Tips for Driving Next to Semi Trucks

This is going to seem like the most random post ever, but it just fits in my Tornado of Thoughts theme for this blog. Maybe you will at least get a chuckle from it.

When I was a teen and just starting to drive, I used to go to my older sister's house that was two hours away at least twice a month. While my parents would have preferred I took the back roads, I always preferred the highway. I don't know why they expected any different because I drove a sports car (Plymouth Laser) and while it was old and run down, it was also red and sporty and free from my uncle.

I would drive about 45 minutes on a two lane road before zooming up onto the highway and setting the cruise control for another hour and a half. I sped a little, but since I got my first warning ticket during one of those trips then I usually chose to set the cruise for just at the speed limit and sit back to relax.

I remember this one beautiful day of cruising along to my sister's house when a semi-truck came up on my tail and sat there for just a little bit. I'm usually the type to just let things go, but I was feeling cheeky that day so I just slightly slowed down to encourage him to move on around me and I could get back to my cruising.

The truck eventually moved into the fast lane and started to pass and suddenly I decided that I would do a little teasing. I sped up just a little faster than the truck and when he came up on someone slower in the fast lane, he pulled back in behind me. We went along a little and I eased off the gas a little and slowed just enough to encourage him to move on over and try again. So, I let him almost get ahead of me, and oops, I sped up again. We did this several times when I noticed there was a rest stop coming up and he was behind me at this point. I put my right blinker on and he was probably thanking me that I was finally going to be out of his way. But then I didn't exit.

I have no idea what possessed me to play along with this for the hour or so that I had left in my drive, but it was interesting and I was 16 and I had nothing better to do. At least this kept me awake…and probably the truck driver as well.

We finally got into the town where I really did need to exit to get to my sister's house so I started to exit and he moved over to the fast lane. As he passed me that last time, he honked and waved and I could see him laughing. I wonder sometimes if he was annoyed, amused, or if he deals with jerks like me every day so it's part of his life as a trucker.

Ironically, the uncle who gave me that run down old red sports car also became a truck driver a few years later. I never had the chance to tell him this story and I'm not sure that he would have been so amused.

If you ever want to deal with jerks (or cheeky little teenage drivers) I could tell you where to get some great semi trucks for sale.

Do you have any funny driving stories to tell?

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