Trucks Blocking Lanes At Construction Merges, Is This Legal?

[churchmouse]

...now how do you professional drivers feel about those four wheelers that pass you with a 0.5mph overtake?

If you are talking about the idiots that post up off my left rear wheel and use me for a speedometer while they drive distracted then man I hate those people.

Or the minivan that rolls up on a big truck and hovers.........until you have closed to within 1 car length of their bumper and they switch lanes right in front of you. You check up and drop 10 MPH in 2 car lengths and they are still rolling 2 under the limit. For miles. This happened to us this afternoon.

People. That is the issue. People.

 

[chocktaw2]

...now how do you professional drivers feel about those four wheelers that pass you with a 0.5mph overtake?

When I was driving the big rig, you would be ok. As long as I didn't need the lane you were stalling in. If I needed the fast lane, you got a blast from the big horn, I rolled my window down, pointed to the turn signal, they new what was coming next. If your gonna pass somebody, just get it over with.

 

[BugI02]

If you are talking about the idiots that post up off my left rear wheel and use me for a speedometer while they drive distracted then man I hate those people.

Or the minivan that rolls up on a big truck and hovers.........until you have closed to within 1 car length of their bumper and they switch lanes right in front of you. You check up and drop 10 MPH in 2 car lengths and they are still rolling 2 under the limit. For miles. This happened to us this afternoon.

People. That is the issue. People.

Totally with you on this. More than 9 out of 10 vehicles on the road have cruise control but apparently nobody is using it. I run long distances on cruise exclusively and a faster vehicle will overtake and I'll move into the right lane but they'll tuck in echelon left and match speed for some reason. **** dude, you were faster than me a minute ago, what happened?

Then as you roll up on a slower vehicle in the right lane, you have to speed up and retake the left lane - it's like they can only pass if you're boxed in. I have had people run up to 80+ when I decide they're not going to get it done and begin setting up the move left. If they had done that from the git/go we would be ships in the night

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Totally with you on this. More than 9 out of 10 vehicles on the road have cruise control but apparently nobody is using it. I run long distances on cruise exclusively and a faster vehicle will overtake and I'll move into the right lane but they'll tuck in echelon left and match speed for some reason. **** dude, you were faster than me a minute ago, what happened?

Then as you roll up on a slower vehicle in the right lane, you have to speed up and retake the left lane - it's like they can only pass if you're boxed in. I have had people run up to 80+ when I decide they're not going to get it done and begin setting up the move left. If they had done that from the git/go we would be ships in the night

I've never found an opportunity to use cruise control, at least not in Indiana. Maybe if I lived in Montana or something. About the time I put it on cruise, there's traffic that makes me tap the brake and take it off cruise, so I just never use it. And actually I think I do a better job of speed regulation than cruise control does. No brag, just fact.

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

I don't understand what compels some people to drive in the left lane when there is no noticeable difference between the surfaces of the two lanes. Some of them do when there are no other cars around . . . except the vehicle behind them trying to pass. How do they benefit from impeding faster traffic or forcing people to pass them on the right?

I admit, if no one is around, I prefer to drive in the left lane. Comes from having lived two years in Japan and then three years in the UK. As soon as any traffic is around, I move into the right lane.

 

[Vigilant]

If you are talking about the idiots that post up off my left rear wheel and use me for a speedometer while they drive distracted then man I hate those people.

Or the minivan that rolls up on a big truck and hovers.........until you have closed to within 1 car length of their bumper and they switch lanes right in front of you. You check up and drop 10 MPH in 2 car lengths and they are still rolling 2 under the limit. For miles. This happened to us this afternoon.

People. That is the issue. People.

People, can’t live with them, can’t kill them.(in most cases)

 

[Ingomike]

I've never found an opportunity to use cruise control, at least not in Indiana. Maybe if I lived in Montana or something. About the time I put it on cruise, there's traffic that makes me tap the brake and take it off cruise, so I just never use it. And actually I think I do a better job of speed regulation than cruise control does. No brag, just fact.

I drive more miles on cc than off. In areas known for strict enforcement it is my personal speed control.

 

[Ingomike]

Totally with you on this. More than 9 out of 10 vehicles on the road have cruise control but apparently nobody is using it. I run long distances on cruise exclusively and a faster vehicle will overtake and I'll move into the right lane but they'll tuck in echelon left and match speed for some reason. **** dude, you were faster than me a minute ago, what happened?

Then as you roll up on a slower vehicle in the right lane, you have to speed up and retake the left lane - it's like they can only pass if you're boxed in. I have had people run up to 80+ when I decide they're not going to get it done and begin setting up the move left. If they had done that from the git/go we would be ships in the night

This will not account for the just plain idiots, but, on multi lane highways, they will follow you close if you are going a good speed then when you get over they are chicken to run that speed as the leader...

 

[Bigtanker]

...now how do you professional drivers feel about those four wheelers that pass you with a 0.5mph overtake?

That's an easy one. I put on my left turn signal and hug the left side of my lane. Probably 80% of the time, they speed up. This is especially true with I'm in the big tanker (9 axles total). I'm still kinda intimidated by it and I've been driving one for 8 years now.

