Why do 18 wheelers drive so fast but never seem to be stopped for speeding as passenger cars are?

Question

Today, 6/27/06, in the Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas area, there were 5 reported 18 wheelers in accidents and one death. All were speeding. One went almost off a bridge, one was turned over in making a turn (USP Truck) another one or two had the same problem and one lost control by speeding and lost his life.

Yes, deadlines. I too have deadlines but do not speed. Did not hear on TV or Radio any car wrecks today much less a death. In Texas, rigs have to obey or drivers loose their jobs after to many speeding tickets. The speeders I usually see are out of state rigs. i was told by a judge that even when they send info about a ticket to most states, nothing happens. I do not know this as a fact. And yes, passenger cars pass me all the time but the rigs seem to even pass them more than they pass the rigs on I45 between Ferris and Corsicana. Just wanted to stir up some answers and make people more aware of the problem. Of course when a rig turns over it closes down the street for quite some time but it does not take long to drag a car off. So, who was slowed down to a snail pace today because of a wreck, car or rig?

Answer 1

Im sorry big trucks seem to slow down your day. Im sure you are the most important person in the world. Maybe what we should do is just ban trucks all together. That way you and all the other people with blinders can go about your day without any hassles. but just remember when you go anywhere and there is no food or gas, or anything you want(cars, clothes, tvs,etc.etc. etc.) youll wish the trucks were there. Most truck accidents are caused by cars. Just pay attention when you are on the road, watch all the people that cut trucks off, due to not paying attention. Talking on phones, putting on makeup, getting on to their children, having sex, just dwhua(that is driving with head up ...) I am a dallas native and i hear the traffic accidents daily. Many more cars get into accidents than trucks. Did you hear why the trucks wrecked? Where there any reports on the cause of the accident? Maybe cars caused them. The next time you get a speeding ticket, or ticket for anything, do you have to show a log book, or have a dot inspection? Do you get shut down for 10hrs? Do you have to be away from home for weeks/months at a time. When you clock out from work, are you done for the day? Truck drivers are never done untill that truck is parked at a terminal and they are home. I have been a safe driver(over 800,000 safe miles) for ten years. Not all of us truck drivers drive like idiots. A select few don't make up the majority. and just so you know 95% of truckers are not union.

Answer 2

I think most of you are full of it. You said you are on a deadline....what does that mean? you drive how far to work? these drivers go from Jersey to LA in 3 days. They spend weeks away from their families just so stupid unappreciative people can go to the store and buy beer(do you know how many drivers were involved in that one case of beer), or drink water(did you know a driver has to take chemicals to the plant to clean the water), or so they can grow a garden (fertilizer, hose, gloves, shovel)...who do you think took the tickets to the cops? And most of the time it is a car who has caused the accident...I use to live in Ferris and I can tell you they do get big rigs also. The reason you see the trucks passing the cars there is because of all the media attention about the cops(I believe Crawford was one of the names) always pulling people over there. Of course the cars are going slower there. And cops do not "understand they are on a deadline" that is a bunch of bologna. Do you know how many rediculous laws there are for truck drivers? If you've been driving for 10 hours across country and feel just fine do you have to pull over for the night? If you keep driving and another car rams into you do you get questioned about how long you have been driving? Besides...I could ask why 4 wheelers(that would be car, pickup etc) have sex going down the road, or read books in the car, or watch tv, or drink......(i can tell you from seeing down in the cars that probably one in 10 is doing one of those things). How many safe driving miles do you have? (meaning no tickets or accidents). My Hubby has over 800,000. And just so you know a truck drivers ticket is about 5 times the cost of a 4 wheelers. so does what u said about them just taking it easy on the truck drivers even make since...no! Without trucks America stops! oh,and the big companies like JB Hunt, US Express, Werner, Schnieder, etc are NOT union!!

Answer 3

Not all "big" trucks speed as much as you might think. Due to their "scary" factor, you probably notice them speeding when you may not notice a smaller vehicle doing the same speed. I also wonder how many personal vehicles were involved in accidents in Dallas-Ft Worth in the same time frame? The comparison ought to be considered when having this discussion. I assure you the perspective is different from the seat of a 18 wheeler... we ( professional drivers) are controlled by the CDL and too many tickets and we are out of a job

Answer 4

Commercial vehicles get pulled over all the time. In California, the most common PCF (Primary Collision Factor) for commercial vehicle accidents is unsafe speed. But guess what, it is the same for passenger cars!

Being married to an ex-truck driver, I know how long it takes to stop a fully loaded tractor-trailer combination. Many people don't, and that's another huge problem.

Answer 5

I often see them pulled over on the side of the highway. I think perhaps more often they may get by as a "courtesy" because the police "understand" they are working on deliveries. But they do cause lots of accidents. However, I think they are still involved in a lot fewer collisions than passenger vehicles. But I certainly understand your frustration. Some of them have absolutely no consideration for other drivers and many drive as fast or faster than the other cars on the road.

Answer 6

Trucks get pulled over for tickets too, you just might not see it as much. They usually know which areas they can speed b/c they know where the police sit, or talk to other drivers over the CB. Most truckers do what they can to not get a speeding ticket as the fines are stiffer as well as the risk of losing their jobs (either by losing their CDL for too many driving offenses or nobody employing them because of a bad driving record)

Answer 7

I'm a X truckdriver I've been out there for about 18 years.I'm not saying speeding is right,but the more people buy,The harder it is to get there on time.You think about it the next time you go buy something. That a truck had to bring it where you bought it.The people need to look at the company where we load and the people we work for . THEY are the ones !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 8

The police know the big rigs have deadlines, even if that is no excuse for them to be speeding. they also have radios, so other drivers can tell each other where cops are sitting.

Answer 9

Media bias, commercial vehicles are larger and attract more attention of the media and other drivers when they do something wrong. Accident statistics show that private drivers are in more accidents per mile traveled than commercial drivers are. *shrugs*

Answer 10

they also have unions that back them up if the heat were to start coming down and if that doesnt work theres always a strike, like the one we had in chicago a few years back where they all parked in the middle of 2 of our major highways blocking all traffic for hours, it was quite a mess.