Posted On: Monday - February 27th 2023 5:44AM MST
In Topics: General Stupidity Peak Stupidity Roadshow
OK, it's not too awful likely that the driver I address in the title is a Peak Stupidity reader. This post then, will be to thank those helpful and experienced drivers out there in general.
Sometimes, on the road, I miss the Kung Flu PanicFest, in which there was hardly anyone on the road, especially in the wee hours of the morning. Besides that, traffic cops were either off the road due to the worries about a possible hands-tires-road contagion vector (the SCIENCE!, you know) or, a few months into it, doughnut-shop-bound due to Floydism, and getting paid anyway.
Your lead blogger here has a history of being pulled over on the road that is probably in the 99th percentile, for your normal White guy, anyway. For a few suspected reasons and others unknown, I've had not nearly as many problems over the last 10, going on 15, years. Even when doing a routine 200 mile round trip, all but 10 miles Interstate. weekly for a few years back before the Kung Flu, I'd do a steady 78-81 mph in a long 70 mph limit zone and never see those blue lights in the rear view.
Well, early in the morning the other day, I was doing 12-15 mph over the limit in a clear spot within town, in those wee hours of the morning. Some car coming the other way had the headlights flashing back-and-forth dim/bright about 1/8 mile away. You know how fancy car lighting has gotten recently, so I didn't know what his deal was - maybe there's a setting and they're supposed to do that. Maybe it was some emergency vehicle or cop that had forgotten to activate the rest of the lights and noise.
Wait, maybe.... well, that's not the way you do that cop warning thing though. You turn your lights on and off, right? That's the way I was taught ... somewhere, no I don't think it was in one of the 3 driving schools I have forcibly and proudly matriculated from. (It's possible we did though, in one of them.) As soon as you get past the cop, you start turning your lights on/of for every vehicle you see coming, for maybe 3 miles even. That was the case for me during my heyday of ticketing. Good drivers should know this, or drivers who want to remain good drivers. See, you aren't considered a good driver anymore by the State and the insurance companies if you get pulled over and ticketed.
It turned out this fine morning that, yes, that's what the driver meant to do, helpfully warn me and whoever else was coming that way that a traffic cop was aiming that radar gun right at us. I saw him right there in the grass. I had slowed early enough. Thank you so much, Sir!*
Do any young people know this stuff, even if they get the procedure a bit wrong? Probably not, as they use the apps, I guess. I've gotta admit, Waze, etc. are more powerful than headlight-flashing or CB channel 19. I need to pay this back, and forward too.
* No, I couldn't see, but I will assume "Sir", as no women I've known do this thing.
Comments:
Moderator
Wednesday - March 1st 2023 7:04PM MST
PS: I appreciate the answer and a look into that industry, Mr. Smith.
Pepto Dismal
Wednesday - March 1st 2023 6:16PM MST
PS Roundabout jumpers in the news and I have passed up in the round.
There was a warning recently so it was time to cut back on it.
A (p)harmacy and subway gate roundabout at every neighborhood entrance with ATM and 24/7 bus stop. (honk!)
Everything closes at 2200hrs(10PM) now due to the COV LARP.
An encore of When Trumpets Fade, up there with Cross of Iron from '77 for underrated WWII.
There was a warning recently so it was time to cut back on it.
A (p)harmacy and subway gate roundabout at every neighborhood entrance with ATM and 24/7 bus stop. (honk!)
Everything closes at 2200hrs(10PM) now due to the COV LARP.
An encore of When Trumpets Fade, up there with Cross of Iron from '77 for underrated WWII.
Adam Smith
Wednesday - March 1st 2023 11:50AM MST
PS: Greetings, Mr. Moderator,
Yeah, that volvo had a sleeper in it. It's normal enough to see the bigger trucks with sleepers at the ports, but many of the trucks there are day cabs. I'd guess it's about 50/50. The day cabs are easier to maneuver in the tight confines of the port. (A cab over would have been nice in some of the tight places too.) They really pack the containers in, and sometimes it was a bit tricky getting the container in or out with the long truck. But many of truckers come from out of the area, so there are lots of trucks with sleepers too.
Yeah, I would often sleep in it. It was about 7 hours from home to the port in NJ, (Right next to Newark Airport), so if I left by 5pm I would get there around midnight. (If I left at 6pm = ~1am. (You get the idea.)
The port opens at 8am and the lines are long. (The line outside the port started forming probably around midnight.) Sometimes you could wait in line for hours to get in or out of the place. Sometimes it would take hours while inside waiting on them to find your container to load on your chassis or to deal with some sort of bureaucratic paper work issue...
(One time I was dropping off an evergreen container and they couldn't figure out what to do because their system told them it was on a ship in the Indian Ocean and they didn't know how to accept it from me because of that paper work problem. It's a bureaucratic nightmare dealing with some of the people at the port. Some of the workers at the port make the angry Black! DMV ladies in big cities look pretty tame. Let's just say they move at their own pace and are not very friendly or helpful.)
Around 6am the ground starts rumbling from all the trucks and other machinery. (Not that it was actually quiet at night either.)
