How often do you think those 18 wheel tractor trailers bang into waiting cars when they're turning left at an intersection in town?

They have to stop or they would lose their license. Trust me, they don’t want their day ruined by a wreck either. The paper work they have to fill out is crazy and all they are doing is trying to do their job to the best of their ability and to eek out a living.

Sounds like a Squeeky question!

” I wonder if it’s up to us normal people to take care of our selves.”

So long haul truck drivers fall outside the “normal people” classification.

I have a better idea:

Take a little time to consider just how much your life is improved by all the products you take for granted that are delivered by truck.

Perhaps then the occasional inconvenience created by a truck for you on the road won’t seem so awful.

It isn’t left turns as much as right tunrs.

Most trucks, including 18 wheelers, have no problem making a left hand turn in the same lanes and flow of traffic as cars. But right hand turns require them to swing wide and then close down on the corner. And cars and bicycles that cut inside often cannot be seen by the truck driver.

Never pass a truck on the right at an intersection.

I have never seen a truck cause an accident as you describe. I have seen semis do complex and sophisticated maneuvers on city street right turns when the cars don’t bother to give an inch to avoid any problems. I always try to back up or move over to make it just a bit easier.

Having been dragged around a corner at an intersection by one last October, I’d say at least once too often.

I was unhurt but my car was totaled. I’m still nervous near trucks.

Oh Stoke. The things you come up with. I wasn’t complaining.

I sent it to Squeeky.

I’m on ot my phone cuz my home Internet is down. Haven’t figured out how to do @ and add name..
Wow @Pachy. Scary !

It happens all too often, usually because the driver of the car was not paying attention to the truck/trailer turn signals and/or not driving defensively and/or distracted and/or not driving with all of their attention on the road in front of them and/or oblivious of the turning needs of the other vehicle, namely the truck/trailer.
Generally speaking, the truck driver would stop. They, like all drivers, are required by law to stop. Truck drivers here in the US are known as the “Knights of the Road,” or something like that, because of their chivalry. Doesn’t mean it applies in every instance, since most people these days don’t seem to give a damn about anyone else.

If you’re on mobile there is no drop down choices following @. If you want to address your post to someone in particular you have to type it out manually. That is, after you figure out how the original SN was typed out. Capitals, spaces and underscores MUST be very precise or it doesn’t come out correctly.

Why do you think I’ve never gotten yours down correctly? After a while (and asking you about it with no reply) I just gave up. Have fun figuring out the vagaries of mobile :)

And if you simply must use the computer, see my suggestion about Ethernet that I posted in the other Q.

Um… @Buttonstc… What question are you actually posting on?

Sorry about that. I was responding to Dutch saying that she was on mobile and didn’t give a proper response to Stoke.

Actually Dutch’s remark about mobile is just a few comments above.

And cars and bicycles that cut inside often cannot be seen by the truck driver.

A cargo cyclist was killed here that way recently. I was surprised that someone who rides in traffic all day made that mistake.

Regarding the question, I am daily impressed by trucks maneuvering city streets. I recall seeing one car/truck accident scene in the past couple of years, and it wasn’t at an intersection.

I have seen three trucks scalped by one nearby bridge in six months. That seems like a rookie mistake.

@Dutchess_III

“The things you come up with.”

Like the positive side of interstate trucking?

Button….I don’t recall you asking me. It is spelled D u t c h e s s _ I I I. <Capital i’s. Misspelling is a nod to my Dutch ancestry. I was given the name by a Knight on Wisdm many many moon ago.

Here is why I asked the Question. Yesterday I was at a stop light going east. A northbound semi pulled up to the light which was green for him. I saw that he was turning left to head west. From experience I knew I had to back up because the back end of the trailer would be crossing into the lane I was in. These were both 2 lanes in town. I put my car in reverse and fortunately the guy behind me caught it and put his car in reverse. We both got backed up just in time because the trucker had started his turn with no hesitation, even tho I was in the way when started coming around. They always do that and there is never any hesitation. I some times really wonder if they would just plow into the car if I couldn’t get out of the way!
Well would yä Squeeky? Would yä just plow into us normal people (assuming you didn’t know it was ME, your friend!)

@Dutchess_III

I asked you quite a while ago at the end of a comment I made in answer to something (don’t remember what.)

But who in their right mind would think it’s a capital I rather than three ones or three ells ?

No small wonder I just quit trying. Since im almost always on mobile, I’m only willing to go so far to accomodate long or difficult screen names :)

Cuz III looks better than 111! Much more royalish don’t you think?

