Talk about driver behaviour
Submitted: Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 20:57
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Kim and Damn Dog
We were travelling south down the Newel Highway recently and this fella came screaming around a sweeping bend in a B Double. The instant thought was I’m going to have my eyeballs delivered through the rectum passage when this thing tips.
The mate who was following me made the remark on the UHF, ‘I’m glad to be alive’. That’s the first instance.
On getting back home I was nearly wiped out twice within two days by people who believe both sides of the road belong to them inclusively. In this situation they appear to consider it’s their right of passage to continue on around parked cars without due thought to what’s coming in the opposite direction.
I don’t have too much of a problem with these fools. If they want to play around with 3 tonnes compared to a Hyundai, then its physics which will determine the outcome.
To all the truckies and locals we spoke to on the trip via the UHF, thanks for all your help fellas.
In particular the couple of fellas in Wagga who attempted to help me locate the old home. Much appreciated.
Regards
Kim
Reply By: warfer69 - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 21:06
Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 21:06
Its great to see all this money being spent on speed cameras reduces all this type of driving...Just imagine if they hadn't all these cameras in place your journey would have been worse ! Can you feel the sarcasm just dripping off me...
Glad your safe though...
Oh and all the money they recoup will never be used putting cop cars back on the roads where they should be...
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Reply By: Brian (Montrose, Vic.) - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 21:43
Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 21:43
And if you dare to wander into the middle of the road in front of them to send a subtle message suddenly you are one of those uncaring manics in a 4WD who shouldn't be on the road! But its still fun to watch the paniced looks on their faces...
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Follow Up By: Madfisher - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 16:59
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 16:59
Are you for real?
Pete
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Reply By: Member - Flynnie (NSW) - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 00:16
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 00:16
Overall I have found truck drivers to be much better drivers than car drivers, more courteous and a lot more helpful than car drivers when things go wrong.
There is always the occasional exception. Maybe a driver had a bad day or a lapse of concentration. Maybe not. None of us are perfect. Do we really need to bucket truck drivers when they make a mistake? I saw an awful lot of sloppy car drivers this morning and afternoon. So used to it that it is hardly worth a mention.
For what it's worth I think we are fortunate that truck drivers are so good at their job. I am not a truck driver.
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Follow Up By: fisho64 - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 02:33
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 02:33
Flynnie-have to agree with you, also not a truckie but it doesnt seem like an easy job.
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Follow Up By: feathery - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 07:04
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 07:04
Sit on 100 or 110 km /hr on pacific hwy at night you will soon change your mind about truck drivers if you live to tell the tail
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Follow Up By: Member - Mark G Gulmarrad - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 09:21
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 09:21
Feathery
I am an interstate driver for nearly 25 years now and in that time i can tell you i would prefer to travel on the pacific highway at night rather than to be on it during the daytime with some of the car drivers.
Some car drivers think that the reflective things on and in their car are for doing your hair in.Some antics that i see with some drivers is just unreal.Dont get me wrong,some heavy vehicle drivers arnt perfect either.
My job isnt easy as Fisho 64 said,long hours,away from my wife and kids for days at a time,lack of facilities for proper rest and decent meals on the road are just some of
the hazards we as heavy vehicle drivers face these days.
The industry is slowly trying to rid itself of the cowboy element we seem to have among us at the moment.this isnt an "us v's them" thing with car and truck drivers,everyone needs to get home from our work to see the family.
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Follow Up By: fisho64 - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 11:27
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 11:27
While Ive never been a trucky I have dealt with quite a few while carting our product.
Most of the guys I dealt with are no longer in it. Mostly have Bobcats, Kangas and similar sort of businesses
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Follow Up By: Dave(NSW) - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 11:39
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 11:39
I did interstate for over 35 years until health problems made me give it away, As Mark says there is good and bad in all walks of life including some 4x4 drivers. When it's all boiled down truckies just want to do there job and get home to there families at the end of the week with out any accidents
Cheers Dave...
