Advocacy & Safety - message to bikers from truckers

stop getting in our F#$^%@#^%& blind spots :mad:. we cant see you which means if you get runover we wont feel it or hear it. i almost got into a collision because the first asshat was trying to beat me to the corner i was already in the process of entering the turn and caused me to go into the incoming lane to avoid hitting him. he was well aware of what he did and sped off i got his bike memorized so if i see it riding around when im riding im gonna adjust his derailleur to the tallest gear.

you like to troll this site, don't you?

f*ck semis; freight by rail.

Over here the rules are if a cyclist is coming up your inside, the right turning vehicle has to stop, as the cyclist has the right of way. Most vehicle on bike accidents are when the driver fails to do this. Such accidents are rare because of training and the penalties on the driver if they fail to comply. A government minister actually lost their car license and had to retake the driving test after failing to give way and had such an accident.

Being a bit of a petrol head I am also licensed to drive buses, artics, even a tank, and wonder why you'd go onto the road unassisted in such an older/poorly designed vehicle? Would suggest a mirror upgrade and a rearwards camera, certainly a co driver to help out. Also a rule we have that might help are that if the vehicle has such a blindspot you have to do "a left, to turn right", i.e. sweep out into the oncoming traffic lane and back in so as to make the turning angle greater, remove the blindspot, and make it really obvious to all road users you're making a turn, or get the co-driver to guide you if the road is too narrow for that. There again, you're not allowed to overtake on the inside here, so maybe that'd not work for you, 'cause you'd have some loon stuffing their car under your trailer.

I'll stop running up the inside if you guys will stop going over the Dragon. Now THAT'S stupid! Ought to be dragged out and flogged with common sense until the urge is suppressed permanently. See tailofthedragon.com to watch what these fine truckers do. On my bicycle playground. Get back on the Interstate where you belong, why dontcha?

Over here the rules are if a cyclist is coming up your inside, the right turning vehicle has to stop, as the cyclist has the right of way.

Only if the U.S. gave cyclists such respect. Unfortunately, we're too rich and our civilization has been made to be too sprawled due to the influence of historically affordable gas prices and the natural vastness of the U.S. has made the bicycling minority subject to the tyranny of the much greater majority.

no vehicle should hang out in another vehicle's blind spot

I'll stop running up the inside if you guys will stop going over the Dragon. Now THAT'S stupid! Ought to be dragged out and flogged with common sense until the urge is suppressed permanently. See tailofthedragon.com to watch what these fine truckers do. On my bicycle playground. Get back on the Interstate where you belong, why dontcha?

At least link to a video; lazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIoN3vpX7zM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIoN3vpX7zM

Looks like these trucks cross double yellows on blind curves down a really twisty road.

stop getting in our F#$^%@#^%& blind spots :mad:. we cant see you which means if you get runover we wont feel it or hear it. i almost got into a collision because the first asshat was trying to beat me to the corner i was already in the process of entering the turn and caused me to go into the incoming lane to avoid hitting him. he was well aware of what he did and sped off i got his bike memorized so if i see it riding around when im riding im gonna adjust his derailleur to the tallest gear.Why don't you get a convex mirror so you won't have a blind spot. The truckers in Hawaii all have them and they see me. It is amazing how many problems you have driving safely.
I almost hit this; I almost hit that.:twitchy:

stop getting in our F#$^%@#^%& blind spots :mad:. we cant see you which means if you get runover we wont feel it or hear it. i almost got into a collision because the first asshat was trying to beat me to the corner i was already in the process of entering the turn and caused me to go into the incoming lane to avoid hitting him. he was well aware of what he did and sped off i got his bike memorized so if i see it riding around when im riding im gonna adjust his derailleur to the tallest gear.


Shouldn't this whinge be on truckforums?

And once again we see the "we do no wrong" attitude of the typical AnS clown.

The truck who left turn/cut off'ed me on Rt 1 to get into Publix
yesterday could see me very well. All that was missing was
a finger gesture and '***' comment.

I'm thinking that anyone that rides near 80,000lbs of truck really needs to pay attention.

you like to troll this site, don't you?

f*ck semis; freight by rail.

And then how would you transport the freight from the rail to its destination?

There's far too much freight to be transported by rail unless we vastly increase the rail infrastructure. And that's not feasible.

The OP's point remains. Be careful around large vehicles!

For once, Sledbikes has a legitimate complaint. I'm honestly shocked at the attitude some of you guys have towards passing anyone, let alone a semitruck driver preparing to turn right, on the right. Haven't we learned anything here?