 

[churchmouse]

This will not account for the just plain idiots, but, on multi lane highways, they will follow you close if you are going a good speed then when you get over they are chicken to run that speed as the leader...

When they run with you like that I just ease down on the little peddle and check out. Once you get about a quarter mile up ease off back to where you were running and those idiots fad out of your mirrors.

 

[Clay Pigeon]

I miss those days of high sulfur fuel and rolling coal to cure a problem behind you.

 

[jkaetz]

i read the entire thread but will respond to the OP.

From a truck driver’s viewpoint it’s mostly a self defense and time saving move. Once traffic actually got backed up mostly to a stop, if all the trucks got immediately in the right lane and all the cars kept going in the left it would take the trucks MUCH longer to get to the merge. Conversely, the truck drivers don’t like going all the way to the front in the left lane because then they have a difficult time merging right into their blind spot, at least more so than a car. One can often creep along at a steady 7 mph instead of 15 mph then stop, 15 mph and stop. But if you do that by yourself you will have cars constantly moving right into the space in front of you. The double block move helps you and everyone in front of you, but really messes up everyone behind you. The blocking move might get fewer cars thru in a time period but it is getting ME!!!!! thru faster. That is the thought process.

Once in while you will be in the left lane passing and come up on a short notice merge and end up in the passing lane and not be able to get out. If a trucker runs to the front of the line in the left lane, all hell breaks loose on the CB about it. But, maybe that’s what all the trucks should do as well?

It really seems to me that everyone thinks their time is more important than everyone else.

IMO trucks and cars should use both lanes during backups. No one will feel slighted having to allow someone in at the merge point because no one would be waiting pointlessly with an open lane beside them.

My time is not more important than others, I'm simply not willing to give it up if i have the option to travel more efficiently in an empty lane. If all lanese being used l'll happily let one or two people in at the merge point regardless of how many wheels you have.

When they run with you like that I just ease down on the little peddle and check out. Once you get about a quarter mile up ease off back to where you were running and those idiots fad out of your mirrors.

I've actually had these jokers catch up to me following other fast traffic before. I'm always 50/50 on whether they will make it past me when this happens.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I've never found an opportunity to use cruise control, at least not in Indiana. Maybe if I lived in Montana or something. About the time I put it on cruise, there's traffic that makes me tap the brake and take it off cruise, so I just never use it. And actually I think I do a better job of speed regulation than cruise control does. No brag, just fact.

I'm the same way. The only time that I did use it for any amount of time was when I got a GPS thing put in my company car and was told that speeding was one of the things that would be flagged. Using cruise helped me stay at the limit, but driving the speed limit on I70 & 465 in Indy was a crazy experiment and I stopped doing that.

 

[jamil]

People who feel justified to appoint themselves as traffic regulators should be arrested.

 

[tv1217]

 

[Vigilant]

Traffic, and stupid people, yet more reasons to look into this whole Purge Day business.

 

[IndyBeerman]

It all boils down to this....

If people could just act sensibly, merge in a polite timely fashion BEFORE the lane ends and not act like the world revolves around them and them only,
then we could go on about our daily business without too much of a problem and people wouldn't be *****ing about truck drivers like me and others
who are tired of people racing to the front of the line like it's a contest where a trophy is awarded on how many people you can peeve off.

 

[BugI02]

It all boils down to this....

If people could just act sensibly, merge in a polite timely fashion BEFORE the lane ends and not act like the world revolves around them and them only,
then we could go on about our daily business without too much of a problem and people wouldn't be *****ing about truck drivers like me and others
who are tired of people racing to the front of the line like it's a contest where a trophy is awarded on how many people you can peeve off.

So very much THIS^^^ I for one would participate if we proceeded in a manner that let everyone roll through the choke at 35-45mph (some slow down is inevitable due to the skill set of the average driver being the empty set). Not going to play at the version where the speed in the choke inevitably slows to a crawl as the morons try to force their way in at the last minute

 

[BugI02]

I've never found an opportunity to use cruise control, at least not in Indiana. Maybe if I lived in Montana or something. About the time I put it on cruise, there's traffic that makes me tap the brake and take it off cruise, so I just never use it. And actually I think I do a better job of speed regulation than cruise control does. No brag, just fact.

Hint:You don't. Have somebody instrument your car to pull maybe speed and throttle position data and you'll see for yourself. A cruder version of that is you will never achieve as high an MPG number on your car's computer as what cruise will achieve

My newer car has a good intelligent cruise that has adjustable following distance and will match speeds with slower traffic as it is overtaken, establishing that following distance. A change to the left lane when able and the car resumes the preset speed. You can really only effectively use cruise outside urban areas because inside an outerbelt is to be inside the Schwarzschild limit on stupidity

 

[BugI02]

When they run with you like that I just ease down on the little peddle and check out. Once you get about a quarter mile up ease off back to where you were running and those idiots fad out of your mirrors.

Yes. I refer to that as 'breaking contact' or 'breaking lock'