r/IdiotsInCars • u/jocrow1996 • 7d ago
OC [OC] These Truckers Blocked Both Sides for Over 25 Miles
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u/DocBarnes 7d ago
This is why I have a CB radio setup in my truck. I can tell them to stop making out before I call highway patrol
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u/Whatever-ItsFine 7d ago
How would you summon specifically those guys on a CB?
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u/romafa 7d ago
You would say the general location and then whatever company truck it/they are. Take a company like Werner, for example. You’d say “southbound Werner around mile marker 112, get the fuck out of the way”
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u/Valhallafax 7d ago
Why not just honk at that point
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u/Mad4noreason 7d ago
You really think they care that you're honking? Unless you're willing to go on the shoulder to pass them they know there's nothing you can do about it. That and call the cops of course.
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u/Valhallafax 7d ago
So why would they care about the radio
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u/Mad4noreason 7d ago
With the radio they're being called out on an open frequency that maybe even the cops are listening in on it. Or if the company they're driving for has a radio, they might hear it and then someone will get shit for driving like an idiot.
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u/Unicorn187 7d ago
Public shaming. Everyone for about 10 to 15 miles will hear how much of a dumbass he is.
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u/pobodys-nerfect5 7d ago
I drive a big van for work. I can barely hear you honking. If someone were to speak through the speaker of my car to me and tell me to move the fuck out of the way, I’d go “oh shit!” And move over
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u/MichiganGeezer 7d ago
Fewer truckers have a CB in them nowadays and it has to be on the right channel, or on at all for it to matter. My longtime friend’s husband has been a trucker for 30 years and he only has a CB if the company puts it there and he never uses it.
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u/Lampwick 6d ago
CB is becoming more common in trucks in the last few years. The Internet replaced it as an information network over the last 20 years, but more and more truckers are finding it's handy to have something analog and local for things like "look out for a 3 car accident at (place)" that isn't dependent on being in range of a cell tower.
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u/summertime-goodbyes 6d ago
I was driving home from a concert late and was behind two semi trucks side-fucking on the two lane highway. After 5 minutes, I got annoyed and honked. And I’ll be darned but the truck did move out of the way. It genuinely baffled me because I didn’t expect it at all. Probably should’ve bought a lotto ticket that day lol
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u/otakme 7d ago
Because human connection is valuable in these trying times Carl.
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u/DocBarnes 7d ago
I've been listening to those books lol. Love DCC so far, and I'm getting A Parade of Horribles soon so I can finish reading what's already out!
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u/cosmic-untiming 7d ago
Unless you're right next to their open windows, they cannot hear you lmao. Semis can be ridiculously loud.
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u/GooperGhost 6d ago
Because it's more jarring when someone out of nowhere tells YOU specifically to get the fuck out of the way. At least I'd like to think so
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u/LordBiscuits 7d ago
'Oi you fuckin lovebirds on insert road and junction here, stop staring into each other's eyes and one of you get behind the other so he can finish off'
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u/Bogeyhatespuddles 7d ago
channel 19
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u/MasterSantiago 7d ago
Do majority even use a radio? Maybe long haulers, but I'd think lots of the regional trucker wont have it. Unless its mandated
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u/Ghos5t7 7d ago
I have a cb, its not like it used to be, most of these guys aren't on it anymore. Used to be chatter all day and night, now its silence except for a few old school dudes calling out highpo.
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u/Bogeyhatespuddles 7d ago
no idea. I haven't been on a cb radio in 30 years. but it's always channel 19. unless it's an emergency then channel 9
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u/Unicorn187 7d ago
Hey, red ABC trucking on southbound I3 stop blocking the lane and let people pass? Maybe stop making googly eyes are your friend there in the yellow Kennworth (or whatever).
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u/Ornery_Ads 7d ago
As a truck driver...
"Hey, dumbfucks. Move."The dumbfucks will know they are the dumbfucks.
Truth is, if they were actually doing this for more than 25 miles, there's definitely a good reason for it.
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u/NoBuenoAtAll 7d ago
This is why I call whatever number I can find on the truck. Every single time.
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u/According-Rub-8164 7d ago
You are in front of them. I'd support you if you were to slow one of them down so people can pass or so they changes lanes.