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6707029,-74.1552852,1442m/data=!3m1!1e3
Happy Wednesday! ☮
Yeah, that volvo had a sleeper in it. It's normal enough to see the bigger trucks with sleepers at the ports, but many of the trucks there are day cabs. I'd guess it's about 50/50. The day cabs are easier to maneuver in the tight confines of the port. (A cab over would have been nice in some of the tight places too.) They really pack the containers in, and sometimes it was a bit tricky getting the container in or out with the long truck. But many of truckers come from out of the area, so there are lots of trucks with sleepers too.
Yeah, I would often sleep in it. It was about 7 hours from home to the port in NJ, (Right next to Newark Airport), so if I left by 5pm I would get there around midnight. (If I left at 6pm = ~1am. (You get the idea.)
The port opens at 8am and the lines are long. (The line outside the port started forming probably around midnight.) Sometimes you could wait in line for hours to get in or out of the place. Sometimes it would take hours while inside waiting on them to find your container to load on your chassis or to deal with some sort of bureaucratic paper work issue...
(One time I was dropping off an evergreen container and they couldn't figure out what to do because their system told them it was on a ship in the Indian Ocean and they didn't know how to accept it from me because of that paper work problem. It's a bureaucratic nightmare dealing with some of the people at the port. Some of the workers at the port make the angry Black! DMV ladies in big cities look pretty tame. Let's just say they move at their own pace and are not very friendly or helpful.)
Around 6am the ground starts rumbling from all the trucks and other machinery. (Not that it was actually quiet at night either.)
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6707029,-74.1552852,1442m/data=!3m1!1e3
Happy Wednesday! ☮
Moderator
Tuesday - February 28th 2023 9:20AM MST
PS: Thank you for the info. and the pics, Adam. That cab's got the full size sleep area, right? Is that normal for that local (NY/NJ) driving? Did you spend the night in there occasionally?
Adam Smith
Monday - February 27th 2023 10:13PM MST
PS: Lol... There's that mild lysdexia again...
“It took about 7 hours (and 3 heavy wreckers) to get her back on her wheels so she could be towed away. “
It took 3 heavy wreckers about 7 hours to get her back on her wheels so she could be towed away.
Been a long day. A little tired. Happy Tuesday morning! Time for bed. ☮
“It took about 7 hours (and 3 heavy wreckers) to get her back on her wheels so she could be towed away. “
It took 3 heavy wreckers about 7 hours to get her back on her wheels so she could be towed away.
Been a long day. A little tired. Happy Tuesday morning! Time for bed. ☮
Adam Smith
Monday - February 27th 2023 3:52PM MST
PS: Greetings, Mr. Moderator,
“I know a guy who used to drive an P&D rig - it had a button on the dash to momentarily cut off the lights. Did you have anything like that, Adam?”
Yes. Every truck I ever drove had a momentary toggle switch to blink the headlights and another for the running lights on the trailer. (To thank drivers who blinked their headlights for you when passing.)
I drove a 95 Volvo for a while when I pulled containers in and out of the ports around NYC/New Jersey. (Mostly Port Elizabeth and Newark, but others in the area too.)
https://jingletruck.com/img/1995-volvo-ve-d12-370vt-tandem-sleeper-semi-truck-tractor-321939705655-0.jpg
https://jingletruck.com/img/1995-volvo-ve-d12-370vt-tandem-sleeper-semi-truck-tractor-321939705655-2.jpg
It had a Detroit Series 60 engine...
https://orion.soarr.com/photos/16218157/800x/1996-volvo-dd+94.11.jpg
And the Dash looked like this...
https://orion.soarr.com/photos/16218157/800x/1996-volvo-dd+94.12.jpg
Mr. Ganderson mentioned Binghamton and Ithaca in the last post. My maternal grandparents are buried in Binghamton and I rode shotgun in a tractor trailer rollover in Lansing NY, just north of Ithaca. I forget if it was on highway 34 or highway 34b.(?) It was also one of those Volvo tractors. A black one. It had a different engine and transmission than the red one I drove when working the ports. Needless to say that truck was totaled in the wreck. It took about 7 hours (and 3 heavy wreckers) to get her back on her wheels so she could be towed away.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
☮
“I know a guy who used to drive an P&D rig - it had a button on the dash to momentarily cut off the lights. Did you have anything like that, Adam?”
Yes. Every truck I ever drove had a momentary toggle switch to blink the headlights and another for the running lights on the trailer. (To thank drivers who blinked their headlights for you when passing.)
