WWTF is going on with Truck Drivers

[kalvado]

Yeah, life was tough without GPS...

Was?

I've never had a car with sat-nav directions.

It must be tough to live without smartphone these days .. but I am jealous of that digital detox!

[Scott5114]

Just cause your car has a sat-nav doesn't mean you have to put your destination in it if you don't want to.

[Max Rockatansky]

Just cause your car has a sat-nav doesn't mean you have to put your destination in it if you don't want to.

Modern GPS never has good ideas anyways.  At least old school GPS would blindly introduce you to some kick ass and haggard mountain roads.

I do wonder sometimes if the advent of modern onboard GPS has led to a decline in people driving backroads.  Most phone and car GPS software will heavily emphasize name-brand highways over roads which might actually save time.  I noticed on my trip to Fallon a couple months back that my bypass from Merced to San Andreas cut about 40 minutes from my morning GPS estimate.  The GPS wanted to take me up 99 from Fresno during Sacramento rush hour and turn east on I-80. 

[Quillz]

For me, it has nothing to do with GPS. It has everything to do with I have no idea what the road quality will be like. 

[Rothman]

Just cause your car has a sat-nav doesn't mean you have to put your destination in it if you don't want to.

Modern GPS never has good ideas anyways.  At least old school GPS would blindly introduce you to some kick ass and haggard mountain roads.

I do wonder sometimes if the advent of modern onboard GPS has led to a decline in people driving backroads.  Most phone and car GPS software will heavily emphasize name-brand highways over roads which might actually save time.  I noticed on my trip to Fallon a couple months back that my bypass from Merced to San Andreas cut about 40 minutes from my morning GPS estimate.  The GPS wanted to take me up 99 from Fresno during Sacramento rush hour and turn east on I-80. 

Half the time, I force Google maps to not take back roads...

[Max Rockatansky]

For me, it has nothing to do with GPS. It has everything to do with I have no idea what the road quality will be like.

Modern map software seems like prone to sending you down something like a County Route J1 east of Hollister.  On paper to computer it might look faster but in reality the bone crushing asphalt surface slows you way down.  An older GPS would look at a road like that and just assume you can hold the 55 MPH speed limit the entire time.

[Quillz]

For me, it has nothing to do with GPS. It has everything to do with I have no idea what the road quality will be like.

Modern map software seems like prone to sending you down something like a County Route J1 east of Hollister.  On paper to computer it might look faster but in reality the bone crushing asphalt surface slows you way down.  An older GPS would look at a road like that and just assume you can hold the 55 MPH speed limit the entire time.

And that's the issue. Older GPS software didn't have the kind of information the newer ones have, so they would look strictly at start to finish and determine that this route is technically faster, but it has no knowledge of the road quality and what kind of speed you can maintain.

There are quite a few alternate routes I will take because I know they are in general good shape. But many others, I wouldn't trust.

[kphoger]

Google Maps still likes sending people down minor roads.  For example...

Even before recent road construction started north of Abilene TX, more often than not Google has you use FM-707 through Tye (including a railroad crossing) instead of just staying on US-277 for this route, even though it's only 2½ miles shorter.

And the route from Wichita KS to Springfield MO always includes quite a few miles of bumpy no-shoulder 55-mph lettered routes in Missouri through here.  Now, that's pretty much the route I go, but definitely not during winter weather, and I can only imagine doing it in an RV like I see some people doing.  It's only a tenth of a mile shorter than a mile shorter than just using MO-96 directly through Carthage.

Those are just the two that always stick out to me, but I see similar all the time.

[Max Rockatansky]

For me, it has nothing to do with GPS. It has everything to do with I have no idea what the road quality will be like.

Modern map software seems like prone to sending you down something like a County Route J1 east of Hollister.  On paper to computer it might look faster but in reality the bone crushing asphalt surface slows you way down.  An older GPS would look at a road like that and just assume you can hold the 55 MPH speed limit the entire time.

And that's the issue. Older GPS software didn't have the kind of information the newer ones have, so they would look strictly at start to finish and determine that this route is technically faster, but it has no knowledge of the road quality and what kind of speed you can maintain.

There are quite a few alternate routes I will take because I know they are in general good shape. But many others, I wouldn't trust.

Me personally the more haggard something is the more I tend to enjoy it.  These small cars with modern independent rear suspension pretty much soak up bumps anyways.

[Molandfreak]

For me, it has nothing to do with GPS. It has everything to do with I have no idea what the road quality will be like.

Modern map software seems like prone to sending you down something like a County Route J1 east of Hollister.  On paper to computer it might look faster but in reality the bone crushing asphalt surface slows you way down.  An older GPS would look at a road like that and just assume you can hold the 55 MPH speed limit the entire time.

And that's the issue. Older GPS software didn't have the kind of information the newer ones have, so they would look strictly at start to finish and determine that this route is technically faster, but it has no knowledge of the road quality and what kind of speed you can maintain.

There are quite a few alternate routes I will take because I know they are in general good shape. But many others, I wouldn't trust.