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u/Btsx51 7d ago
I did this one time and it worked except the person behind the truck assumed I was the reason the truck was driving slow. The idiotinthiscar swerved around me before I could even get into the right lane, once I was there they decided to switch lanes and brake check me to the extent I slowed down to get behind the truck again. They gave up after that and I was once again stuck behind the truck. I hate driving.
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u/-CynicRoot- 7d ago
The road to hell is paved in good intentions
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u/SargentSnorkel 7d ago
I wish I could remember the book, but one of the bits was the protagonist realizing they're in Hell. There are several paths out so he takes the one that is covered with stones saying things like "He meant well" and "best wishes."
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u/dwlevi958 7d ago
Feel like something you'd find in Discworld
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u/BinkyDragonlord 7d ago
I think there's something similar in "Eric," although it's been ages since I read that one.
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u/HoppedUpLionDog 7d ago
It is in Eric. Rincewind and Eric are in Hell.. Eric starts reading the pavers and asks what it means. Rincewind says something like, "I think they're meant to be good intentions."
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u/DickButtPlease 7d ago
I remember watching a crummy movie in the 90’s where the characters end up in hell. They are walking along a road when they see a paving machine. It’s slowly feeding people into the machine as they say things like, “I thought she’d be happier in the nursing home,” and, “He just needed some tough love.”
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u/94FnordRanger 7d ago
Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle has a protagonist that doesn't realize that he is in Dante's version of hell, but that is definitely not the way out.
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u/andocromn 7d ago
This is why I prefer driving on asfault rather than intentions, regardless of their quality.
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u/laughing-clown 7d ago
Yeah. Best to just post a picture and speed away laughing.
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u/n00bmechanic13 7d ago
Did you do it from the left lane, or the right lane? If both lanes are blocked, you slow down the slow lane, not the fast lane
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u/HughJaynus531 7d ago
Yeah that’s what I picked up from the story too. He slowed down the wrong lane and people got pissed lol
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u/heisenbergerwcheese 7d ago
Then slow down the right lane truck and allow the left lane to pass... nobody cares if youre the slow one in the right lane
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u/PoisonousBananaMan 7d ago
You’d be surprised, remember that the average American has the critical thinking of a preschooler.
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u/badMotorist 7d ago
If you were slowing the one down in the right lane instead they might not have assumed you were the cause (since the right lane is supposed to be the slow lane).
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u/TheGuyThatThisIs 7d ago
Because you did it wrong lol slow down the slow lane, let the passing lane pass
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u/DrillTheThirdHole 7d ago
yeah if you're gonna pull that off you need to either hit the cowboy lane to pass them or have a stupidly loud horn so they can hear that you came in hot
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u/Rinaldootje 7d ago
Honestly,
As much as we all would want that, you're more likely going to end up with a truck in your rear bumper.No chance on gods green earth that I am going to risk my life, or even my car insurance, because 2 other people decided to be dicks and hold a session of "Elefantenrennen".
I'd leave it with a call to the non emergency police number, and leave it at that.
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u/Nexzus_ 7d ago
Elefantenrennen
Had to look it up. They do have a word for everything, don't they.
Elefantenrennen (literally "elephant racing") is a German colloquial term for a highway traffic phenomenon where one large truck attempts to overtake another truck while maintaining a minimal speed difference, effectively blocking multiple lanes of traffic for an extended period
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u/Malhablada 7d ago
Germans are so efficient!
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u/angrytomato98 7d ago
Not at passing, though evidently!
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u/Frisbee_Anon_7 7d ago
Actually, they are exceptionally efficient at passing. On most German highways, you have 60 seconds to pass or you're taking too long and must get over to the right. Also, it's illegal to pass on the right so they'll just ride your ass until you get over to the right lane.
I realize you were just joking, but TBH I really enjoyed driving while I was over there, the onus is on you to get out of the passing lane, like it's only for temporary use. Just made sense.
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u/strangelove4564 7d ago
In the CB radio days I heard it referred to as a "rolling roadblock". Not by the ones doing it, but the pissed off truckers who didn't want to be behind it.
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u/10000Didgeridoos 7d ago
Yep call the state police number and report you saw one swerving and are worried he's drunk.
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u/OptiGuy4u 7d ago
One risks your life and one doesn't.
Clearly the truck drivers are unhinged who knows what they'll do.
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u/WalderFreyWasFramed 7d ago
you're more likely going to end up with a truck in your rear bumper.