I drove a 95 Volvo for a while when I pulled containers in and out of the ports around NYC/New Jersey. (Mostly Port Elizabeth and Newark, but others in the area too.)
https://jingletruck.com/img/1995-volvo-ve-d12-370vt-tandem-sleeper-semi-truck-tractor-321939705655-0.jpg
https://jingletruck.com/img/1995-volvo-ve-d12-370vt-tandem-sleeper-semi-truck-tractor-321939705655-2.jpg
It had a Detroit Series 60 engine...
https://orion.soarr.com/photos/16218157/800x/1996-volvo-dd+94.11.jpg
And the Dash looked like this...
https://orion.soarr.com/photos/16218157/800x/1996-volvo-dd+94.12.jpg
Mr. Ganderson mentioned Binghamton and Ithaca in the last post. My maternal grandparents are buried in Binghamton and I rode shotgun in a tractor trailer rollover in Lansing NY, just north of Ithaca. I forget if it was on highway 34 or highway 34b.(?) It was also one of those Volvo tractors. A black one. It had a different engine and transmission than the red one I drove when working the ports. Needless to say that truck was totaled in the wreck. It took about 7 hours (and 3 heavy wreckers) to get her back on her wheels so she could be towed away.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
☮
The Alarmist
Monday - February 27th 2023 2:56PM MST
PS
Trucks in Europe are speec-governed at 80 or 100 kmh, so it really sucks when they get into an elephant race on the two-lane stretches.
I guess they flash brights because front lights nowadays are always on in some fashion.
Trucks in Europe are speec-governed at 80 or 100 kmh, so it really sucks when they get into an elephant race on the two-lane stretches.
I guess they flash brights because front lights nowadays are always on in some fashion.
Moderator
Monday - February 27th 2023 8:27AM MST
PS: Because I don't have but one vehicle of the modern age, and we haven't had it that long, the lights are off in the daytime (barring rain, etc.), so I always did on and off, in the day. Maybe you all are right about the nighttime procedure. OTOH, I never liked nighttime driving, and I may not notice the cops then either.
Regarding the truckers, I think the truckers today aren't nearly the professionals they used to be. One thing is passing. One will try to pass another rig on the downhill and then create a rolling blockade for 2 or 3 miles trying to finish it going up hill or back off again. I have not seen truckers do the lights on (or off at night or day) thing to each other. I still do that. I know a guy who used to drive an P&D rig - it had a button on the dash to momentarily cut off the lights. Did you have anything like that, Adam?
Anyway, how can you be called a "gear jammer" if you drive an automatic?
Regarding the truckers, I think the truckers today aren't nearly the professionals they used to be. One thing is passing. One will try to pass another rig on the downhill and then create a rolling blockade for 2 or 3 miles trying to finish it going up hill or back off again. I have not seen truckers do the lights on (or off at night or day) thing to each other. I still do that. I know a guy who used to drive an P&D rig - it had a button on the dash to momentarily cut off the lights. Did you have anything like that, Adam?
Anyway, how can you be called a "gear jammer" if you drive an automatic?
Adam Smith
Monday - February 27th 2023 7:55AM MST
PS: Good morning, Messrs. Ganderson & Moderator,
I “flash my brights” during the day, and turn the lights off and on at night. (Not that I'm out at night that often anymore.) When a tractor trailer (or other larger truck) passes me I blink my lights to let him know it's safe to change lanes. (An old habit I have from my trucker days.)
“Is it even necessary, what with all the sensing gizmos vehicles have nowadays?”
I have no idea. I gave up trucking about 20 years ago. (It's hard to eat healthy/live healthy when you're truckin'.) I hear most new trucks have automatic transmissions now. Something about that doesn't seem right to me, but it might be convenient.(?) (I've never even been in a tractor that was not a manual.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVdWTS2Jpeg
I guess it might be nice, not having to shift and all, but I don't know. Shifting really isn't a big deal. (In a tractor trailer you only use the clutch to get moving from a stop. Super easy to change gears without the clutch in a big truck.) I don't think I'd feel comfortable driving a heavy truck with an automatic transmission. Might be nice after I got used to it.(?)
Anyway... Happy Monday! ☮
I “flash my brights” during the day, and turn the lights off and on at night. (Not that I'm out at night that often anymore.) When a tractor trailer (or other larger truck) passes me I blink my lights to let him know it's safe to change lanes. (An old habit I have from my trucker days.)
“Is it even necessary, what with all the sensing gizmos vehicles have nowadays?”
I have no idea. I gave up trucking about 20 years ago. (It's hard to eat healthy/live healthy when you're truckin'.) I hear most new trucks have automatic transmissions now. Something about that doesn't seem right to me, but it might be convenient.(?) (I've never even been in a tractor that was not a manual.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVdWTS2Jpeg
I guess it might be nice, not having to shift and all, but I don't know. Shifting really isn't a big deal. (In a tractor trailer you only use the clutch to get moving from a stop. Super easy to change gears without the clutch in a big truck.) I don't think I'd feel comfortable driving a heavy truck with an automatic transmission. Might be nice after I got used to it.(?)
Anyway... Happy Monday! ☮
Ganderson
Monday - February 27th 2023 6:32AM MST
PS I always thought it was “flash your brights”. Anyway, that’s what I do. How many of you still, when an 18 wheeler passes you on a multi lane highway, flash your brights to let him know he’s past. Is it even necessary, what with all the sensing gizmos vehicles have nowadays?
Apparently the port opens at 6am...
https://www.maherterminals.com/terminal-information-hours-of-operation/
A little more info...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Newark-Elizabeth_Marine_Terminal
https://twitter.com/Konecranes/status/535024935056728064
https://archive.is/YqPwE
☮