Ask a professional truck driver questions.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Popular on the NY thruway are the "turnpike doubles" - legal also on the Ohio Turnpike and ITR, but nowhere near as popular…

Would that be because they are illegal in Pennsylvania? (I don't know that they are, I'm just speculating.)

And then the corollary: do you get a black market of sorts for truckers trying to sneak a turnpike double through Erie County without getting into a bear trap?

They are only legal on the turnpike, hence the name "turnpike doubles" - they are definitely not allowed in PA on I-90, nor in OH on the non-Turnpike section of I-90.  I don't frequent the free segment of I-90 much, but I have never witnessed, nor heard of anyone trying to sneak triples or turnpike doubles through PA.

[J N Winkler]

Couldn't a trucker or trucking firm run a turnpike double on I-90 in Pennsylvania, to make the connection between the Thruway and the Ohio Turnpike, using the permitting process for extralegal loads?

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Theoretically, yes; however it's far cheaper to break them up and have two trucks carry the trailers across PA, then hook them back up at the NY toll plaza staging area.  Overdimensional permitting is not cheap or easy.

[tradephoric]

What is the worst city to haul in?

[vdeane]

signaling a lane change does not entitle you to that lane.

True, signaling a lane change does not entitle you to that lane, but if the person changing lanes gives plenty of warning, there should be no problem with others letting them in.

One of the things that have irked me the most recently are people going slow or stopping in a merge/accel lane. Once, I was on an entrance ramp and the car in front came to a complete stop!

1.) Have you all ever had the issue of cars/trucks/etc. creeping or stopping on an onramp/merge lane/etc.?

2.) Also, I was wondering how truck drivers feel about roundabouts in general. Do you all have trouble making the turns, or cars not giving you space?

I usually let people in if they're being nice, but if someone's a jerk (such as cutting in front of me and then wanting to move over again when I enter an exit only lane, or using the acceleration lane as a passing lane) I reserve the right to close the gap before the vehicle in front of me.

The slowing down when merging is annoying on my morning commute and disastrous on my evening commute.  It actually combines with the behavior of passing in the acceleration lane.  Around 4:30, every day, while traffic is merging onto the Northway and cars are using the acceleration lane to pass, eventually someone encounters a truck and tries to play chicken.  The truck then slows down let them in, traffic behind the jerk has to slow down to get in behind the truck, traffic on the mainline has to slow down to not rear end anyone (or just slows down because they see brake lights in the adjacent lane and don't know about the merge), traffic merging has to do the same, and the next thing you know you have bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic on the ramp and all Northway lanes.  This can happen in less than 30 seconds and my commute is timed such that I can often observe it happen.

[GCrites]

What's cruise control?  Being from NJ, I rarely ever get an opportunity to use it, since I'm going to have to shut it off in a half mile anyway when traffic grinds to a halt.

I don't even try anymore. I bet it was a really bid deal in the '80s and before when VMT was half what it is today.

[spooky]

I've made a number of trips from my home in Massachusetts to my parents home in eastern Tennessee, and I may as well not even try to use the cruise control until I get to I-287 in NJ, and have no real hope of consistently using it until I get to I-81 in PA.

[hbelkins]

I've made a number of trips from my home in Massachusetts to my parents home in eastern Tennessee, and I may as well not even try to use the cruise control until I get to I-287 in NJ, and have no real hope of consistently using it until I get to I-81 in PA.

I don't know how you could think about using it on I-81 in Virginia, for the trucks and the terrain.

[cjk374]

Here's a question about trailer skirts:  Is there a big noticeable difference in fuel consumption pulling a trailer with the skirts vs. without them?

[empirestate]

And other equipment one I've always wondered about: why do UPS trucks–and only UPS trucks–have those little brush things over their trailer wheels?

[SteveG1988]

And other equipment one I've always wondered about: why do UPS trucks–and only UPS trucks–have those little brush things over their trailer wheels?

I think to keep down road spray

[empirestate]

And other equipment one I've always wondered about: why do UPS trucks–and only UPS trucks–have those little brush things over their trailer wheels?

I think to keep down road spray

So...no other company but UPS is affected by road spray?

[bugo]

Shut up Steve Gum.

[6a]

I asked a UPS mechanic, he said since their trailers are usually in tandem that was the solution to keep not only road spray but other debris from both collecting on tires and hitting the back trailer. He also said salt spray was a problem for the back trailer - they don't want them rusting out with packages inside, it helps keep the trailers cleaner, and it's a "hell of a lot easier than replacing a bunch of mudflaps all fuckin day" (his words.)

[Pete from Boston]

Personally, when I'm on the interstate, I don't want to take off the cruise control for anything or have a larger vehicle in front of me obstructing the view (since I drive a Civic, "a larger vehicle" describes just about every vehicle on the road).

The situation described was that of a disabled or emergency vehicle alongside the road.  In many states, it's the right lane driver's explicit responsibility to move over whenever practical to do so.  I would say it is the implicit responsibility to facilitate that, much as it is our implicit responsibility to allow folks clearing the way for an emergency vehicle to get over.

When you see the flashing lights, be accommodating.  It's not about annoyance or cruise control, it's about safety and common sense.

[spooky]

I've made a number of trips from my home in Massachusetts to my parents home in eastern Tennessee, and I may as well not even try to use the cruise control until I get to I-287 in NJ, and have no real hope of consistently using it until I get to I-81 in PA.