Reason 5,000,000 of why lanes are good.
If a truck passes you to turn right and you
need to brake, it has broken a law. If there
is a cop who actually cares, the truck will
rightfully be fined.
The thread is the OP's version. The cyclists version might-will- differ.

Passing on the right without a bike lane puts at least some burden on the passer. If there's a LANE, be it traffic or bike the burden clearly lies on the vehicle turning right. If there isn't, then both parties have some burden, but most of it on the one passing. A blind spot is a responsibility to be handled, not an excuse.

Folks driving large trucks often behave as if their mass entitles them to special treatment. Tailgating is "OK" for truckers. Especially if trying to muscle someone out of the way. Blocking traffic to make deliveries, even if it completely blocks bike lanes, handicapped parking, or other features one isn't supposed to ignore. Perhaps the most disturbing is the assumed right of way to pull to the right when slowing up hills on the Interstates. A large rig will rocket down a hill, often in excess of legal and rational speed, occupying the passing lane, frequently tailgating other road users or using high beams in an attempt to intimidate. Then they slow up the subsequent rise, and start signaling right. At this point, they seem to expect the adjacent traffic to slow and let them in, so the rig can slow more, trapping the traffic behind them. This is an incorrect and rude thing to do. The passing vehicle is burdened and must slow, then move politely behind the traffic already in the primary travel lane.

I used to give rigs a great deal of leeway and courtesy. Behavior in recent years has led me to treat them just as any traffic and not cut rigs any particular break unless I feel like it. I'm a polite and cooperative road user, but I'm not going to go out of my way to slow or let in a big rig just because they're hard to drive and have different characteristics. They can obey the rules like everyone else.

And persistent problems resulting from knowing violation of common sense and road markings are simply intolerable. Like driving over the dragon, across the line, off the edge, endangering everyone. That takes ignoring common sense and warning signs.

At least link to a video; lazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIoN3vpX7zM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIoN3vpX7zM

Looks like these trucks cross double yellows on blind curves down a really twisty road.

For Christ sakes you really got this all wrong. I'm not a trucker but I did take a few minutes to look around to understand how this was happening. Stupid dispatchers is the biggest cause. Fuel is money. Dispatchers plan the shortest route from point A-B and with online map programs and many GPS not listing little facts like 200+ turns on 20% grade in a 11 miles they send these poor out of state drivers up there and those vids are the result. Most instances those drivers had NO idea what they were getting into and once they figured it out they had no way to turn around and get back out.

Now as somebody that use to drive Moving vans...you people screaming about convex mirrors and other BS have NO idea what you are talking about.

DO NOT get beside a truck at a light. When they swing left to get the rear axles to clear the curve you become invisible. If you were already sitting in his blind spot you do not exist.

If you cannot look at the driver in the mirror and make eye contact you are invisible. ACT THAT WAY AND DO NOT PUT YOURSELF IN A POSITION WHERE YOU WILL GET HIT! Hell you are a moron to even do that with a soccer mom in a mini van. If you cant get directly in front of the first car to get across the intersection you are just asking to get a right hook.

Yes I do run up the right when its safe. Mostly when there is a dedicated right turn lane where the traffic has already sorted.

Take the lane and line up behind the last car if the right Lane has any chance of right turns happening. You keep screaming "same rights" well act like a car and drive like one at an intersection and you will last longer. Also why make cars pass you a second time. Line up where you came up just like a car till you clear where you can get the hook then get back over.

Over here the rules are if a cyclist is coming up your inside, the right turning vehicle has to stop, as the cyclist has the right of way. Most vehicle on bike accidents are when the driver fails to do this. Such accidents are rare because of training and the penalties on the driver if they fail to comply. A government minister actually lost their car license and had to retake the driving test after failing to give way and had such an accident.

Being a bit of a petrol head I am also licensed to drive buses, artics, even a tank, and wonder why you'd go onto the road unassisted in such an older/poorly designed vehicle? Would suggest a mirror upgrade and a rearwards camera, certainly a co driver to help out. Also a rule we have that might help are that if the vehicle has such a blindspot you have to do "a left, to turn right", i.e. sweep out into the oncoming traffic lane and back in so as to make the turning angle greater, remove the blindspot, and make it really obvious to all road users you're making a turn, or get the co-driver to guide you if the road is too narrow for that. There again, you're not allowed to overtake on the inside here, so maybe that'd not work for you, 'cause you'd have some loon stuffing their car under your trailer.
i know that. my tractor had cut the corner already if hed kept his original pace i wouldve cleared the corner with plenty of time for him to ride by but when he saw my turn signal he decided to speed up. so once i reached past the crosswalk he darted in front of me to where he dissappeared from sight briefly causing me to lock it up and almost hitting the car next to me. im a contractor no money for back up cams and such

