Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2012 05:06:37 -0400
Reply-To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: Kens trip & can Westys climb mountains?
In-Reply-To: <1F84BD7B-501A-444A-A464-2CF348DFA29E@q.com>
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At 09:20 PM 10/16/2012, Karl Wolz wrote:
>I was taught that when the trailer is past you should very briefly
>kill your lights a couple times. Been doing that since the late
>60's. I always get a thank you dim in return.
I was never taught - but have done an awful lot of night driving
mixed in with heavy East Coast truck traffic (NJ turnpike truck
lanes, for example) and have observed very consistent behavior which
I adopted in my youth and have depended on since, to wit:
1) Flick of high beams from vehicle behind in same lane - move over,
I want to come through. This is universal, passenger and truck traffic both.
2) Flick of high beams from vehicle overtaking in outside lane -
*invitation to move out into that lane,* in one of two forms:
a) (open road) I am overtaking. Come out now if you want to,
otherwise I will overtake.
b) (traffic jam) I am holding a place for you to come out into my
lane and invite you to take it (often reinforced with an invitation
on the radio).
Note that both these forms are positive invitations to the vehicle
ahead to come out into your lane, NOT just "take care, I'm about to
pass." You really have to understand that, as otherwise having a
semi abruptly appear in front of you can spoil your composure. The
response if you get one will likely be instant. I forgot that once
in the Westy, and embarrassed the heck out of both myself and the
truck driver who trusted that I knew what I was saying to the big
guys. I know he was embarrassed because he apologized on the radio;
but he had no reason to be. I was playing under his rules and he
simply gave me the respect of trusting that I understood them. And
I did, I just forgot in the moment. That was close to twenty years
ago now and my ears are still warm as I write about it (situation was
approaching a toll booth at night, I was overtaking faster than I
should have toward an empty lane and he was in the next lane behind
several cars as we all were beginning to slow down for the booth. I
was trying to tell him "watch out, here I come" and momentarily
forgot the larger implications. He saw my lights dip as I braked and
jumped left when he popped up in front of me...).
3) Long flash (two-three seconds) from vehicle being overtaken - the
end of your trailer is at least a foot ahead of my bumper, you can
enter my lane without crashing into me. Again, when you do this you
are giving permission for instant response; so don't be surprised if
you get it.
I almost always use form three when being passed on either side by an
eighteen-wheeler, day or night, any type of open road - unless it's
clear for example that he's moving too fast to make it reasonable for
him to come back in to my lane before the next vehicle ahead of
me. I'm often acknowledged, and get a prompt-action response more
often than you might expect. Ten-wheeler or smaller, only if there's
a positive indication for it. Big RVs yes, intercity buses usually
not as they don't seem to notice or care.
Form 2a I use when overtaking an eighteen who is in a situation where
he may be cramped during the time I'm overtaking - obvious example
being when he's in the right lane and there's a highway entrance
coming up, or if there's a slower eighteen that he's crawling up
behind. Again, my invitation is accepted some moderate fraction of
the time. Otherwise I've quit doing it since it seemed to have more
to do with my being part of an in-group than genuinely helpful.
After a good deal of thought, I've also started adapting form three
to the rare occasions when I pass a ten-wheeler or larger on the
right. I give a long flash, *wait several seconds,* then move on by.
And as someone mentioned earlier, when being overtaken in hilly
country by an eighteen who can't legally move out to pass me, I move
out instead and let him by on the inside.
I generally like driving with big trucks; they tend to be predictable
and there's a shared spirit of having to actively manage available
power vs. climbing conditions and so forth. And there's satisfaction
in being respected as a "four-wheeler with clue" and helping make
their job easier rather than harder.
Yours,
d