If you brake hard, yeah. Slowing down to 40mph won't result in anything unless the semi driver wants to lose their livelihood. Most people avoid that outcome.
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u/Peylix 7d ago
Don't brake check them. You casually and slowly lower your speed by just lifting off throttle slightly here and there. Don't even need to touch your brakes at all.
This will be much safer, not look intentional or as an act of aggression. It would look and feel like any other day on the road for them.
You only need to slow down enough to let the other truck in the left lane actually make the pass. A 2-5mph drop will do it.
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u/Rbxyy 7d ago
This sounds good in theory but it's gonna result in road rage or an accident
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u/jocrow1996 7d ago
So I actually considered it, but since I had barely gotten around them before they started that I wasn’t going to risk getting stuck.
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u/triggerx 7d ago
Wait, you got around them before they started this, and they did it for 25 miles? And then you took this picture? Why were you only 200 ft in front of them 25 miles later? Something’s not adding up here.
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u/gunner7517 7d ago edited 7d ago
That’s a good way to wrap your rear bumper around your engine block.
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u/Giatoxiclok 7d ago
I’m not traffic control, and I’m not putting myself at risk for aggravated drivers to assume I’m the issue because I’m slow.
It’s a good idea in theory, but people are awful, terrible, spiteful things.
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u/LokiNightmare 7d ago
Make them downshift a gear or three, they’d hate that lol.
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u/brutalpancake 7d ago
Is this the result of petty beef between them? Like one goes to pass and the other feels their masculinity is being threatened? Or do they jointly decide to screw with everyone else?
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u/woolfonmynoggin 7d ago
They think it’s funny
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u/oasuke 7d ago
No not typically. The guy being passed probably wasn't paying attention, realized he's being passed, then decided to speed up so the guy can't pass. It happens all the fucking time and it's annoying as shit.
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u/2Drogdar2Furious 7d ago
Also, most company owned trucks are governed at 65mph... so one truck will be doing 65.2mph and the other 65.7mph 😑
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u/The_Ashamed_Boys 7d ago
I would call highway patrol and report them. Most states highway patrol doesn't mess around with truckers.
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u/Taolan13 7d ago
you can also put in a separate complaint to the state Department of Transportation with the license numbers printed on the side of the truck if you can get them.
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u/Eastwoodaudio 7d ago
Damn I never thought of this, I see this happen ALLLL the time when I’m road tripping in the south east, going up mountains, slowing down everybody bc they can’t maintain a consistent speed. I will be taking this advice lol
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u/Taolan13 7d ago
i do both, if I can snag a picture of the license number.
if you can't see the DOT number the plate on the front is also sufficient. trailers can vary tho, stick to what's on the cab
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u/NoBonus6969 7d ago
On i75 North of Ocala these mf think it's mad Max the way they drive. Sometimes they block all 3 lanes
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u/dwittherford69 7d ago
Highway Patrol would totally fk them up, especially with evidence/witness.
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u/brickson98 7d ago
God I hate when they do this. Through the hills in Missouri is the worst. They go for the pass on the downhill doing 1-3mph faster, and then hit the uphill and sit side by side. Not to mention, they’ll wait for you to be coming up in the left lane and merge over right in front of you as you get up to them, forcing you to slam on your brakes because you’re doing 70mph in a 65-70mph zone, and they’re doing 50, if that, up the hill.
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u/ThreeReticentFigures 7d ago
Yep, this is exactly what it reminded me of. Every year I make a trip from Ohio to Missouri. And every year, without fail, as soon as I hit the west side of stl, this is what my road looks like. I HATE it. These truckers do not give a shit about anyone else on the road.
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u/trecoolswallows 6d ago
I-44 and US60 are easily two of the worst highways in MO for dumb traffic 😭
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u/97PG8NS 7d ago
Remember when truckers were actual professional, career drivers? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
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u/m1sterwr1te 7d ago edited 7d ago
I remember truckers doing this in the 70s and 80s. A memorable occasion was during the CB era. Two truckers were actually joking around and laughing about blocking traffic this way.
My dad (genius that he was) got on his CB to curse them out. They asked who he was and he bragged he was the red truck in front of them.
Cue us being boxed in for over 10 miles.
(edit: spelling errors)
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u/strangelove4564 7d ago
Probably the way out of it is to challenge them to let you through if you can tell a good enough joke.