I'll stop running up the inside if you guys will stop going over the Dragon. Now THAT'S stupid! Ought to be dragged out and flogged with common sense until the urge is suppressed permanently. See tailofthedragon.com to watch what these fine truckers do. On my bicycle playground. Get back on the Interstate where you belong, why dontcha?

its a truck route what you want me to do about it go ***** to congress about it

Shouldn't this whinge be on truckforums?

been there they did show me a few street sweeper maneuvers for A#@$@%%^ city cyclists and jaywalking peds. i just got this truck so i havent been able to mount the 6 behind the grill horns to alert cell phone chatting pedestrians or darting bikers to my presence.

i might take someones idea of mounting my bike to the front of the rig to keep people from getting their guts all over it

yes, the world revolves around you . . .

being upset about it is one thing, but to ***** to people who have NEVER messed with you makes you an immature little prick. And threatening people is ridiculous, nobody responds to it. so keep those symbols going, but nobody is going to take you seriously unless you act like you're sincere.

Now as somebody that use to drive Moving vans...you people screaming about convex mirrors and other BS have NO idea what you are talking about. ...And yet they have worked for truckers here in Hawaii quite well. Although I will note: that the only remaining jackass truckers here are either in moving vans or the trucking company that transports baggage from the airport to hotels (and those guys are only driving smaller panel trucks).

So why can't the truckers in your area use them properly.

Amazing how they even work in garages to see around blind corners, provided people actually look at them.

yes, the world revolves around you . . .

being upset about it is one thing, but to ***** to people who have NEVER messed with you makes you an immature little prick. And threatening people is ridiculous, nobody responds to it. so keep those symbols going, but nobody is going to take you seriously unless you act like you're sincere.

He's ranting about people doing stupid things (which happens time to time on BF). He's not calling out you, or anyone else here personally. Don't be so offended.

<Rodney King> Can't we all just Share the Road?!?!?!? </Rodney King>

And once again we see the "we do no wrong" attitude of the typical AnS clown.

+1

Cyclists that pass semis on the right are asking for a world of hurt. Stop being so selfish and share the road. The driver already has a lot on his mind trying to navigate the corner. If it's a two laner drop into the left lane and proceed. If there is no room to the left of the truck just wait your turn. Or suffer the consequences. If the trucker doesn't hear your scream and stop, later on he will just think the blood on his mud guard is from some poor road kill: and he will be right.

And with respect to the tail of the dragon, unless the road is marked preventing semis with more than 3 axles/trailers, the screw up lies on the road authority's shoulders. Good luck thinking that a driver from Toronto will know what the road looks like through some pass in California. Odds are the second time around the truck driver won't take that road.

Always line up behind vehicles (especially large ones) to their back left and far enough behind so you can see their left side rear view mirror.

Take the lane and line up behind the last car if the right Lane has any chance of right turns happening. You keep screaming "same rights" well act like a car and drive like one at an intersection and you will last longer. Also why make cars pass you a second time. Line up where you came up just like a car till you clear where you can get the hook then get back over.


+1. At intersections, I take the center of the lane I'm in, behind whatever car I pulled up behind. Once I clear the intersection, I'll move back over towards the righthand side of the lane, but still 2 to 3 feet left of the white shoulder line.

And with respect to the tail of the dragon, unless the road is marked preventing semis with more than 3 axles/trailers, the screw up lies on the road authority's shoulders. Good luck thinking that a driver from Toronto will know what the road looks like through some pass in California. Odds are the second time around the truck driver won't take that road.

Warning signs. The primary culprits are the same firms sending rigs through again and again. Google maps. Terrain. Well known problem area. No problem to figure it out.

Lazy controllers do not excuse downright reckless driving.

And were I driving a larger than standard vehicle, I'd check things out first. Wait, I used to do that, and I'd check things out first. Get intelligence on the situation. Call the highway patrol sometimes.

I'ts just laziness. Everyone is busy. When I get busy and skip a few steps, nobody gets hurt.

<Rodney King> Can't we all just Share the Road?!?!?!? </Rodney King>

Doesn't work here in the land of the faiux-victim cyclist.

There's far too much freight to be transported by rail unless we vastly increase the rail infrastructure. And that's not feasible.

