Discussions

In another discussion, someone went a little off topic about professional drivers in Brandon. It’s not uncommon for class 1 drivers to get a very large amount of complaints from the public, but I for one am getting sick of it.  
 
Brandon has to be one of the WORST places I have ever driven a truck in. Sure, every city is not without it’s own set of ignorant 4 wheelers, but it seems very rare in Brandon to find a driver who knows how to share the road with a truck.  
 
The biggest beef I have with Brandon driver’s are that, they pay next to no attention to the signal lights of these vehicles.  
 
I have driven truck in rush hour in cities such as Chicago, Kansas City, Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. And for some reason, even in the fast paced bumper to bumper traffic, if I turn my signal light on to change lanes, I never have had to wait more than 2 or 3 cars for traffic to slow down and give me room. However, in Brandon, if I have a turn coming up and need to change lanes, I’ll have to slow down and wait for the other lane to completely pass me, meanwhile my lane changes over to pass me as well. So in order to make my turn. I normally end up being a little more aggressive and claim my spot, and a few middle fingers directed to me.  
 
ALSO  
 
If you are following a construction vehicle, or any other large truck for that matter, and you see the four way flashers come on. It usually means the driver is signaling his desire to back up. It is very frustrating when I need to back onto a job site, but traffic just insists on going around me. Or even worse, just sits behind me staring without giving room. (And I signal with more than enough time for them to clue in before they get in the way)  
 
This is also true for small vehicles too. Anytime that I’ve wanted to parallel park in this city, traffic follows far too closely and ends up sitting only a few feet behind me when I am ready to back up. I signal well in advance but no one takes the time to watch the signals on the back of my vehicle.  
 
Also, if you see a truck going to make a turn onto the street you are on. Don’t stick your nose out into the intersection. It makes that turn all the more harder for us. Trucks need to take turns much wider, not only because of our length, but also because of the off track of the trailer. This means that the turn is actually sharper for the rear of the truck than the front.  
 
I had one situation where a driver did this to me, and I had to adjust quickly to take the left turn much wider than normal. As I signaled left, I brought my truck slightly onto the shoulder of the roadway. Just when I started to make the left turn, I noticed beside me that a car that was behind me had decided to try to pass me while making my turn. Obviously they did not pay attention to my lights and assumed I was pulling over (regardless of which, they should have given any vehicle room). Needless to say, someone needed a new hood, and it wasn’t me, but this has almost happened at least three other times to me.  
 
So please Brandon, before you start criticizing us truck drivers, pay attention, give us time and room, and stop forcing us to drive aggressively.  
 
(For the driver’s who do know how to share the road. Every time I see you give me room, I want to run out of my truck and give you a big high five in appreciation.)  
 
 
 
Edited by Jimbob, 2009-08-07 00:32:40