A safe driving tip for y'all.

[gridlore]

I've mentioned before my annoyance with tail gaters. Not only do they freak me out because they vanish from view when they get too close, and if I suddenly brake they will die, no they annoy me for another reason..

Things fall off trucks. Today, it was my rear gates. My brand-new, formerly shiny gates.

I was coming down 580 E. I hit a big bump, and heard an odd crashing sound. I look in my mirror and see that the two lift gates in the rear had come loose, and were both hanging by a thread. Emergency flashers, and as fast as possible I begin slowing and moving to the shoulder.

Not fast enough, as I angled over I heard two clangs as the gates hit the road. Luckily, they hit flat and didn't bounce. And since I was already heading towards the side of the road the gates skidding out of traffic. Neither was bent, and I didn't lose my load, but...

Had someone been close up on my truck, they would have run over a gate. That will kill a tire or two. Had the gates bounced, a close-following car would have eaten it. These are the nightmares a truck driver has. People crowding us, tailgating, not understanding that in any argument between even a small truck like mine and a passenger vehicle I will win.

So please, give us some space, OK?

Once I reassembled my truck, I got caught in a thunderstorm coming up Vasco Road. Had there been room to stop safely, I would have stopped and enjoyed the rain and the show.

Comments

[shadopanther.livejournal.com]

I am in total agreement with you. Even in my little car, I also hate tail-gaiters. I want space around me to maneuver. (Those who change lanes without signaling also irk me... especially as I've had one of those drivers merge INTO my car and then have the nerve to try to blame ME for the accident. ...This being the same accident which messed up my neck & back in 1997.)

[claidheamhmor]

Scary stuff! I'm always wary of trucks; I'm especially careful not to nip in front of them. Having driven trucks in the military, I know how long it takes them to stop.

[robertprior.livejournal.com]

One would like to think truck drivers know this too, but I've had way to many pull up so close that I can't read their license plates (less than a car length) and hit the horn.

[silverstorm2013.livejournal.com]

I always try to leave twice the normal stopping distance with big truck. Same for passing. Having a basic grasp of Newtonian physics is helpful when driving

Btw ICON LOVE, can I steal it?

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Feel free. Check my icons page for the proper attribution.