Me personally the more haggard something is the more I tend to enjoy it.  These small cars with modern independent rear suspension pretty much soak up bumps anyways.

Spoken like a true Californian!

[Max Rockatansky]

For me, it has nothing to do with GPS. It has everything to do with I have no idea what the road quality will be like.

Modern map software seems like prone to sending you down something like a County Route J1 east of Hollister.  On paper to computer it might look faster but in reality the bone crushing asphalt surface slows you way down.  An older GPS would look at a road like that and just assume you can hold the 55 MPH speed limit the entire time.

And that's the issue. Older GPS software didn't have the kind of information the newer ones have, so they would look strictly at start to finish and determine that this route is technically faster, but it has no knowledge of the road quality and what kind of speed you can maintain.

There are quite a few alternate routes I will take because I know they are in general good shape. But many others, I wouldn't trust.

Me personally the more haggard something is the more I tend to enjoy it.  These small cars with modern independent rear suspension pretty much soak up bumps anyways.

Spoken like a true Californian!

I guess?  The state highways here are pretty much fine and most people from the big cities avoid roads like those I'm eluding to?

[Molandfreak]

For me, it has nothing to do with GPS. It has everything to do with I have no idea what the road quality will be like.

Modern map software seems like prone to sending you down something like a County Route J1 east of Hollister.  On paper to computer it might look faster but in reality the bone crushing asphalt surface slows you way down.  An older GPS would look at a road like that and just assume you can hold the 55 MPH speed limit the entire time.

And that's the issue. Older GPS software didn't have the kind of information the newer ones have, so they would look strictly at start to finish and determine that this route is technically faster, but it has no knowledge of the road quality and what kind of speed you can maintain.

There are quite a few alternate routes I will take because I know they are in general good shape. But many others, I wouldn't trust.

Me personally the more haggard something is the more I tend to enjoy it.  These small cars with modern independent rear suspension pretty much soak up bumps anyways.

Spoken like a true Californian!

I guess?  The state highways here are pretty much fine and most people from the big cities avoid roads like those I'm eluding to?

Mostly because winters aren't as harsh, and therefore you don't have to deal with nearly as many potholes which cause flat tires and suspension damage.

[Max Rockatansky]

For me, it has nothing to do with GPS. It has everything to do with I have no idea what the road quality will be like.

Modern map software seems like prone to sending you down something like a County Route J1 east of Hollister.  On paper to computer it might look faster but in reality the bone crushing asphalt surface slows you way down.  An older GPS would look at a road like that and just assume you can hold the 55 MPH speed limit the entire time.

And that's the issue. Older GPS software didn't have the kind of information the newer ones have, so they would look strictly at start to finish and determine that this route is technically faster, but it has no knowledge of the road quality and what kind of speed you can maintain.

There are quite a few alternate routes I will take because I know they are in general good shape. But many others, I wouldn't trust.

Me personally the more haggard something is the more I tend to enjoy it.  These small cars with modern independent rear suspension pretty much soak up bumps anyways.

Spoken like a true Californian!

I guess?  The state highways here are pretty much fine and most people from the big cities avoid roads like those I'm eluding to?

Mostly because winters aren't as harsh, and therefore you don't have to deal with nearly as many potholes which cause flat tires and suspension damage.

Yeah but I strike you as someone who has been sticking to mostly to state highways?  Rough pavement alone doesn't often cause flat tires (especially with normal side wall profiles).

[ClassicHasClass]

you don't have to deal with nearly as many potholes which cause flat tires and suspension damage.

On an annual basis, probably not, but they don't get fixed very often around here either, so they accumulate.

[kphoger]

eluding

psssssssssst. . . . .  I don't think that means what you think it means.

[michravera]

you don't have to deal with nearly as many potholes which cause flat tires and suspension damage.

On an annual basis, probably not, but they don't get fixed very often around here either, so they accumulate.

Including one in which I could probably fit on CASR-17 near The Cats restaurant that seems to resist attempts to repair it. I've seen the patches. It just doesn't seem to stay fixed.

[architect77]

Everyday they are finding that unsafe trucking companies are changing names to escape the bad safety records and replacing the numbers on the side of the cabs.

On You Tube look up California Insider's Cargo Theft on the Rise.

It tells of trucks being lured to incorrect destination points to steal the cargo and it says that independent drivers accept runs from an open market type website that lists the shipments to different places and drivers commit to completing them with little to no association or establishment of trust. Valuable cargo runs are followed by SoCal criminals up to 1,000 miles and when the driver stops for a restroom break their cargo is taken which they don't realize until reaching their destination.

It's a lousy job because GPS tracking forces them to stop for sleep periods and there's no way to make up for lost time or do a rush delivery to make a profit.

[CoreySamson]

New Supreme Court ruling allows citizens to sue freight brokers (if I'm understanding the article correctly), making them more liable for any infractions, especially truck accidents caused by bad and inexperienced truck drivers:

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-truckers-trucking-crash-a7918cb14bd3f780dd166802c0d7d8dd