Published: June 25, 2008 05:13 pm      

18-wheelers demand considerable talent in the cab — and courtesy on the road

More than once I’ve sat idling at the red light next to the Easley Bridge in Bluefield, watching a tractor-trailer come around the corner and wondering whether I’m going to get squashed under the rear wheels. I’ve never really understood how the drivers keep their rear wheels from mowing down parked cars or swinging out to crush garden gnomes.

Well, I recently spoke to two drivers — Robert French of Bland County and Pete Nuckols of Wytheville — who can back their rigs up until their right rear wheel touches an 18-inch plate without knocking down the barrel next to it. They’ve both also driven more than two million miles without an accident, a feat few regular drivers can boast about.

I know driving amid big rigs thundering down the highways is pretty intimidating at times. You want to pass them, but you’re afraid to put yourself within a few feet of that juggernaut going 70 mph. Sometimes you’re reluctant to hit your accelerator and get that extra speed needed to leave the truck behind.

Some years ago I interviewed truck drivers at one of the Princeton stops and asked how average motorists can make their lives a little easier. One gave me an answer I’ve remembered especially well.

“If you’re going to pass, then pass,” he said adamantly.

The problem is that some drivers start passing a tractor-trailer, but don’t finish. As a result, that driver ends up in the trucker’s blind spot. It’s better to pass and get clear.

Another problem truckers encounter involves the laws of physics. Average drivers often don’t understand that there’s a difference between the stopping distance of a compact car and that of a huge tractor-trailer loaded with heavens knows what. Big rigs don’t stop the instant their drivers slam the brakes. All the kinetic energy in those many tons on the move has to dissipate first, and it may not be in time to avoid a collision.

I experienced those laws of physics years ago when I moved from Bluefield to a new apartment in Princeton. Since I had several pieces of furniture and loads that couldn’t possibly fit in my car, I decided to rent a truck. I shopped around, chose one in Green Valley, and soon found myself going up Route 460 in a laboring rental. I had never driven anything bigger than a station wagon before that moment, so I was teaching myself as I headed up the highway.

The first lesson I learned was the importance of a inspection before you hit the road. After multiple glances at the speedometer, I realized that it didn’t work! I also wasn’t sure if the other gauges were telling me the truth. The radio worked, but I was too harried to be entertained.

Despite the setbacks, I got my hired beast of burden to College Avenue and managed to back it up to the front door without destroying anything. I myself and friends got it loaded up and soon was bound for Princeton.

I was later informed that my truck driving skills raised alarms more than once; seems I was getting closer to the curbs than desirable and my turns were too wide. Then I reached my new place on Mercer Street and took a right turn into the apartment’s back parking lot.

As I turned into the alleyway, the truck hung for a long moment. Figuring I was caught on the curb, I hit the gas and got through. Later one of my friends said I had brushed against a telephone pole. The long black gouge down the truck’s flank backed up his observation.

Fortunately, the truck was so beat up already that nobody noticed the new stripe I’d added, so why bring it up? I returned the truck and nothing was said.

I came away knowing that driving a big vehicle lacking a rear window isn’t easy. You have to develop a sense of where each part of your rig is at all times and what it can and cannot do.

This makes the accomplishments of drivers like French and Nuckols more impressive. They’ve driven millions of miles without an accident while I almost took down a telephone pole the first time I was behind a big truck’s wheel, and it wasn’t even a tractor-trailer.

I respect the work truck drivers do, and I hope everyone will join in making sure their job isn’t any more complicated that it already is.

Greg Jordan is a reporter for the Daily Telegraph.

Contact him at gjordan@bdtonline.com.