why do tandem dump trucks have a special immunity to speed and run in the inside lane of traffic? is it a law?

Question

the big long dump trucks with the long tongue pulling the trailers never go the speed limit here, I realize that their bosses are trying to get as much dirt or whatever hauled as possible in a days time, but my question is how do they get away with it? do they have a special law that us normal people don't?...they also hog the inside lane, and i know for a fact that our state requires other truckers to stay in the outside lane unless passing, these guys in the tandem dumps just stay out there and consistently are 15-20 miles or more over the speed limit...Are cops told to just let them do their thing and not stop them???? i am in the seattle washington area...any traffic police care to respond????

maybe i wasn't specific enough in my question,,,i generally don't have a problem with semi trucks and trailers although there are some bad apples there too, just as there are some very bad apples driving cars,,,My specific question is about tandem dump trucks operating on city streets and local highways..hope that clears it up..

Answer 1

I've experienced this in Mo. also. But around here, as far as I know, they and the 18 wheelers have the same speed limit as everyone else. Also around my area are some fairly large hills and inclines. They'll run fast down one to keep their speed up so they can get up the next one. I've followed a few and have gotten up to 80 mph on the downgrades and down to 40 on the upgrades. I get out of their way when they get behind me on the downgrades because I don't like doing 80 in my old car and I don't like them in the trunk of it.
Our biggest problem in this area is 6 Flags. Traffic backs up on the highway, confused drivers dart in and out of the highway lanes and hairy crashes happen. You may have heard of one of them about a year ago where a family of 5 was killed in a mini-van by a dump truck driver that was chatting on his cell phone and not paying attention to road conditions. It was estimated that he was doing 55 MPH on impact and his brakes were engaged at the time, he pushed the van across the shoulder, through a chain link fence and ten feet of grass and dirt, across three lanes of traffic on the outer road and pinned it to the dirt wall of a Stake and Shake property. 5 or 6 vehicles ended up involved in the crash, all 5 in the van were D.O.S., dead on the scene. The van looked like a VW bug and both dump truck and van caught fire. The driver is now facing 5 counts of vehicular manslaughter.
It's sad but true, 90% of the truck drivers around here think they own the road and be they right or wrong, everyone else should be on the look out for them and get out of their way. I think they know that it's highly unlikely that they'll be the ones getting hurt and don't care about anyone else that may be hurt or killed.
Sorry it's so long, it wasn't supposed to be, but it turned out that way.

Answer 2

I'm in LTL trucking and logistics managment. Heavey weight trucks are allowed a few liberties if they have proper signage and leaders and followers as far as lanes go. They also have to travel at certain times of the day on certain roads too. They have a speed limit that's lower if not the same as regular traffic though. No way they can legally speed in oversized vehicles.

Answer 3

Here in Arizona, it's pretty simple - just 1 rule......don't pass the cops & you'll be fine, whatever you drive & however fast you go, etc.

Oh - maybe don't shoot at them either. I guess that'd be a second rule ;-) But I normally leave my Glock under my seat, so I probably couldn't reach it while driving, anyway.

Answer 4

i live in calif ,we are the most enforced state in the union and no kind of semi-truck can run in the inside lane no matter what. it's a big money ticket, ok. i don't know what washington is doing but calif will have your ***.