I don't know how you could think about using it on I-81 in Virginia, for the trucks and the terrain.

I found that it's workable if you understand how (most) truckers drive. There are still times when I have to override it.

It also helps control my speed. I had a problem once with a Smyth County trooper who clocked me at 88. I was going to say "but officer, I was just about to go back in time!", but he didn't seem like he had much of a sense of humor.

[J N Winkler]

I-81 in Virginia and I-684 in New York have all been quoted as examples of roads where cruise control cannot be used because of the sheer volume of traffic.  I have used cruise control on both, as well as on freeways in Los Angeles.  Admittedly, I have not driven on either coast in eleven years, and I tended to schedule my driving fairly early in the morning to avoid both heavy traffic and summer heat (every A/C-equipped car I have owned has gotten much better gas mileage without the A/C running).

However, I think there is an underlying difference in philosophy on use of cruise control.  Some people seem reluctant to use it unless traffic is so light that they can run for miles and miles without disengaging it.  Others, like me, will turn on cruise control for distances as small as a few hundred yards, just to regulate speed on straight level roads where speed adaptation tends to be a problem.

In my experience, sharp curves at any altitude and steep grades at high altitudes are almost the only dry-weather circumstances that are prohibitive for cruise control.  Most cruise control systems are vacuum-actuated and will disengage automatically when they cannot get enough vacuum to maintain the set speed, and this usually happens on uphill grades where the vacuum goes down while the engine effort required to maintain the set speed goes up.  Combine this with thin air at high altitude, such as on I-70 over the Colorado Rockies, and you are better off using the throttle pedal and shift control lever to force downshifts as necessary.  On downhill grades above a certain steepness, cruise control doesn't work well because it has a tendency to apply throttle pressure at inappropriate times, so you are usually better off allowing the car to coast down in gear, downshifting as necessary to regulate speed.  Sharp curves and cruise control are also a bad combination because no cruise control system is "smart" enough to produce the subtle variations in throttle pedal pressure that are necessary to find the apex of each curve.

[SteveG1988]

And other equipment one I've always wondered about: why do UPS trucks–and only UPS trucks–have those little brush things over their trailer wheels?

I think to keep down road spray

So...no other company but UPS is affected by road spray?

Mudflaps are more likely to get damaged, so having them up there helps keep it down and make it easier to maintain, having just one set on a trailer is no big issue, but when you have 3 trailers, each with 2 mud flaps each, it adds up. Probably cheaper in the long run, but can potentially damage tires if something gets stuck in it.

[vdeane]

Personally, when I'm on the interstate, I don't want to take off the cruise control for anything or have a larger vehicle in front of me obstructing the view (since I drive a Civic, "a larger vehicle" describes just about every vehicle on the road).

The situation described was that of a disabled or emergency vehicle alongside the road.  In many states, it's the right lane driver's explicit responsibility to move over whenever practical to do so.  I would say it is the implicit responsibility to facilitate that, much as it is our implicit responsibility to allow folks clearing the way for an emergency vehicle to get over.

When you see the flashing lights, be accommodating.  It's not about annoyance or cruise control, it's about safety and common sense.

Those laws allow people to slow down if they aren't able to change lanes easily.  It's surprising how few people (even police!) know that.  I'll move over for emergency vehicles and tow trucks.  Disabled vehicles depends on the circumstance.  My civic can leave a decent amount of space without changing lanes, I just need to ride my tires right up against the lane lines.  Obviously, a truck or SUV wouldn't be able to do this.  One of the advantages of having a smaller car

I honestly don't understand how we got to a point where such laws even became a suggestion.  How are people so bad at driving that people slam into vehicles pulled over on the shoulder?  Are people that incapable of staying within their own lane (or, if on the pulled over vehicle, of watching traffic and choosing a time with no cars coming to get in/out)?  People never cease to amaze me, and not in a good way!

[PColumbus73]

Truckers: How do you feel about roundabouts?

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Small multi-lane roundabouts can deep-throat a blue whale's dick.  They don't belong on truck routes, but if they're large and single lane, they work alright.

[spooky]

Small multi-lane roundabouts can deep-throat a blue whale's dick. 

C'mon, tell us how you really feel. 

[hm insulators]

I've gotten it once. It's rarely done nowadays.

When I was a kid all those many years ago, trucks were cool.  TV and movies were full of roads and cars and long-haul trucks.  All this exposure meant we had a fascinating idea of the life the guy up there in the truck led, full of fast driving and solving mysteries.  Getting a honk request honored was some pretty awesome stuff.   

That probably had to be the mid-1970s, when the 55-mph speed limit was the law and CB radios were a huge fad (anybody remember the song "Convoy"?). Back then, my friends and I were too young to drive, so we would play "CB" on our bikes.

[empirestate]

Those laws allow people to slow down if they aren't able to change lanes easily.  It's surprising how few people (even police!) know that.

Sure, but the example in question is not such an instance. We were talking about a case where someone coming up behind you speeds up just to prevent you coming over. In other words, you could change lanes easily if it weren't for the interference of the other driver.

[triplemultiplex]

I honestly don't understand how we got to a point where such laws even became a suggestion.  How are people so bad at driving that people slam into vehicles pulled over on the shoulder?

Yes.
Humans are by far the most dangerous component of any motor vehicle.