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Trucker etiquette

12 ESSENTIAL UNSPOKEN RULES OF TRUCK DRIVING

BY  CDLJobs.com

Monday, 09 November 2020 10:41

1: PASSING DISTANCE TRUCK DRIVING RULES OF ETIQUETTE

Not passing from the right may be an obvious no-no to first-year truck drivers. But when you are out on the interstate, experienced truckers rely on enhanced safe distances when using the passing lane. One of the unspoken truck driving rules calls for a minimum of 200 feet between the rear of your trailer and the nose of the tractor-trailer behind you. If that seems like an excessive amount of distance, consider the following reasoning behind it.

If you pass another trucker in tight quarters, you basically blind your counterpart from seeing anything except the back of your trailer. Should a vehicle suddenly brake ahead, debris be strewn over the road, or an accident occurs, the trucker in the rear will be hamstrung from successfully making an emergency stop. The 200-foot rule keeps truckers and passenger vehicle drivers safe.

2: TRUCKER DRIVER COMMUNICATION: THE WAVE

Over-the-road and regional drivers all spend a lot of time away from home. Many sleep in their vehicles at rest areas and truck stops as they keep the supply chains across America flowing. Needless to say, it can get a tad lonely out there at times. Tossing a wave to a passing comrade or one stretching their legs before getting back behind the wheel is generally appreciated.

3: TRUCK DRIVER COMMUNICATION: THE HONK

Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, and Truck Drivers all have at least one thing in common. They are all heroes to kids. When a youngster makes the gesture to blow the air horn, consider yourself duty-bound. And one little-known secret about this unspoken truck driving rule is that adults get a kick out of the blast as well. Besides, it’s cool to honk your own horn.

4: TRUCK DRIVER COMMUNICATION: SAFE PASSING NOTICE

One of the common courtesies that truckers routinely offer each other involves passing safety. The unspoken rule is to flash the headlights to let drivers know they have a safe space to re-enter the travel lane. Sometimes they’ll just give you a shout on the radio. The essential point is that communication helps everyone stay a little safer.

5: TRUCK DRIVER COMMUNICATION: CB RADIOS

It’s no secret that people take on an alter-ego on social media and make regrettable posts and tweets. To say this is considered completely unacceptable on trucker-to-trucker CB radio channels would be a huge understatement. There are wide-ranging reasons why unspoken truck driving rules ban outlandish smack-talk. First and foremost, professional CDL holders expect the basic courtesy and respect they are due. Another reason it’s in your best interest to conduct yourself appropriately because the trucking industry is a lot smaller than you might think. Once you go postal on the CB, you’ll lose the respect of your colleagues.   

6: KNOW YOUR TRUCK DRIVER LINGO

C.W. McCall immortalized truck driver lingo in his 1975 Number One hit song, “Convoy.” The second verse goes something like:

Was the dark of the moon on the sixth of June

In a Kenworth pullin’ logs

Cab-over Pete with a reefer on

And a Jimmy haulin’ hogs

We is headin’ for bear on I-one-oh

‘Bout a mile outta Shaky Town

I says, “Pig Pen, this here’s the Rubber Duck

“And I’m about to put the hammer down.”

The song topped both the pop and country music charts and created a fascination with truck driver lingo, particularly used on CB radios. If you’ve been on the road a while, you probably know how to sling the jargon. If not, there are online resources such as CB World, Trucker Country, and Thrillist, among others, where you can brush up before sounding like a novice. If you’re going to talk on the CB, know your truck driver lingo — 10-4?

7: NEVER TALK ABOUT THE LOAD YOUR HAULING

As the saying goes, “loose lips sink ships.” Although you will meet a lot of great and honest people in and around the trucking profession, let commonsense prevail. There’s no telling who the wrong person might be and who could overhear your conversation. According to FBI reporting, reports of cargo theft topped $33 million in 2018, and the stolen goods ranged from clothing to consumable goods and everything in between. Experienced truckers typically don’t talk about their load because it can put a target on your back.

8: PAY IT FORWARD: LEND NEW TRUCK DRIVERS A HAND

Whether the situation calls for helping a driver back into a tight dock or lending some advice, truck drivers are all in it together. Upstart drivers will find that tractor-trailer veterans will get out of their cabs and offer you hand signals when backing up. Long-standing professionals have a lot of insider information that will help you successfully navigate a career. When you accumulate useful information or see another trucker who could use a hand, pay it forward.  

9: UNSPOKEN TRUCK STOP RULES OF ETIQUETTE

Truckers would be well-served to approach driving through rest areas and truck stops as if they were parking lots — which they are! Regardless of your hurry, steadying through at 3 to 5 mph is perfectly reasonable. And if you are a newer driver worried about gaining enough speed to reacclimate your rig to a highway or interstate, truck stop speed is not the solution. You’ll only make a risky name for yourself on the CB radio. Got it, good buddy?

10: ONLY USE THE SQUEEGEE TO WASH YOUR WINDOWS

This may sound like a quirky trucker rule, but take a moment and consider what happens if you use the squeegee for anything but windows. Take, for example, a fuel tank covered in stuck-on grit caked into leaky diesel. It makes sense to get that off while cleaning the tractor’s exterior. Then the next driver picks up the same squeegee and soils their windshield with grime. If you don’t already know how hard it is to get filthy diesel off a windshield, you don’t want to know. It’s one of those unspoken driving rules until someone does it. After that, the other driver will be speaking to you.

11: EDUCATE NEWER CDL HOLDERS WHO ARE STILL LEARNING

Every professional requires some degree of on-the-job learning. The problem the trucking industry struggles with is that the learning curve can have tragic consequences. Some truckers call pointing out mistakes “policing.” Given that the vast majority of truckers are good, hard-working people, a friendly head’s up about an issue should suffice. Truckers need to take care of their own and cover each other’s backs.