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Follow Up By: Shaver - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 12:13
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 12:13
Your right about the Cowboys on the Pacific H'wy. I just came back from the Central Coast NSW & was passed by some clown in a Semi in the pouring rain doing 130kph( I was doing 110kph). No sooner had the same thing done again by another. I paced the last bloke out of curiosity to see his speed. Thanks to him I now have a heap of stone chips. I have a HC myself & would have gladly rearranged his hooter had he pulled over. Got him on the UHF & let him know & his reply was he was in a hurry. He wasn't 20 minutes later when he had slowed down & I had to overtake him & I never seen him again or his mate. Even on the 12 Mile they were doing 110.
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 16:06
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 16:06
Why wouldn't truck drivers be open to criticism?
They aren't a protected species!
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Follow Up By: Member - Mark G Gulmarrad - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 16:24
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 16:24
Shaker
Who actually said they were???
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 19:35
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 19:35
QUOTE: ....... None of us are perfect. Do we really need to bucket truck drivers when they make a mistake?
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Reply By: Ray - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 03:50
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 03:50
Yes most truckies are very good. In W.A. one
young hoon got done twice in one day. He had two cars confiscated and was banned from driving for "life"
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Reply By: Family Friendly Oz Camping - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 10:25
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 10:25
Most truckies and car drivers are good, there is that percentage of drivers just don't care if we get home to our family. usually if there is an accident it's usually the innocent ones that get injured or killed. An abdolute Tradegy that should not have happened.
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Reply By: OzTroopy - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 13:46
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 13:46
Welcome to life on the Newell Hwy Kim .....
Overused / poorly maintained / tabledrains overgrown obstructing vision and encouraging wildlife ... They call it an inland corridor .... more of goat track in reality ... and as for the joiner roads .... pfffft
Theres not many bad truckies in reality ... the worst ones are those who until recently were train drivers.
Govt closes rail freight networks ... redundant rail staff get trucks ... still think they are on rails while moving freight and think that all other traffic will still give way to them.
Quite a simple deductive process really ..... in the end - its the fault of the govt ... yet again ... LOL
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Reply By: Gronk - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 13:50
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 13:50
Most truckies are good drivers ( even if they are speeding ), but as all trucks are speed limited to 100K's.....how do they get them to go faster ??
Crack down on that.....and the bosses that almost force them to speed and it will be a lot safer..
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Follow Up By: Madfisher - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 17:16
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 17:16
Not all Trucks and buses are speed limited, Out of three large vehicles at work only one a Rosa 25 seater bus has a limiter on it. But imagine this senerio, I was driving the Rosa and caught up to trhis car doing 80. No problem, over taking lane in a few ks. Gets to it and as I am starting to wind the Rosa up this idiot takes off, I get it up to about 102, and speed limiter cuts in. Gets to the end and odiot slows down to 80 again. This happened over 50ks. It took great self control not to shuve the Rosa into his boot after about the 10th time this happened.
Now I know this happens to truckies most days, common courtesy is all it takes.
Cheers Pete
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Follow Up By: Member - Mark G Gulmarrad - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 17:58
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 17:58
Pete
you hit the nail right on the head there mate.........but as a professional driver it is my job to keep from doing that and wait till i can safely pass.that's the difference between the professional driver and the cowboy element that i spoke about.
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Reply By: Horacehighroller - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 15:08
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 15:08
Gday Kim,
You don't actually say that he was on the wrong side of the road, but obviously thought he was doing something seriously wrong..
Was he going faster than you thought safe?
Was he doing more than 100K? (Open road?)
Were you concerned that it might roll?
Peter
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Follow Up By: Kim and Damn Dog - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 17:30
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 17:30
This post has been read by the moderation team and has been moderated due to a breach of The Foul Language Rule 
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Forum Moderation Team
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Reply By: Member - Oldbaz. NSW. - Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 15:49
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 at 15:49
Kim, while I sympathise with you re such incidents raising the hackles, as they do with all of us, I can only repeat my response to a similar post recently..you
must drive defensively at all times, as I'm sure you do. Steaming over such things while driving is not in our best interests either..not good for concentration. It is a dangerous world on the road & we must all show less aggression..everyone makes errors & we all have to share the same space.
Sorry to sound like a lecture, not meant to be, but I must suggest you not
place too much faith in your 3 ton jobbie winning the collision stakes with a
sedan...accident statistics clearly show you are the most likely to suffer the most injury. cheers...oldbaz.
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