Hold your finger on the name then select ‘copy link text.’ Then you can paste it in front of the @ sign.

WIt…III lower case L would have worked too. Sry.

Apparently lower case L is what I tried after realizing 111 wouldn’t work. So, I just gave up. As I said, theres only so far I’m willing to go :)

I figure there’s nobody else around here called Dutchess so that by itself should suffice.

It doesn’t come up in red that way but….

Actually….I have at least on other Dutchess incarnation here. I’ll find it when my computer comes back. I think i answered the Frizzer question as that. Or… it might be val123.

Ok it does get to be a problem turning both left and right.
Turning right we have to swing way to the left in order to not have the trailer(s) roll way up on the curb or in the ditch, and when doing so idiot car drivers think the right lane is free for them not realizing the trailers are coming over, and they do this with ever turn signal on the truck and trailers flashing.( the big problem with this is at that angle it is hard for us to see them sneak in there and don’t know they are there until it is hit and we feel it.
And they still think it should be the truckers fault..
Turning left is a bit better because you can see the car drivers , but remember our trailer(s) are coming a bit into the on coming lane and idiot car drivers fail to see this and still come right up most times over the cross walk making it an accident waiting to happen, stay back just a bit and the trucker can easily make the left turn but car drivers seem to fail and notice this, one time a lady did this to me I had to stop because my back trailer was going to hit her car,I told her to back up so I could clear her car no one was behind her and she thought I was the one who should back up an 83 foot two trailer semi in a intersection, all she had to do is back up out of the cross walk and behind the stop line, another motorist screamed at her to back up and she did but boy she wasn’t happy about it.
But to answer your question @chyna is right we don’t want accidents boss’s do not like insurance claims made against the company, personally I would dearly love to run over ever idiot car driver I meet BUT we are professional drivers trying to get a job done and we do want to do it safely.

LOL! I respect you guys all the way and I’m not an idiot driver! It just amazes me how smoothly you guys make those turns. Hell I can barely deal with an extended cab Ford.

But geeze…the way yall come on at times is like “GET THE FREAK OUT OF MY WAY!!!” I’m trying to man!

I know and for that I apologize for all of us we put in long hours, have load times, and unload times and we get burned right out on how clueless the driving public can be at times towards us transport drivers.

I know Babe. I feel your pain. The idiocy I see just on jaunts around town….it blows my mind what you guys must have to deal with during house and hours on the road.
Did I tell you about the semi who pulled a U right in front of us on a 70 MPH 4 lane? Jesus! It was about a month ago.

But who in their right mind would think it’s a capital I rather than three ones

Me. And everyone else familiar with Roman numerals.

^^HUH??^^

@SQUEEKY2 If your “HUH?” is directed at me, yes, I understand Roman numerals and Arabic numerals and the Roman alphabet. Maybe I wasn’t clear.

Fine, but what has that to do with any part of @Dutchess_III question about semis in intersections?

@SQUEEKY2: It’s a secondary (side) discussion they’re having on this thread in relation to @Dutchess_III name and how to spell it. Was it three “L’s” or three “letter i’s” or three number ones?”

I always thought it was Roman numeral, which would be three number ones.

@jca

Your last sentence outlines the problem in a nutshell.

@SQUEEKY2

Does everybody not bother reading people’s responses ? If you look at the 6th comment down (made by Dutch) you’ll notice that in her final sentence, she explains that she’s on mobile and there was no drop down menu following @ so that she could specify to whom she was commenting.

I was replying to her comment regarding mobile.

This is in SOCIAL so I responded to her sidetrack since it’s been an ongoing problem with her SN (as well as others) for mobile users for a LONG time.

Now, she was faced with a similar problem since she had to use mobile and deal with what the rest of us have to deal with on a daily basis. Welcome to the vagaries of mobile :)

Sorry, @Buttonstc, but when I came back to the Q I didn’t re read the entire thread, I just thought maybe you were on the wrong thread. It happens sometimes. In fact, I’ve done that (and I’m not the only one) and I appreciate when someone tells me, so I can straighten it out.

@canidmajor

Yeah, I get that. I wasnt commenting toward you but rather replying to the recent complaint of SQUEEKY2 immediately above (just prior to @jca explanation)

Yes but 111 doesn’t mimick Roman numerals. III or lll does. You see?

What was the question? :/

Semis in intersections and hitting waiting cars, I think?