Frankly, it's pretty darned infeasible to have built the interstate system and all of the roads around. I don't like seeing people complain that improvements to the transportation network which are quite a bit more feasible than what already exists 'isn't feasible'.

Frankly, it's pretty darned infeasible to have built the interstate system and all of the roads around. I don't like seeing people complain that improvements to the transportation network which are quite a bit more feasible than what already exists 'isn't feasible'.

Not feasible and unnecessary because there is existing infrastructure already in place, i.e., the interstate highway system.

I'm no expert, but I do know that trucks are vastly more mobile than trains, and can get to all the out of the way areas as well.

But this is seriously OT, so that's the last I'll say about it.

Warning signs. The primary culprits are the same firms sending rigs through again and again. Google maps. Terrain. Well known problem area. No problem to figure it out. ...

If the road was marked as unavailable to semis, local firms would not send their semis through. If local carriers are being dangerous on your roads, call the number on the back of the trailer. Call the authorities and tell them the road cannot accept such heavy traffic.

As for long distance drivers, the signs are for them. Years ago at home a lot of the conversations between my dad and my brother--both of whom drive eighteen wheelers--were about problem roads. If they went down a bad road, it only happened once. They didn't take that road again. They worked for many different long haul carriers, and no dispatch ever told them what route to take. It was the driver's responsibility. Things are easier today. A lot of drivers today have laptops and a lot of truck stops have wifi. It's the driver who routes himself.

been there they did show me a few street sweeper maneuvers for A#@$@%%^ city cyclists and jaywalking peds. i just got this truck so i havent been able to mount the 6 behind the grill horns to alert cell phone chatting pedestrians or darting bikers to my presence.

Ah, I do miss the days of Usenet and the ol' cross-posted flamewars between the motorists and the cyclists. You'd love it.

Other people's idiocy doesn't justify your own.


i might take someones idea of mounting my bike to the front of the rig to keep people from getting their guts all over it

I'm not in the habit of riding in anyone's blindspot, but I have been left-hooked on more than one occasion by truck drivers, so I guess we all need to try a bit harder, eh?

Edit: Front of the rig? I thought you said they were in your blind spot?

If the road was marked as unavailable to semis, local firms would not send their semis through. If local carriers are being dangerous on your roads, call the number on the back of the trailer. Call the authorities and tell them the road cannot accept such heavy traffic.

As for long distance drivers, the signs are for them. Years ago at home a lot of the conversations between my dad and my brother--both of whom drive eighteen wheelers--were about problem roads. If they went down a bad road, it only happened once. They didn't take that road again. They worked for many different long haul carriers, and no dispatch ever told them what route to take. It was the driver's responsibility. Things are easier today. A lot of drivers today have laptops and a lot of truck stops have wifi. It's the driver who routes himself.

It's not unavailable, because that would take an act of Congress. Seriously, it would as a Federal highway. Strong warning signs are up, the most legally allowed. Thing is, rigs can't get over without crossing the double yellow constantly on blind curves. There are 318 curves in 11 miles. Many totally blind. 53 ft rigs tend to bottom out, some get stuck, they're causing problems constantly. Have caused many accidents, including a number of hit and run. Fortunately, they're generally caught. Law enforcement lets them get away with it in spite of ticketing motorcycles for nothing, and ignoring cyclists (I've been breaking the speed limit through speed traps on there for years!).

If the drivers route themselves, then they're idiots to ever go that way except knowingly late at night, which is what used to happen. The drivers who have the most trouble seem to be those routed by a central system for one of a few known firms that run rigs through there as a shortcut.

Routinely one will tip over or knock down a guard rail or cause some real problem beyond simply holding up traffic going their way. If I'm on a road next to a double yellow, I expect all users to stay on their side of the road, not to be sitting as far to the right as I can with a huge tire 8" off the side of my truck, in the middle of my lane. Which is what happens.

That's just one of the unfortunately large numbers of unkind things I see these days at the hands of truckers. I always chat with the drivers who deliver to us. Without even noticing, they assume rights over an above other users. Shows in their conversations. Quietly arrogant in a very disturbing manner. As bad as cyclists demonstrate routinely here.

A blind spot need not be and is not an excuse.

Greater mass or a different power curve do not change the rules of the road.

Using muscle to gain territory on the highway is stupid and wrong.



And I do call in problem drivers. I cost one fellow his job over a double yellow line crossing at speed. Passed into me. I had to fully get off the road and back on again. I was doing 45 and had only seconds of notice. That's the kind of thing that happen when arrogance wins over courtesy and common sense.

