Dear Mr & Mrs New Zealand

[WRT]

		Dear Mr & Mrs New Zealand, Did you know you nearly died today? As I approached the intersection, I saw you sitting there to my left at the stop sign. I did not have a stop sign, but I slowed none-the-less. I scanned and searched the intersection for anyone who might fail to stop and looked at you. You looked at me. You were completely stopped. It was a 80 kph speed zone and I had probably slowed to about 60 - 70 kph at this time. All was well, and I proceeded cautiously. I was very surprised when you decided to go ahead - to make your left turn - right in front of me! I don't know what possessed you to do this - I'm moving relatively slowly but I also have 40,000 kilograms behind me and now you've put your little 1000 kilogram car directly in my path. Oncoming cars prevent me from going right and to my left is a very steep, rocky ditch. I am on the brakes - hard - but can't put them to the floor. In an air-braked vehicle without ABS, putting the brake to the floor is a fast invitation to jack-knife. If the trailer were to swing into the oncoming traffic, there'd be nothing saved by the manoeuvre. For the lack of a better option, I'm staying on the brakes and I'm praying, praying so hard that I don't wipe you out, annihilate your family, run right over the top of your little car. Everything is moving in slow motion - I'm staring into the big beautiful eyes of your two little children in the back seat. They seem to notice that this very big truck is an inch off your bumper, yet you are busy talking to your passenger and don't seem to have the slightest idea of the fight I'm fighting for your life. I may have to choose between running you over and taking the steep ditch and it's a choice I've always known, since the day I got into one of these trucks, that I might have to make. I'm so angry that you've put me into this position. If I run you over, I will most likely live and you, your passenger and your two sweet, beautiful, innocent children will surely die. If I take the ditch, I will likely die. Why in the world would you give a total stranger such a choice? Thank heaven I don't have to make this decision. I have managed to slow this truck down enough to remove the danger and no one here is going to die today. My heart is pumping a million miles an hour and you are driving off into the sunset, not a care in the world. You nearly died today and your passenger (your wife? Husband? I don't know) and your children would have gone with you. You can't tell me you didn't see me - you looked me right in the eye. Besides that fact, I am nearly 20 metres long and more than 2 metres wide! Did you not want to be stuck behind a truck? Were you in that much of a hurry? Were you just distracted? Do you have a secret death wish? I don't wish to be harsh - or reprimanding. Scenarios like this play out every single day in New Zealand. There is a great lack of understanding - as well as pure selfishness on the roads today. I am a truck driver and I take my job seriously. I consider myself a professional. I am not the one who tailgates you and I have no desire to try to intimidate you with the size of my vehicle. I am not immune to road rage, but have learned to shrug off the numerous incidents that occur every single day. The only thing that really makes me angry is when you deposit your life into my hands and assume I'll make the right choice. You're probably lucky that it was me you pulled out in front of. If worse had come to worse, I likely would have taken the ditch to avoid taking you out. Is this what every single truck driver would do? Most of them probably would but is that a risk you're willing to take? Trucks and cars CAN share the road … and speaking for myself, I'd much rather share the road than share an ambulance.

[bugjuice]

aaaaaaaand? just an every day drive, isn't it..??

[WRT]

Taken from an email titled "An open letter to all New Zealand Motorists". I wanted to post it in its entirety unedited by myself. I dont know who wrote it, but as a motorcyclist, it makes my skin crawl.

I'm sure you dont need me to say "If they cant see a truck, how will they see us?" or any of the other trite things one can come up with when reading that. Its just an eye opener is all.

Lets hope a few motorists read it and take heed.

[Madness]

Well put.
I am on the road most of the day myself, in a Holden Ute. About six weeks ago another motorist put me in a similar position (longish story) I avoided a 100km/h collision by veering left into a series of vegetated road islands. The thing that pissed me off the most about that day was the total lack of interest on the part of my boss. He drives around 10km/Day in a 50km/hr area and has absolutely no idea of the risk that I am exposed to by doing around 150km/Day around the greater wellington area.
One of these days he'll crash his swivelly chair into his desk, I hope it scares the crap out of him!!!!!

