(Editor’s Note: Letters to the Editor are published to encourage our readers to express their views about various issues.
The following letter(s) were submitted and signed by those voicing their opinions through the “Letter To The Editor” section)
Professional truck driver to ‘four wheelers’: Give us room!
My name is Ron and I’m a semi-truck driver from Kansas. I’m 59 years old and have been driving since my mid-20s. I just want to say that the cars and pickup trucks that we professional drivers refer to as “four wheelers” are being operated by people who at times appear not to care about their health and safety or that of other persons using the highways.
I know there are a few bad semi drivers out there, some of whom have pulled out in front of me going 65 miles per hour – way too close. But, people driving cars and pickups do that all the time at intersections. They also tend to cut off semis after passing them going 70-80 mph. They get right in front and then sometimes slow way down, even hitting the brakes. Now, why would you pass me at 70 mph and then slow to 5-10 mph?
Here’s how you “four-wheeler” folks need to behave around me and other semi drivers: · Stay off my back end and don’t tailgate. I can’t see you.
· Stay off the phone when driving, especially around semis.
· Stay off my right side. I can’t see you there, either.
It’s all about physics, motion, mass and density. I can’t stop 80,000 pounds-plus of truck quickly. Having more tires on the highway doesn’t mean I can brake faster than a regular vehicle. And, for the drivers hauling oversized loads it’s even worse. Give us room: 1 second for each 10 feet of vehicle length, and add 1 more second if you’re driving faster than 60 mph.
Ronald Mayes, a semi-driver from Eureka, who has been driving semi-trucks for more than 30 years (Editor’s note: The above letter was shared by the Kansas Department of Transportation through the safety blog series leading up to Put the Brakes on Fatalities Days (October 10)
