Why Didn't I Just Stay Home?

[Dips]

I'm driving on Rte. 62, a two lane highway on my way to work.

I come around a bend and there's an 18-wheeler with a student driver sign turning around in the road.

So I do the logical thing. I stop well back to give him plenty of room. The more room he has the sooner he can complete the maneuver and we can all be on our way, right?

Apparently not to the guy who pulled up behind me. He must be one of those idiots who pulls too close to let people manuever then gets mad that it's taking so long for them to get out of his way. And he was very upset that I wasn't creeping up closer to the student truck driver.

Eh. Being rude to me is a good way to get me to do the opposite of what he wants so I ignored him and laughed at him on the inside.

Eventually the truck got straigtened out and went on its way. Of course it was going the same way we were and very slowy.

Sigh.

Moron got on my ass so I made sure my following distance from the truck was large enough that I wouldn't have to slam on the brakes. That fact that this infuriated him was just a bonus. It's not like my tailgating an 18-wheeler in my Honda Civic is going to have any effect on how fast we're going anyway.

Eventually we get a a light where the road splits into two lanes then goes back to one lane after the light. Either lane can go straight so I was planning to take whichever one the truck DIDN'T.

Student truck driver kind of straddled both lanes and eventually started pulling left-ish. I decided not to push it and just go through the light behind him as it had just turned green and I wasn't confident he'd stay in his lane.

Not the moron behind me. He almost took my mirror off because he crossed the center line and passed both of us. After nearly hitting traffic coming the other way he managed to barely slide back onto our side of the road in front of the truck. Then he stopped dead in front of the truck to give either me, the truck driver, or both of us the finger.

And after that lovliness the truck was naturally getting on the same highway that I was. I think he was going about 20mph by the time we finally merged.

Then stopped because a survey crew had closed two lanes and backed up traffice for a mile.

I should have called in sick that day.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I come around a bend and there's an 18-wheeler with a student driver sign turning around in the road.

I am reminded of the song Give Me 40 Acres (to turn this rig around).

[bhskittykatt]

Saw a big rig trying to make a sharp right the other day. He had pulled wide to try and make it. There was a car on the road he was turning onto who had pulled out past the stop-line, and the truck was having a hard time trying to not hit him. All the cars behind this idiot backed up to give the truck room, but the guy in the car just sat there with a look on his face as the truck came within inches of his car. Dude, back up!

[wolfie]

Student truck driver kind of straddled both lanes and eventually started pulling left-ish. I decided not to push it and just go through the light behind him as it had just turned green and I wasn't confident he'd stay in his lane.

Good decision - when a big rig straddles both lanes, it's probably going to turn. With a 53 foot trailer, unless the corner is relieved with a wide radius, a semi needs 4 lanes to do a right turn - whatever's not available in the "going into" street has to come from the "going out of" street. Normal practice is from 2nd lane to 2nd lane, but if one street is narrow it can wind up as 3rd lane to 1st lane, or 1st lane to 3rd lane.

Toss in a student driver and the only 2 directions you can be sure the truck won't go are up and down.