[Buster]

They should start using stories like that to get through to motorists via tv and radio ads. Stuff like that makes you think. Open your eyes and concentrate on the road.

[Sniper]

Nicely written. Applies to trucks and bikes me thinks

[terbang]

Good post there WRT and it gets me thinking that not all of us are aware of what its like to shift a bit of tonnage around. However like us on bikes, the trucking world also has those that, by their actions, also besmirch our respective good names. Riding along Roscommon road recently at around the speed limit (tempo of the road) in medium traffic a large truck rolls up to the intersection from our left to make a left turn onto said road. He takes a look, obviosly saw me and others very close (unless he was blind) and with the classic display of "oh well Im bigger than em they'll have to suck it" turns it into a rolling stop and proceeds to swing out into the traffic with both truck and trailer swinging wide enough to momentarily block both lanes. He fails to see the carnage as I, under braking, nearly get run down by a cage rapidly changing lanes to also avoid hitting him who in turn nearly runs up the ass of another who is also brakeing heavily to avoid 18 odd wheels and while all this is happening I have Mr (havn't woken up yet) still doing 80 odd kay looming in my mirrors.
I guess it can be difficult to get out into traffic with a large vehicle at a slow acceleration and I am sure there are schedules to keep but, in this case, my opinion is that he was just plain unprofessional and unfortunatly, in the eyes of those there (standing on their brakes), dragged your normally good image through the mud.

[crashe]

a lovely message..........

But unfortunately a truck driver took the choice of the ditch to save the lives of those in a car just the other day.

The truck driver died, being the hero to not kill or maim those travelling in the car.

His name was Greg.

RIP Greg



(There was a thread on the Trade Me message board about this accident the other day)

[kickingzebra]

Saddening and enfuriating, why don't we all just think that little bit more?!

ooh, cookies... doo dee doo....

Because we are too easily distracted perhaps??

[Jackrat]

I never read stuff printed in blue.

[Edbear]

PLease don't post in blue, it's really hard to read. Aside from that, I am so in agreement! I drive a (smaller) truck every day and so often drivers pull out in front of me! They seem to automatically asume that a truck is travelling slower. So often I have close calls despite being very well aware of these idiots and driving accordingly! If I had to slam my brakes on I'd probably flip right over! Maybe we could hassle the LTSA or some Govt organisation to add TV ads bout trucks ability to stop and not to pull out in front of us?!

[El Dopa]

To be honest, this pulling out into your path thing seems to be a common problem in NZ. I'm constantly bemused by people pulling out in front of me, not necessaily dangerously, but quite clearly in a manner that assumes I've seen them and I'll bleed off sufficient speed before smashing into their arse. It's even more bemusing when they do it when there is clearly about 3k behind me before the next vehicle. doesn't seem to matter what vhicle I'm in either.

Anyhow, howsabout this one:

Coming off the motorway on sunday evening, SH1 heading south, just off the Bridge and Vicky Park flyover. Take the exit to transit onto the North-Western to head out west.

Obviously, being a motorway exit, this is a one-way road. For those that don't know it, there's a blind brow just at the end of the slip road - still one way.

Can you guess what happens next?

Come over the top of the rise, doing 60-70 (just come off the motorway), and there's a car coming the other way right in my path, about 20 metres in front of me.

Well, I hit the brakes about as hard as they've ever been hit, my sphincter beating a lovely counterpoint to the ABS shaking the car apart. In taking evasive action, I nearly hit the road dividers.

Pull up to the side of the road, collect my breath, check my trousers. Look in the mirror and what do I see but the aforementioned idiot doing a three-point turn just over the wrong side of the hill.

Get out of the car and run up the hill. They've pulled over at the side of the road by this time. Stick my head in the window, and there's a lovely little old lady looking back at me. 'You do know this is a one way street?' (Well, that's the edited version). She smiles sweetly, and tells me that yes, she's just realised that.

