. Have-nots resenting the haves. Whether it be homes, cars, boats, busses or just lifestyles. There are just those that are going to resent you because of what you have which is in most cases what you have worked hard for, and probably sacrificed for, at sometime early in life. Some are willing to pay the price and some are not. Some rob banks and some just resent the folks that put the money in the banks. Some admire and some resent. I don't think that we'll ever be able to change it. We just have to depend on the law enforcement system to be a deterrent. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. Sometimes we may have to depend on ourselves to be the deterrent. It's sort of like the spare tire. I hope and trust that I never have to use it.
Again, just my two cents worth.

[georgiapeachinc]

I have been an over the road owner/operator truck driver for 40 years. I taught all my kids how to drive and have respect for all drivers but particularly trucks. I have a cart full of close calls and stories and sharing those would not get any good driving ideas across to anyone. Here are a few defensive driving tactics that work for me and that have helped reduce my cart of horrid stories.

The one thing that irritates all of us and truckers are tailgaters. Usually, tailgaters are particularly anxious when you are in the left lane passing slower traffic for extended distances. They usually think you are just hogging the lane unaware of a line of traffic ahead of you. My trick is to move slightly to the right of my lane momentarily so the tailgating driver can see what is ahead of me. Sometimes they back off slightly realizing you are not the only one holding things up. In addition to that I use the four second rule for distance ahead of the next vehicle. The two second rule they taught us in High school driver education never sat well with me at 70 MPH!

Another thing that is particularly helpful is pulling out onto a road that has limited sight distance at night. A good trick is to flash your high beams on and off several times alerting an approaching driver of a vehicle entering the roadway allowing them to slow down if you make that move to pull out.

Passing: Don't hesitate passing trucks. Get past them as quickly as possible. Truckers don't like vehicles lingering for long stretches along side of them. They have enough to do without having to pay wasted attention on a slower passer.

The biggest thing is to keep a good distance behind trucks. First thing is if there is debris in the road they often can straddle whatever it is due to their height; this can be a disaster for cars or coaches following to close. Furthermore, until you have seen a tire explode on a truck you will be glad you were were well behind that vehicle. That goes for passing quickly too!

One last tip! Try to stay behind a driver that you may believe to be impaired due to alcohol or drugs or even simply erratic behavior. Trying to pass and force distance between your vehicle is risky. What is behind you, you have little control over but anything ahead of you gives you choices to slow down or even pull off the main roadway.

Most truckers are courteous and often flick their headlights to let you know you have room to move to return to the right lane. Flick your clearance lights as a thank you, they appreciate that. They are also aware that you are pushing a 45,000 lb. vehicle down the super slab that requires forward thinking in the same respect they are pushing an 80,000 lbs. + in need of forward thinking.

I hope these few tips give you a better defensive posture in your future!