The Semi-truck Driver

Tonight a friend of mine called me in a complete panic: screaming into the phone. She had just been, basically, run off the road by a semi-truck with a trailer. She was very scared and angry at the driver and his extreme lack of driving skills. He had come into her lane while she was half-way up his truck. She used the shoulder of the road to get around the truck, barely. She was a bit shaken to say the least.

I need to interject here that I adore some of the truck drivers on the roads, as one is my dad and one is my brother. I love them dearly and know that they are very good drivers. But at the same time I have met (with my car) some of the drivers who should not have a license; in my opinion. They do not seem to care who is any where near their truck, no matter the distance. They tend to drive how they wish, because they can get away with it because of their size and weight, and they know how to drive their vehicles; they are professional drivers by trade.

One summer I was driving from Sherwood Park, AB to Hope, BC to start my summer job. I was still a relatively new driver, only had my license for about two years, and I got to drive through Banff National Park *Side line* If you get the chance to go there do, it is amazing! One of Gods' natural wonders that is there for us to explore*. Within the National Parks (you go through many between Calgary and Kelowna) the majority of the highway is a two-lane road. Growing up with a truck-driver as my dad I have learned how to understand why Semi-trucks will do some of the things they do, and this is how. We got to this one passing lane, I was in the right lane, and a semi was coming up behind me in the passing lane, in the left lane. I had just passed the "passing lane ends in 200m" sign and wanted to move over; I put on my turn signal, but the truck was not slowing down. He was speeding up in-fact. I was running out of room and did not want to end up as the next bug on the front of that truck's moose bumper. At this point I should share a bit more about the roads. They have itty-bitty shoulders for one to drive on in case of emergency, and the roads were not all planned well for the conditions that the mountain passes experience. They built long bridges- which ice up often- with corners at the bottom of long steep hills. They put the ends of passing lanes on the tip of corners; that is where I found myself as this Semi passed me, at the very end of my lane on a corner with no shoulder. Awsome! 

I am a very safe and courteous driver; my dad was next to me reading a magazine and did not realize the situation till I forcefully jammed on the breaks and came to a sliding, due to the lose gravel under my tires, stop on the edge of the highway looking over a small cliff. I was not impressed to say the least. I took a deep breath, shoulder checked, signaled again, and got back on the road. I explained what had just happened to dad and he took the side of the truck driver who basically ran me, and him, off of a mountain highway. This was his reasoning (meaning dad may have done the same thing): the driver knows the road well- he drives it very often. He knows when the big hills are coming and when to drop a gear, or five, to slow down. This trucker knew he needed speed to get up the next hill (which I was now currently climbing) with as much ease as possible, for his load. I still wasn't impressed with the events that had taken place. I understood why it happened, but I still thought it was, "so not cool". The rest of the trip went well and we enjoyed traveling together through the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

So what did I learn? To know what is happening around you, even though you are only responsible for your vehicle, know who is going to hinder your chances of arriving safely to your destination. Learn how to read the traffic around you, and then adjust to it appropriately. When you see that someone may cut into the lane you are in, hold back for a few more seconds, because most likely that driver will come over. When you see a semi-truck has its blinkers on give it space; this may mean speed up, slow down, honk your horn to tell him you are there, flash your lights at him to tell him of your presence, and or be ready to make emergency maneuvers as needed; know where you can go to avoid a situation AT ALL TIMES!

That is my little tid-bit of wisdom. Drive safe. Drive defensively, vs reactively. Get to where you are going alive; you are worth more to the world that way!

Cheers.