Ah yes professional drivers again. Here are some experiences I have had lately with professional drivers.

Crowd the center line wide load or not expect you to drive in the ditch just because they have a pilot car ahead.

Weave from over the center line back over the fog line spraying you with every rock they can find on the road.

Pull out and pass another semi because they are going 2 kmh faster than the other. Speed limit 90 kmh, they are doing 20 kmh and 22 kmh.

Go 50 to 60 kmh up a hill on the highway with no passing lane then do over 120 kmh down the other side and on the flat preventing anyone from passing. Either that or max your speed out at 150 and get fingered and a blast of the airhorn on the way by.

Drive with their headlights out even in inclimate weather ie rain or snow. You know what white outs can do. (oh yeah some put their parking lights on, cool)

Can't be bothered to wipe the foot of snow off of their tailights while at stops.

Drive by brake checks unless it's right at the scale. When they do stop at a brake check it's only to have a whiz and kick the tires.

Go through red lights because they figure they can't stop even on dry pavement.

Chain up after the fact ie Coquhalla, pass the chain up area then jack knife part way up and close down the highway.

Drive off the road in rest areas yet, hmmm thats a strange one.

Driving nose to tail with other semis, preventing someone from passing one at a time. (Remember the two length rule in your driver guide?)

Tailgate so close you can't even see the top of their bumper even at 120 kmh (usally after you pass them)

I could get into the typical class 5 driver too and go on and on. But I believe as a professional driver myself (class 1 & 6) other professional class 1 drivers should show a little professionlism on the road like I used to do. A little courtesy goes a long way as well.

Happy and safe motoring everyone.

The term: Professional Driver implies that someone does it for a living, it doesn't mean they are an expert at it, or even any good. it just means that they meet a certain minimum level of standards. Just like Class 2,3,4,5,6,7.

Taxi drivers are professional drivers too. I've just about hit several of them in all kinds of vehicles. Apparently a taxi licence allows you more freedom to ignore traffic laws recklessly than the common commercial vehicle.

And, don't forget that a class 5 commuter vehicle licence allows you to do anything in your car but actually drive or watch traffic. Apparently, it is more of a diner, home office, beauty parlor, change room, or home theater on wheels, than it is a car.

Oh no, that's all of us.....well then who are all these morons on the road if it's not all of us ?

If I was acrider I'd have to take a pill to relax. HeeHee.

Most trucks have automatic slack adjusters that you don't need to manually adjust. Thats why you don't see guys sliding on the ice under chip trailers, if they could fit, to check their brake adjustments. Kicking the tires you might be looking for loose lug nuts, a flat tire, or a hot hub indicating a hung up brake. Taking a piss and getting a stretch is a bonus. This should be repeated a number of times every day to stay alert and be aware of your equipment. After stopping at the bottem of a good hill it is always good to check the hubs looking for a cool one that tells you the brakes are not adjusting properly.

There's an old saying, "don't go shooting all the dogs just because one has fleas."

Not all truckers are that way. Matter of fact, most of the ones I've encountered are courteous and safety conscious, much more so than people who drive cars. I don't drive a truck, so I can't comment on the difficulty of the job, but so many of them get painted with a wide stroke of the brush when the reality is that only a few drive like idiots.

I know the company that hauls out of Kemess mine, has exceptional drivers. Those guys will pull off the road and wait for you to pass on the narrow gravel road, and they radio all their co-workers to let them know there are other vehicles on the road.

Too bad no one tells them they do an excellent job.

"Too bad no one tells them they do an excellent job."

Oh, but they do. Everyone sticks their finger out the window and shows them that they are number one !

:-)