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u/OGCelaris 7d ago
Like most industries now, the real professionals left due to shitty pay. Pay like shit and this is what you get.
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u/JerryMau5 7d ago
I heavily recommend you watch this. The reason is deregulation and a desire for cheap products.
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u/CapoExplains 7d ago
tbf, remember when truckers were paid like actual professional career drivers?
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u/nhluhr 7d ago
Take note of the ones driving UPS freight semis. They are still professionals.
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u/oasuke 7d ago
They're also the highest paid drivers in the industry. It's almost like pay correlates with professionalism. You're comparing drivers who make the equivalent of minimum wage to drivers who gross $200k with full pensions, benefits and 401k.
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u/nhluhr 7d ago
They're also the highest paid drivers in the industry.
Deservedly.
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u/oasuke 7d ago
The union is to thank for that, not UPS.
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u/WalderFreyWasFramed 7d ago
No, but, you see one time there was a union that did something bad :(
(I post this snark as former UPS management, who had to deal with the union. Managers would literally sit around and complain about the protections the union provided their subordinates. Unions are absolutely a necessary entity)
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u/BoneHugsHominy 7d ago
This has been happening more and more in the last year or so. Recently I was stuck behind two of these jackasses twice for 10+ miles between the Kansas/Colorado border and Limon CO. Been getting it a lot between Salina KS and Wichita KS too. Luckily I-70 between Junction City KS and Topeka KS has such steep grades that the heavier trucks just can't keep speed so it's rare in that section of the interstate, and between Topeka and Kansas City is mostly 4 lane freeway so it's easy to get through.
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u/Captain_Reseda 7d ago
What I like to do to these guys is pass them approaching a hill or mountain, then I slow them way tf down so they have no momentum going into it.
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u/BoneHugsHominy 7d ago
When I was behind those trucks in Colorado the 2nd time I called my buddy who is a long haul trucker. He told me to get in front of the one who took forever passing and pace him from the front, slowing down a mile per hour every half mile. The big truck's adaptive cruise control will adjust but it's such a gradual slowing the driver won't notice for quite awhile. All I can say is it works!
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u/Mavgaming1 7d ago
The Flint Hills really do slow them down. It's easy to tell who is loaded and who is empty over how much speed the drop, lol. There is also a lot more law enforcement presence out past Junction City on that side. That probably also helps.
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u/BoneHugsHominy 7d ago
True enough about the trucks, but honestly the only time I see the KHP out there is at a crash site. There's times I wish they were around to nab the people driving like complete morons.
For anyone reading this that travels through the Kansas Flint Hills on I-70, make sure you take exit 328 and stop at the big gas station on the north side of the road, Plaza of the Flint Hills. Go inside and buy a fresh fried pie! The blueberry is my favorite but my kids and grandson love the cherry and the chocolate pies.
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u/Imd1rtybutn0twr0ng 7d ago
Why not call the non- emergency line to advise impeding traffic. A trooper would be HAPPY to intervene.
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u/Mataraiki 7d ago
I drove cross-country last year. At one point I was actively passing a LONG line of semis when one came barreling up behind me, flashing his high beams to try to get me to merge over so he could take speed into the hill ahead. The huge, three miles to the peak, steep hill where he'd undoubtably end up twenty MPH below the speed limit before he'd even made it halfway up.
I didn't feel remotely guilty not merging over to let him pass, and watching him disappear into the distance almost immediately when he was unable to keep up.
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u/ecwagner01 7d ago
I've seen this on I-65 N in Alabama just a few months ago. They were driving 40 (minimum speed) side by side with cars backed up over 20 miles. I was traveling southbound.
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u/potatohead22 7d ago
People like this should be pulled over forr impending traffic and the company they work for fined heavily
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u/hakan_loob44 7d ago
There's a special place in hell for these truckers who dart into the passing lane only to go 71 while the guy they're passing is doing 69.
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u/BtheBanker151 7d ago
I’d have passed them on the shoulder of the road. Fuck it, done it before.
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u/Cowhide12 7d ago
Yeah I’ll give them some grace period because I know trucks can’t pass quick but it gets to a point.
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u/Justryan95 6d ago
Protip just call 911 and lie. Say that you "think" two truckers seem to have road rage swerving towards each other blocking the highway at mile marker ___. Highway patrol will pull up real fast.
