I can't believe this hasn't turned into a thread on virtues of tallow ice cream in "The Clown House"
Yes, I was under the speed limit by 2, maybe 3 mph. Shoulders are soft gravel, there is no *safe* puling over onto the shoulder without almost coming to a stop.
As to the jake brakes, I understand that they apply when you lift the accelerator, but when someone is following at about 1/2 second following distance and repeatedly pressing and lifting the accelerator, it was not "normal" driving that was causing the sound. He would also pull back a bit and get a run right up behind me and lift again, over and over. It was not as if he was preparing to pass, as even I, at my low sight-level, could see that there were vehicles coming and we were in a no passing zone.
His sole intention was to intimidate me to increase my speed. No, I did not speed up, nor did I slow down, cruise control was set and steady the entire time. If I had been in an area where I had cell signal I would have called 911, rather than record his behavior.
Just for the record, I am actually very courteous to truck drivers (and other cars/pickups etc for that matter) (my experience is absolutely positive with respect to 99.9% of truck drivers - yes they can make mistakes but a mistake is far different than what this driver was doing.)
I know it's not easy getting around objects in an 18 wheeler, handling winds, accelerating when loaded etc. I will back up (if able) when a truck is making a wide turn, I give them plenty of room on the interstate, I don't dwaddle in blind spots, I don't cruise in the left lane on a 4-way road, I'll lift off and slow down if a passing semi needs it, and will accelerate on a 4 lane road to complete a pass if a driver (car or truck) is approaching faster than I am travelling in the left lane (If I can safely do so with regards to weather and traffic ahead).
This particular driver was simply being a bully who should not be allowed to drive anything larger than a bicycle until he can get his attitude under control.
"Run off the road" is a bit much. If I'm reading your account correctly, YOU caused the whole problem by incorrect merging. When you're merging, oncoming traffic ALWAYS has the right-of-way. You are expected to adjust your speed accordingly, find an opening to merge into, and merge into that opening at highway speed. If you had thought a little bit earlier, you would have realized that you could accelerate away from the truck very easily -- they don't accelerate or decelerate very fast at all.
Take a look at http://www.ehow.com/list_6861027_rules-merging-onto-freeways.html and http://voices.yahoo.com/merging-onto-freeway-safety-rules-7243596.html?cat=17 -- they both mirror the traffic code in most states.
Traffic on the Freeway is not supposed to slow down to allow merging traffic to enter.
Merging traffic is supposed to adjust speed to "merge" into traffic.
If speeding up isn't the right strategy, then slowing down and falling in behind the vehicle you are in proximity to is.
excuse me? I was forced to the side of the road by a 10 ton truck that could've killed me, my wife and my dog, so I think that qualifies as being run off the road. I accelerated as fast as I could go and the semi saw me coming off the exit and there was an opening. He could've slowed down....most drivers slow down regardless of who has right of way, it's just common courtesy. the truck driver chose not to slow down and kept going full speed ahead.
...and I see a fully loaded semi headed straight toward me in my left hand turn lane.
As one of my truck driving friends once told me, whether you are right or whether you are wrong, when you challenge a semi, you lose.
This just jumped out at me -- how did you know the truck was "fully loaded"? Was it a flatbed or something???
That was the idea I was trying to get across in post #115 -- but it doesn't seem that anybody got it.
I accelerated as fast as I could go and the semi saw me coming off the exit and there was an opening. He could've slowed down....most drivers slow down regardless of who has right of way, it's just common courtesy. the truck driver chose not to slow down and kept going full speed ahead.
They'll always fault the truck driver if they can.
I talked to a guy a few years ago, who was sitting at a light, behind a line of vehicles. An older gentleman came out of a side road some distance behind the semi, accelerated as hard as it would go, and rear-ended the semi at a fairly high speed. The older man died, and the family was now suing the truck driver for wrongful death.
They'll always fault the truck driver if they can.
If your logbook is just 15 minutes off, they'll make it stick, too.