Semis - they've completely taken over the highways

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Originally Posted By: SEMI_287
So you want to take my job away? Do you want me to be on welfare and support me and my wife?? Jeez we get the point you don't like tractor trailers. There's nothing you can do about unless our country invests in making rail more viable. Given the sheer laziness I've witnessed in this country that's not going to happen anytime soon. Even then trucks will still be on the road. Trains can't exactly pull up to Walmart. Without me and other hard working drivers you wouldn't get your precious stuff quickly and cheaply.


Again, I'm not advocating the total elimination of semis...I just think we could ship A LOT more of the long haul stuff by rail...
 
^+1....trucks are necessary and a requirement for the lifestyle we are all used to. Although Grampi doesn't like my analogy of $10 heads of lettuce, I feel if shippers were forced to rely solely on rail, prices would skyrocket.

I'm curious as to what caused the semi accidents....how many automobiles were contributors to those accidents, either directly or indirectly.

Yeah, there are some careless and unsafe truck drivers out there but they are far outnumbered by the careless and unsafe nimrods found in automobiles and motorcycles. Besides, a careless and unsafe commercial driver is discovered very quickly and is out or work as soon as it is discovered. He/she may go work for another company but their habits prevent them from working very long at any one place.
 
Originally Posted By: Fleetmon
^+1....trucks are necessary and a requirement for the lifestyle we are all used to. Although Grampi doesn't like my analogy of $10 heads of lettuce, I feel if shippers were forced to rely solely on rail, prices would skyrocket.

I'm curious as to what caused the semi accidents....how many automobiles were contributors to those accidents, either directly or indirectly.

Yeah, there are some careless and unsafe truck drivers out there but they are far outnumbered by the careless and unsafe nimrods found in automobiles and motorcycles. Besides, a careless and unsafe commercial driver is discovered very quickly and is out or work as soon as it is discovered. He/she may go work for another company but their habits prevent them from working very long at any one place.


As far as the accidents, I don't think bad driving is a contributor...I think the fact that the trucking companies are pushing their drivers so hard it puts them in dangerous situations...they probably shouldn't be driving during these conditions...
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
...they probably shouldn't be driving during these conditions...

So if these conditions continued for a week, would you be ok with empty grocery shelves? Would you be OK with thousands of truck drivers on unemployment?
 
Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: grampi
...they probably shouldn't be driving during these conditions...

So if these conditions continued for a week, would you be ok with empty grocery shelves? Would you be OK with thousands of truck drivers on unemployment?


No, but I'd be ok with truckers hauling the stuff locally to the rail depots and then having the stuff shipped by rail...are you saying you're ok with truckers risking life and limb to get their loads shipped no matter what?
 
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Originally Posted By: grampi
No, but I'd be ok with truckers hauling the stuff locally to the rail depots and then having the stuff shipped by rail...are you saying you're ok with truckers risking life and limb to get their loads shipped no matter what?

There you go with the black and white again. Even if it's shipped by rail, it has to eventually go on a truck. You said trucks should not be out in bad weather. How does it get from the rail yard to the store 200-300 miles away if they can't drive in bad weather? One week of bad weather means no groceries and no fuel at the gas stations. Who determines what weather is acceptable to drive in?
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: SEMI_287
So you want to take my job away? Do you want me to be on welfare and support me and my wife?? Jeez we get the point you don't like tractor trailers. There's nothing you can do about unless our country invests in making rail more viable. Given the sheer laziness I've witnessed in this country that's not going to happen anytime soon. Even then trucks will still be on the road. Trains can't exactly pull up to Walmart. Without me and other hard working drivers you wouldn't get your precious stuff quickly and cheaply.


Again, I'm not advocating the total elimination of semis...I just think we could ship A LOT more of the long haul stuff by rail...



I have come up with this kind of wacky notion that I think would be a forward step for our country: Nationalize the rails. The rolling stock would still be privately owned and run, but the rails would be a national network, with 'control towers' and the options for expansion by any capable and interested party. As it is now, a railroad has to 1) obtain the right of ways to lay track 2) get the financing )3 coordinate all of the connections and traffic if they want to run on a competitor's rails.

If the right of ways were publicly owned, any train operator could schedule traffic routes to any location. They would have to pay somehow, in the form of taxes or fees to the rail operator, which would be the national railroad (kind of the equivalent of the Interstate Highway system).

Originally Posted By: grampi
Again, I'm not advocating the total elimination of semis...I just think we could ship A LOT more of the long haul stuff by rail...


More and more trains and trucks coordinate hauling by using modular shipping containers, the same ones that come by ship.
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Plot twist: What if truck drivers think passenger cars have completely taken over the road?


Seems to me there are truck drivers out there who already think this way by the inconsiderate way they drive around the 4 wheelers.

More than evident.
 
Originally Posted By: jcwit
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Plot twist: What if truck drivers think passenger cars have completely taken over the road?


Seems to me there are truck drivers out there who already think this way by the inconsiderate way they drive around the 4 wheelers.

More than evident.


I personally experience more inconsiderate driving from passenger cars than semis.
 
Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: grampi
No, but I'd be ok with truckers hauling the stuff locally to the rail depots and then having the stuff shipped by rail...are you saying you're ok with truckers risking life and limb to get their loads shipped no matter what?

