DXchulo

Is it just me or are dump truck drivers some of the worst out there? I've always had good luck with semi drivers, but I've been passed by a lot of dump trucks lately and it seems like the drivers don't understand how big their trucks are. I was passed by 5 on Monday and 3 of them cut me way too close (closer than most cars). One idiot almost nailed me with a trailer, which he either forgot he was towing or didn't realize was longer than 3 feet.

Semi drivers always seem to be super safe. I think it has something to do with how they are trained. Do dump truck drivers go through any training?

Az B

You have no idea. For one thing, dump truck drivers are often paid by load, which means the more loads they get done in a day, the more they make. It's great motivation for them to develop the bad habit of constantly hurrying. They're also pretty much the bottom of the barrel for truck drivers as almost all of them have lost much better truck driving jobs generally from having too many accidents and/or tickets.

The real beauty of living in Georgia is that the construction companies have infiltrated the government to an alarming degree and have lobbies to take license plates off the trucks. The official reason is that they get bent up too much unloading. But the real reason is that they were getting tired of paying for windshields.

I followed one driver to his pick up once after I saw him speed through a school zone at least three times the limit while talking on his cell phone. I never did find out who he worked for to report him, but I did manage to do some on the spot dental surgery for him, non gratis.

Az

Pig_Chaser

Yup they're amonst the worst. Dump trucks also don't typically have to go through inspection stations (simply because they're not on thier driving route). There was a mobile inspection station setup in our city sometime ago and i can't find the stats but the failure rate was 'shocking' like over 50%.

CliftonGK1

The really scary ones are those tandem dumpers with the reeeeeealy long stanchion connecting the truck to the secondary bucket. They're about as long as an 18 wheeler, but at least 25 feet of it is this long angled hitch (sometimes with a flashing light and DOT reflecty tape on it so you realize that the front truck and the rear bucket are actually the same vehicle)

squeakywheel

My very first post on this forum (after months of lurking) was spurred by almost being killed by a dump truck. The guy was 2 feet over the white line onto the gravel shoulder when he passed me. I figured he was digging in the glove box for his cigarettes or something like that.

AlmostTrick

I commute through a section with a building materials site that sees plenty of tractor trailer dump trucks. I even have to take the lane and hold them up for a short distance. Usually they are fairly patient and do not put me at risk. I hammer through as fast as I can, and then wave a thanks once I can move over. The few exceptions have given me the longest honks I've ever received (20 plus seconds) and the most cursing I've ever heard. Still, only two or three times was I buzzed too closely.

flipped4bikes

Dump trucks suck. When they are on the road, they give room to nobody. Why should they? The truck would win every fender bender. Worse, stuff is constantly falling out of them hitting windshields, and making the road crappy for bikes in particular. Every construction site I pass, all this junk trails from the site onto the road. Forget about them caring about getting a street sweeper to clean up the mess.

StephenH

Dump truck driving is nearly always local. Meaning it's lower paid, typically smaller companies, fewer requirements, easier license to get. A lot of dump truck drivers own their own trucks. Cement trucks are similar except that the drivers are normally employees rather than owners.

Employee dump truck drivers are seldom paid by the load, at least around here. But that doesn't mean they don't drive too fast- people do that in cars and on bicycles, too, you know. People will speed up to get to a red light sooner, after all.

Mendel

And they smell bad too. Worst exhaust fumes I've experienced commuting in South Florida.

TRUMPHENT

S. Fl dumptrucks are notorious for another reason. Many of them are chop shop products. This makes them a lot cheaper and much more dangerous than a factory built dumptruck.

acroy

wierd, i haven't had an issue with dump trucks. they seem about as respectful as most commercial drivers.

Losligato

Oh yeah. You think you have dumb dump truck drivers.

Here is a photographic proof that we in San Diego have the dumbest dumpers.

ghettocruiser

The search term "dump truck" in the local news website seems to be a quick way to get a list recent of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities.

Basically when I see one coming up behind me I look for an excuse to leave the road.

UmneyDurak

Yeah they are pretty bad here also. Almost was taken out by one. Had to swerve right otherwise he would have clipped me with his back wheel.

CB HI

In Honolulu, all the professional truck drivers are in the same union. Before 1998, many of the truck drivers were rude/hostile to cyclist. In 1998, the insurance companies went to the union and told them to knock off the BS if they wanted insurance (no insurance, no truck driving jobs, no union dues). Within one week, the truck drivers here (including dump trucks) became very curtious to cyclist.

csr

Kewl! Was that your doing, or what?

Alox

+1

Vancouver dumpers filter through city streets like roaches. They drive as if their vehicles were as deft and maneuverable as sports cars - even with bob tails on the back, and cellphone use appears to be mandatory. In my experience, the majority of dumper drivers are East Indian, and their road manners appear (to me) to be better suited to driving 3-wheeled tuk-tuks in Mumbai than 10-tonne dump trucks in Vancouver.

The city has a policy of designating residential streets that run parallel to major arterial roads as cycle routes, something that makes it easy for riders to get where they're going, while keeping them out of the truly heavy traffic. However, because most of these routes are '1 block over' from the main streets, it is becoming increasingly common to see the dumpers doing 'detours' around traffic on the main roads via the bike routes. Also popular is the '3-rights-make-a-left' concept, where in order to avoid lining up to make a left (at an intersection with no left-turn lane) the trucks continue one block further on, turn right, turn right again, come back along the bike route and turn right a thrid time onto the target street.

Common dump-truck driving 'skills' include: rolling stops (changing gears is such a chore), threading between parked cars on residential streets with inches to spare, and not checking blind spots when changing lanes or making right-hand turns. I know that if I die on the streets, it will be under the wheels of a dump truck, probably after being caught between the truck and its trailer.

CB HI

I wish I had that much pull. Seemed to be a simple money matter for the insurance companies.

csr

Maybe with headcams bikers could catch some helpful footage and send it to police, insurance companies, etc., as appropriate.

Of course, we'd have to be on good behavior ourselves!