I'm a problem driver, too. I signal, stop at stops, drive the speed limit at the most, slow down for blind hills and curves, honk at the bad spots, refuse to be tailgated, and don't drive aggressively. That system works, but seems to cause a good number of drivers problems.

Amateurs doing stupid, I expect that. Professionals behaving badly, I neither expect nor put up with.

So get over it. Some cyclists and motorists will do stupid. Your job to watch out for them. Some professional drivers will do nasty and stupid things. My job to watch out for them. I need not encourage or support them in their mistaken ways, and I certainly need not yield to power plays.

I suspect stupid and arrogant are spread about evenly through the population. We just tend to notice them.

Mando,

Thanks for the detail. I agree with you whole heartedly, except for the "get over it" part if it was meant for me :) : I don't even drive a sedan. I expect professionals to behave professionally and also hold them accountable if need be. Some trucker replied in this thread earlier and definitely showed a lack of understanding of his responsibility and a lack of professionalism: something about mounting a bicycle as a moose guard.. bah. Not going to quote him because he doesn't deserve it.

i have MUCH respect for the truck drivers here in s nj (18 wheels, much less for short haullers)!

for the most part, they pass with ample room (probably avoiding air suck), but by doing this symbal their awareness of my being there. LESS can be said about other drivers (SUV-sub/compacts).

it is too sad that a few bad truck drivers, or bicyclists who don't vb, are on the road. these behaviors help color the public's perceptions of either...

you like to troll this site, don't you?

f*ck semis; freight by rail.


America stops without semi's. Our stuff come here by ship. Then they go on the train. Then the trailers get hitched by semi's. Then the soccer mom in her mini van is paying no attention to the semi in the left lane that has his right turn signal on ready to maneuver in the parking lot so she tries to pass the semi on his right. Then poor minivan is under the semi.
I've seen this happen too many times in my life.

You are on a bicycle. All the more reason you need to pay attention.

We are not Gods out there. And it seems people side with drivers out there.

It's just a fact of life.

I spent many years driving big trucks cross country. Professional drivers just want to get to their destination without any problems, but trucks are magnets for problems. Truckers are the good guys, they bring everything we use and work insanely long hours at surprisingly low pay.

I'll get behind a truck or in front of a truck long before I get alongside it. The OP is right. Getting alongside a truck is risky.

Gotta go with Sled, here. Trying to jink past a truck on a bike is asking to be pancaked.

And, hey -- the blind spots he talks about are at the back, so the bike would be FOLLOWING, and thus required to exercise due caution.

Everybody here remembers the 'right to the road' -- how many remember the 'responsibility' part of it? NO rights come without responsibility.

And yet they have worked for truckers here in Hawaii quite well. Although I will note: that the only remaining jackass truckers here are either in moving vans or the trucking company that transports baggage from the airport to hotels (and those guys are only driving smaller panel trucks).

So why can't the truckers in your area use them properly.

Amazing how they even work in garages to see around blind corners, provided people actually look at them.
There arn't going to be any big trucks in hawaii. Driving a day cab and driving a 270 inch wheel base peterbilt is a huge difference. The last thing you are going to be looking for when you set up to make a right hand turn is a bike trying to pass you on the right. Never pass a truck on the right in a car or on a bike unless you want to die. Keep in mind it takes a truck with a 53 foot trailer 3 lanes to make a right hand turn so if you see driver put his signal on for a tight turn he is going to have to come over 10 feet or more into the left lane to make the turn. Drivers try to look out for everything but its easy to miss something as small as a bike when you only have a 1/2 a second to look in your mirror.

This whole thread is a waste of bandwidth.
Does anyone really think that people who contribute
bizarre and wacky amounts of byteage to stuff like
'should their pocket protector be safety orange' or 'Do
I need to put both feet down at a stop sign when no
cars are coming' are going to ride alongside a turning truck ??
I think not. The real scenerio was the truck misjudged and right turned
in front of a cyclist on the right creating a bad situation for both. Human
nature being what it is combined with the 'dominion' principal, ie; Im bigger
so Im more important, leads to a posting of this nature.

This whole thread is a waste of bandwidth.
Does anyone really think that people who contribute
bizarre and wacky amounts of byteage to stuff like
'should their pocket protector be safety orange' or 'Do
I need to put both feet down at a stop sign when no
cars are coming' are going to ride alongside a turning truck ??
I think not. The real scenerio was the truck misjudged and right turned
in front of a cyclist on the right creating a bad situation for both. Human
nature being what it is combined with the 'dominion' principal, ie; Im bigger
so Im more important, leads to a posting of this nature.