Something about that really made me see red, and, long story short, she certainly learned quite a few new words. i had to walk away in the end to avoid doing something I was really going to regret.

Be careful out there, folks. They're all after you.

[geoffm]

Coll Electrical - you nearly had a new hood ornament on one of your vans a couple of weeks ago. The lights at Stanley St and Parnell Rise turned red, so I stopped. Mr Coll Electrical didn't even slow down - fortunatley I was looking in the mirror, saw he wasn't slowing and pulled to one side and he brushed past me. the light was well red - like several (maybe 10) seconds. I didn't get the plate no, as I was to shaken up, but I rang the company and gave them an earful. Judging from the response, I bet nothing will happen. It is not a good look, trying to knock off people who are responsible for putting your name onto the "acceptable contractors for tenders" list. They aren't on it, and won't be.
Geoff

[SPman]

. It is not a good look, trying to knock off people who are responsible for putting your name onto the "acceptable contractors for tenders" list. They aren't on it, and won't be.
Geoff

I hope you told them this......

[Wolf]

I know those here who drive trucks are more aware than average because of being bikers, but I have found that the average truckie - the one whose only other vehicle is probably a ute that's only slightly smaller than their rig - is a complete fucking arrogant moron on the roads.

Coming down the sixty k zone from Avalon Drive into Greenwood St at night, the lights ahead are red so we slow to a halt. The truck-and-trailer in the other lane, however is still travelling at around 70 when he runs the red - good thing no one was going across the intersection or the "choice" the truckie would have to make would be whether he slams on the brakes, jack knifes, hits us and slides into the car going across or leaves off the brakes, hits the car at 70km/h and slides into us anyway. What a retard.

Riding the Te Awamutu-Cambridge road. There's a semi stopped on the side road to my left waiting to turn. I always assume everyone else on the road is a moron or a psychotic maniac - especially truckies - so I'm ready for him to do something bone-headed. He does - turns left onto the road right in front of me. I brake and slow carefully and so avoid becoming part of the back of his trailer. There's plenty of road ahead to pass him safely, which I do, giving him a blast of the horn followed by the bird. He blasts his horn angrily at me because pointing out he's a retard who nearly killed me is not acceptable to his delicate sensitivities.

Just the other week, strayjuliet driving, me, both boys and our three-week-old girl in the car, approach the roundabout at Greenwood, Kahikatea and Killarney. There's a truck-and-trailer stopped at the roundabout to our left, nothing coming from the right so Stray drives onto the roundabout. Truckie then elects to pull out in front of us from a dead stop when we're almost at the island separating the lanes of the road he's leaving. Stray brakes hard and sounds the horn as a warning that we are there. Retard hits his horn and gives us the bird. Stray notes the trucking company and the rego of the trailer. Home is literallly a couple of minutes away and Stray calls the trucking firm and reports the driver - she got a call a couple of days ago to say the truckie's been sacked - apparently this is not his first complaint and he's previously written off one of their trucks. Not too surprising considering his arrogance and lack of road knowledge. Good fucking job. One less retard on the road.

Both my parents drive trucks and various other vehicles - passenger service and all - professionally for many years and if my father had encountered any of the three I've cited, he'd've pulled the bastard from the cab and given him a "shirtful of busted ribs" and I haven't even touched on all the retarded arrogant truckies I've encountered over the years - like the two I encountered "drag racing" up a hill - one in each lane of a narrow, winding two-lane road (good thing no one was coming the other way over the crest of that hill, eh).

In all fairness, I must say I have encountered truckies who were courteous and careful on the road - three of them, out of all the hundreds of trucks I've encountered.

I mistrust other road users in general, but truckies especially - I find they seldom fail to live up to my expectations of them. Being a bonehead in a car is one thing. Being a bonehead in a big rig is another level of stupidity altogether.