Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Into the Void

Listen Up Truckers

All right, its time to sit down, shut up and pay attention. Class is back in session at the School of Hard Knocks.

Today's lesson concerns stupid truckers, and you know who you are. This tirade doesn't concern those truck drivers who show courtesy toward other motorists on the road and drive professionally. No, it's for the rest of the lot who give you a bad name.

First off, there's no reason for ANY trucker to be speeding. No deadline is worth causing a wreck and possibly getting someone killed.

Then, there's no reason for ANY trucker to cut off another driver just because they can. After all, bigger doesn't mean better, but it can very well mean dumber.

It's just down right ignorant for a truck driver to whip their rig back into the right lane, narrowly missing a vehicle just passed, even if there is someone riding the trucker's back bumper. Slow down and force the other guy to do the same, it works for me.

For the most part, the trucking industry is a vital one for the American economy. After all, trucks can move goods from point A to point B cheaper than any other method.

However, this doesn't give those behind the wheels of the big rigs any more rights than other motorist has. It doesn't mean truckers can drive as fast as their trucks will go just because no cops are around.

With cell phones around, other drivers should be calling law enforcement officials to let them know exactly what and how the truckers are doing. It would also be a good idea to call those toll-free numbers on the back of many rigs to let the company know the antics of their drivers.

As much as I hate cell phones, there are times it would be nice to have one, just to be able to contact trucking companies and cops and rat on truck drivers for their motorized stupidity.

But the worst offenders don't have such stickers on their rigs. No, this bunch just doesn't seem to care in the least about other drivers of any sort.

Who, you ask, is the worst of the offenders? The answer, my friends, is simple log truck drivers.

Let's face it, many of those who drive log trucks ignore all rules and regulations, for the most part. I've seen them driving more than 70 mph on state highways and flying low through school zones.

In the last year a log truck driver was cited for passing a stopped school bus on the right while a child was getting on. Only by the grace of the powers that be did the child avoid being hit by the truck.

The bad part is the driver never attempted to slow down, according to witnesses, though he had plenty of time.

Nope, instead he just kept the hammer down, went onto the shoulder of the road and passed the bus. In court the claim was failed brakes, but any driver worth their CDL knows how to gear a rig down.

In fact, most truck drivers would do anything to avoid the possibility of hitting a child or school bus. There have been numerous news reports on just such incidents.

The bad part about the aforementioned story of the trucker passing a bus on the right is the court let him off. However, problems with the judicial system is an entirely different column.

Yes, I know this will make a lot of drivers mad. The idea, though, it to get them to start thinking while they are driving not to cast undue aspersions on the trucking industry.

However, the truth is often an ugly thing most people would rather avoid.

So, to you truckers who want to do a better job and help get the reputation of the industry back where it once was when truck drivers were called knights of the road, this is not directed at you.

To those who show little regard for the rest of the drivers on the road, listen up. I'm tired of being bullied by you just because your trucks are bigger than my car and I'm not gonna take it any longer.

If necessary a cell phone can be bought and calls made to cops and your company. If it takes getting you ticketed and/or fired for your learning curve to show something besides a straight line, so be it.

After all, all I'm asking for is a little professional courtesy and respect, nothing more. Is this so much to ask?