Clairvoyant posters rule A&S.

^^^ No, lack of common sense does.

Petty argumentation = yes.
Common sense = abstract theory.

Stay out of the trucker's blind spot; stay alive. Simple as that.

Thanks for the warning.

This whole thread is a waste of bandwidth.
Does anyone really think that people who contribute
bizarre and wacky amounts of byteage to stuff like
'should their pocket protector be safety orange' or 'Do
I need to put both feet down at a stop sign when no
cars are coming' are going to ride alongside a turning truck ??
I think not. The real scenerio was the truck misjudged and right turned
in front of a cyclist on the right creating a bad situation for both. Human
nature being what it is combined with the 'dominion' principal, ie; Im bigger
so Im more important, leads to a posting of this nature.

yeah im a ****ty driver i guess my spotless record is just a blank page. did you read what i posted? i was well ahead of him with my turn signal and at the corner initiating the turn, yet he felt the need to race the truck to cross a street instead of waiting 1 minute.

Yes, we need to know about blind spots and the hazards of passing on the right.

There arn't going to be any big trucks in hawaii. Driving a day cab and driving a 270 inch wheel base peterbilt is a huge difference. The last thing you are going to be looking for when you set up to make a right hand turn is a bike trying to pass you on the right. Never pass a truck on the right in a car or on a bike unless you want to die. Keep in mind it takes a truck with a 53 foot trailer 3 lanes to make a right hand turn so if you see driver put his signal on for a tight turn he is going to have to come over 10 feet or more into the left lane to make the turn. Drivers try to look out for everything but its easy to miss something as small as a bike when you only have a 1/2 a second to look in your mirror.There are plenty of big trucks in Hawaii. Even a handful of sleeper cabs.
So feel free to display your ignorance.

Wide Tandum Cane Haul (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2289/2452538785_ce84c7f464.jpg?v=0)
side view thumb on right (http://flickr.com/photos/30302181@N00/2452538785/)

Oh look, a wide tandem load cane haul truck. That can’t be in Hawaii, can it Trucker Dan, because Hawaii does not have any BIG trucks.

Not to mention the long trailer large tractor Hawaii 18 wheelers that are the same size as the long trailer 18 wheelers roaming the freeways in all other states.

How about cement trucks. Oops we have big cement trucks in Hawaii as well.
http://www.ameron.com/about/hawaii_overview.cfm

Think they might even use a cement pumper truck when they construct those high rise hotels or condo buildings in Hawaii, Trucker Dan?

We even have extra long low-rider semi-trailers for hauling extra large cranes and excavators here. How long do those things have to be to fit 2 helicopters on it?

I will take your 270 inch wheel base peterbilt tractor and raise you:
http://www.tadanoamerica.com/public/prod17.aspx
also found in Hawaii.

If you are driving a 270 inch wheel base peterbilt tractor, then Trucker Dan, part of your job is to looked out for ignorant motorist, cyclist and pedestrians. It comes with the responsibility of holding a CDL, especially when YOU CHOOSE to drive the large rig.
Do you really think the posters on this forum are so ignorant about the hazards of passing on the right (especially large trucks). That is why Sledbikes post is more troll/rant, than informational. But with the cyclist deaths in Portland from truckers without convex mirrors, why do truckers there still not install convex mirrors for that added safety. In one case for sure and likely in the other case, the trucker had just passed the cyclist before making the right turn. By the way, neither of those truck drivers were operating 270 inch wheel base peterbilt tractors at the time. Since they have a CDL, they should know better and be held accountable for their refusal to use a simple convex mirror. The convex mirror would have reminded the truckers of the cyclist presence.
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_102207_news_bicyclist_killed.19726ae10.html
http://bikeportland.org/2007/10/22/kgw-cyclist-dies-after-collision-with-garbage-truck/
http://bikeportland.org/2007/10/11/cyclist-killed-at-w-burnside-and-14th/

You really joined this forum just to spout your anti convex mirror garbage (seems that would be the only reason to respond to my post).
Trucker Dan
Newbie
Join Date: 08-12-08
Total Posts: 1
Do you really claim that a convex mirror on a 270 inch wheel base peterbilt tractor provides NO added safety?

"but its easy to miss something as small as a bike when you only have a 1/2 a second to look in your mirror" Then slow down and check your mirrors longer than 1/2 second!