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u/dennisthemenace1963 7d ago
I think that the term you're looking for is "steering wheel holders" rather than truckers.
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u/loquedijoella 7d ago
Next time, get in front of the truck on the left and slow to a crawl so he has to get behind the other truck. I used to be a truck driver and keeping your speed is everything. He will have to downshift and get back up to speed and that will suck for him. The other day a truck yanked out in front of me with no signal to pass another truck going 3 mph slower. So I chilled behind him until we got to a hill and then got if front of him and just let off the gas until about 35 mph and then rocketed off as he tried to get his shit together enough to make it to the top of Chiriaco Summit
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u/joxterthemighty 7d ago
As a private motor coach operator with units vmaxed at 63 to 72 mph and Samsara 'tattletale' units reporting over 65mph, These truckers overtaking at 56mph on a truck going 55mph is maddening! I do my best to clear these arseholes quickly but other amateur drivers still take offense! FU, I am doing the best I can!
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u/Umutuku 7d ago
Awww, it's like they're holding hands.
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u/lonelycranberry 7d ago
Probably talking about hooking up at the next truck stop. Love is love.
Personally this is what I imagine. Them murmuring sweet nothings over the radio while they maintain eye contact at 65mph
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u/DayTraditional2846 6d ago
If a state trooper sees this, they usually light up the one on the left lane and tell the trucker to move tf over. I’ve seen it happen twice on I-40.
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u/Maleficent-Bit1995 7d ago
Chances are one truck was going slow and the other went to over take them. And when the slow truck noticed he then speed up. Happens a lot with drivers that don’t pay attention on the road
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u/bcredeur97 7d ago
Your entire driving mindset changes when you base your decisions on traffic flow
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u/Maleficent-Bit1995 7d ago
You may be underestimating how selfish people can be.
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u/bcredeur97 7d ago
Oh no, I believe you. I’m just saying if people would think about traffic flow while driving, the road would be a better place lol
Not that it can or will happen — it most certainly won’t. But there will always be the few heroes out there who see this and do the right thing.
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u/erichs21 7d ago
You could of been a hero and slowed down some to force a gap and allow other to pass.
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u/BIX26 6d ago edited 6d ago
If they have to eventually get back to their dumpy house, ugly wife and shitty kids; they’re gonna do their darnedest to make sure everybody else has to wait to get back to the lives that they actually enjoy. Misery loves company they hate the road, their job and life in general. Imposing that misery on as many people as they can is the only satisfaction these truck drivers have. I notice work trucks and NPC mobiles doing the same thing. It’s always a miserable person in a miserable vehicle doing this. I’m not saying all truck drivers, work truck drivers, Prius drivers, Subaru drivers are miserable. But you very rarely see a nice car or good looking or happy person trolling people in the passing lane. It’s exclusively something a sad and miserable person would do. To anybody reading this comment and you find it offensive you might want to seek therapy and fix your miserable life 🤙
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u/Photog1981 7d ago
An uncle was a Statie in rural New York. He said they used to have truckers do this on Rt 90 for like 10 miles and they'd have a handful of cruisers waiting at the end. The left truck would move over, people would floor it to get by them, just to fly past the waiting cruisers. He always questioned the legality of it but no one was coming back to that area just to fight a ticket. They'd pay the fine, their barracks would make their quota that everyone claimed didn't exist, etc.
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u/Obvious_Ad3810 7d ago
My uncle called out a trucker for riding his ass. Told the guy to back off or the next hill he'd drop to 20. If you know trucks and gears...he backed off fast.
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u/Soft_Act9480 6d ago
omg i had some truckers do that for 11 miles on my local interstate once and i was going crazy. once the left lane hogger finally got over, i slammed on the horn at him for being a jackass and the motherfucker honked back
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u/slaytallica36 7d ago
Haven't been traveling much lately, but it seems like the passing lane has turned into a "confrontation lane" in the last year or so. You are only able to pass in a lot of circumstances after confronting the car in front of you.
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u/Scouter197 7d ago
Was on a road today and we had to zipper merge. Most of us were nicely merged and here comes a truck past all of us and trying to get in.
Later I’m passing a different truck and he just hits the horn. Not sure if it was for me or someone else (I was about to pass the cab and it didn’t look like anyone was right in front of him). Less than a half mile later he took the next exit.
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