There you go with the black and white again. Even if it's shipped by rail, it has to eventually go on a truck. You said trucks should not be out in bad weather. How does it get from the rail yard to the store 200-300 miles away if they can't drive in bad weather? One week of bad weather means no groceries and no fuel at the gas stations. Who determines what weather is acceptable to drive in?


Ok, let's try this...what would present more of a risk on other than perfect road conditions, a trucker hauling goods from a rail depot to a local destination, or that same trucker hauling that load across the country?
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: jcwit
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Plot twist: What if truck drivers think passenger cars have completely taken over the road?


Seems to me there are truck drivers out there who already think this way by the inconsiderate way they drive around the 4 wheelers.

More than evident.


I personally experience more inconsiderate driving from passenger cars than semis.


That could very well be, but it's a heck of a lot easier to get around and get away from inconsiderate drivers in passenger vehicles than it is semis...
 
I pretty much drive for a living (except for when I'm fixing something), and the passenger car drivers are MUCH, MUCH worse than 98% of the semi drivers-however, there is a small percentage of independents & company freight haulers (Saia being the prime offender I see) that seem to allow ANY idiot they can find to drive their (usually junker) semis. They are the bad apples spoiling it for everybody. But the biggest danger is the car drivers who just don't give a [CENSORED!!!]!
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: jcwit
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Plot twist: What if truck drivers think passenger cars have completely taken over the road?


Seems to me there are truck drivers out there who already think this way by the inconsiderate way they drive around the 4 wheelers.

More than evident.


I personally experience more inconsiderate driving from passenger cars than semis.


That could very well be, but it's a heck of a lot easier to get around and get away from inconsiderate drivers in passenger vehicles than it is semis...


Assuming you don't drive a donkey drawn cart, it is very easy to get out of the way of a semi. Just speed up and get around them when you have a chance. Stay in the left lane. etc. I've tried to give examples of how its basically the same situation for them as it is us, but you seem to be pretty stuck in your ways. Tunnel vision. Semis are evil.
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Assuming you don't drive a donkey drawn cart, it is very easy to get out of the way of a semi. Just speed up and get around them when you have a chance. Stay in the left lane. etc. I've tried to give examples of how its basically the same situation for them as it is us, but you seem to be pretty stuck in your ways. Tunnel vision. Semis are evil.


You apparently don't spend as much time on the highways as I do. 4 lane highways are a mess with semis, and there's nothing passenger vehicle drivers can do to make semis any less of a PITA. When semis get in bunches (which happens a lot) and the rear semi driver decides he's going to pass the entire group (taking up both lanes in the process), those of us in passenger vehicles are stuck behind these guys until this one semi driver is finally able to overtake the rest of the semis. This process can take anywhere from 5-10 mins. Then when you're finally able to get around this group of road clots, you come to another group, and another, and so on...this is pretty much how it goes on the highways I travel...if you aren't experiencing this, then I envy you, because this is a very frustrating way to travel...
 
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Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Assuming you don't drive a donkey drawn cart, it is very easy to get out of the way of a semi. Just speed up and get around them when you have a chance. Stay in the left lane. etc. I've tried to give examples of how its basically the same situation for them as it is us, but you seem to be pretty stuck in your ways. Tunnel vision. Semis are evil.


You apparently don't spend as much time on the highways as I do. 4 lane highways are a mess with semis, and there's nothing passenger vehicle drivers can do to make semis any less of a PITA. When semis get in bunches (which happens a lot) and the rear semi driver decides he's going to pass the entire group (taking up both lanes in the process), those of us in passenger vehicles are stuck behind these guys until this one semi driver is finally able to overtake the rest of the semis. This process can take anywhere from 5-10 mins. Then when you're finally able to get around this group of road clots, you come to another group, and another, and so on...this is pretty much how it goes on the highways I travel...if you aren't experiencing this, then I envy you, because this is a very frustrating way to travel...


Busy roads are frustrating no doubt. Everyone is on a schedule though. Their time isn't more important than yours and vise versa.
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
You apparently don't spend as much time on the highways as I do.


I probably do. Much more.

While I do see bunches of trucks clogging up traffic, its not so common that I worry about it. It happens; get used to it.

I also see "regular" motorists in cars doing the same thing, about twenty times more often. Usually its an old grandpa leading a line of cars two dozen deep in the left lane.
 
Originally Posted By: css9450
Originally Posted By: grampi
You apparently don't spend as much time on the highways as I do.


I probably do. Much more.

While I do see bunches of trucks clogging up traffic, its not so common that I worry about it. It happens; get used to it.

I also see "regular" motorists in cars doing the same thing, about twenty times more often. Usually its an old grandpa leading a line of cars two dozen deep in the left lane.



That's funny, from what I see, the semi gaggles outnumber the car gaggles by about 50 to 1...
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
I pretty much drive for a living (except for when I'm fixing something), and the passenger car drivers are MUCH, MUCH worse than 98% of the semi drivers-however, there is a small percentage of independents & company freight haulers (Saia being the prime offender I see) that seem to allow ANY idiot they can find to drive their (usually junker) semis. They are the bad apples spoiling it for everybody. But the biggest danger is the car drivers who just don't give a [CENSORED!!!]!


By and large I agree with you.
 
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