12: GIVE FELLOW TRUCKERS A HEAD’S UP ABOUT CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Seasoned drivers typically earn higher salaries than upstarts. The trucking industry requires everyone to pay their dues and earn their way into the top-paying truck driving positions. By that same token, every CDL professional deserves to maximize their earning potential. That’s why one of the unspoken truck driving rules is to tell your buddies about career opportunities like the ones listed at CDLjobs.com.

#1

Lung distance: Chain-smoking grandpa runs marathon in 3.5 hours

He puff, puff, passed the other marathoners in this smoking run.

A Chinese grandpa redefined smoking the competition after running an entire marathon in just 3.5 hours while puffing away on cigarettes. Images of the chain-smoking athlete are lighting up Weibo — the Chinese social media platform — as fans praise his respiratory fortitude. The 50-year-old runner, known as Uncle Chen, accomplished the breath-taking feat at the Xin’anjiang Marathon in Jiande, running the entire 26.2 miles while either smoking or lighting up a cig. Smoking might seem like it would be at odds with long-distance running. However, the tobacco-loving grandpa reportedly managed to complete the event in an impressive 3 hours, 28 minutes and 45 seconds — a “good” marathon time, according to the  Marathon Handbook. As a result, Uncle Chen placed 574th out of around 1,500 runners, as seen in a certificate posted on Weibo. Meanwhile, images show the marathon runner sprinting along with a cigarette dangling from his mouth like a health-conscious Edward R. Murrow. Needless to say, social media fans were impressed that he managed to finish the race while smoking — and without running out of cigarettes. However, others accused him of harming other competitors with secondhand smoke, TMZ reported.This isn’t Uncle Chen’s first rodeo. In 2018, the ciggy-loving marathon man finished the Guangzhou marathon in 3 hours and 36 minutes.He also completed the 2019 Xiamen marathon in 3 hours and 32 minutes, proving that not only is smoking not hindering his performance, but it may actually be improving it.

#2

‘You inhaled it’: Illinois man accidentally inhales drill bit during dentist visit

KENOSHA, Wis. – A routine trip to the dentist was anything but routine after an Illinois man inhaled the dentist’s drill bit and had to go to the hospital to get it removed last month.

Tom Jozsi, 60, told WISN-TV he was at the dentist having a cavity filled when he was told he swallowed a tool. “I didn’t really even feel it going down. All I felt was a cough. When they did the CT scan they realized: ‘You didn’t swallow it. You inhaled it,’” he said. Doctors believe Jozsi inhaled just before he coughed, sending the 1-inch bit deep into Jozsi’s lung. Dr. Abdul Alraiyes of Aurora Medical Center-Kenosha in Wisconsin said the bit was so deep that normal scopes couldn’t reach it. Jozsi said he was told that if it couldn’t be taken out, part of his lung would have to be removed.

Alraiyes and his medical team decided to try a newer device to remove the object, one designed for early detection of cancer. Video of the scan shows the medical team was able to navigate the narrow airways, reach the drill piece and pull it out without harming Jozsi. “I was never so happy as when I opened my eyes, and I saw him with a smile under that mask shaking a little plastic container with the tool in it,” Jozsi said.

Joszki said he now keeps the drill bit on a shelf at home.

#3

Man Seen Dancing on Top of an 18-Wheeler Dies When It Passes Under Freeway Overpass in Houston

The driver of the 18-wheeler did not know the man was dancing and possibly filming himself on the truck’s trailer, police said. A man who was dancing on top of an 18-wheeler as it traveled down a Texas freeway died after he was knocked off of the vehicle, according to police.

The 25-year-old “jumped or climbed” on top of the truck’s trailer as it traveled down Eastex Freeway on Thursday morning, the Houston Police Department’s Vehicular Crimes Division said in a statement Monday. The driver was not aware that someone was on top of the moving truck, according to the release. Police added that the man was dancing and “possibly recording himself.” Police said the man fell off the trailer and onto the freeway when the truck passed under an overpass bridge.

Reporters reached out to the Houston Police Department for more information on Tuesday. Footage taken of the man was shared on social media In one clip, he appeared to duck underneath a freeway overpass before standing to his feet a seconds later. The clip cuts off before the truck reaches another overpass.

People who witnessed the disturbing incident posted comments about it on Facebook. “I saw the contorted body and broken neck and arm. It was a horrible way to begin a day,” wrote commenter Crystal Davis. “And I took the time to describe the imagery because it was traumatic for myself and everyone actually there. EVERYONE had the look of, why? Why did this have to happen?” The man was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead, police said.

CBS affiliate KHOU said the driver of the 18-wheeler was stopped and questioned by police but was released without charges. The name of the man who died has not been publicly released, pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. According to the FortWorth Star Telegram, an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

#4

MISSISSIPPI BBQ JOINT SHUT DOWN

Longtime favorite and local watering hole Misty’s Rib Shack, was shut down last wednesday.

Some of the customers were complaining of a foul odor and an odd taste when it came to the BBQ they were being served. The management said they weren’t sure about the complaints.

That is until the Health Dept. was notified and came in for an impromptu inspection. 

What they found being served as BBQ was actually a number of odd ingredients. They had been using ROADKILL among other items. The opossum, racoon, and occasionally a armadillo 

Found their way into the BBQ PIT and being passed off as pork or beef.

Gary Rich, the health inspector, said he thought there might even have been remains of a K-9 that was found during the investigation. Misty’s Rib Shack is shut down for 90 days till all the evidence has been gone through and a number of people confirmed that they had gotten sick. Charges to be filed at a later date.