Re: what is it with people?

Posted by Billy NY on July 30, 2015 at 11:07:41 from (104.228.35.235):

In Reply to: what is it with people? posted by Don-Wi on July 30, 2015 at 09:24:51:

I would agree with what NY 986 said about a signal system, at minimum you need something or an escort, the latter of which may sound ridiculous to you I am sure LOL !

I will no longer operate any ag equipment on the local roads here anymore without either or both, its way too dangerous now. Safer to trailer it. The farmer I used to help, is across a now very busy 2 lane state road, he farmed quite a bit of land on our side, as well as his, for 50 years or more. When I was a kid, ag equipment on this road and most rural or similar places, was no issue at all, people knew better, because either they were farmers, or had some connection to one. Thats not to say there were not problems, like a motorist who tossed a lit cigarette into a fully loaded tandem set of hay wagons he was hauling one afternoon, they just rolled em off the road to burn, it was a total loss, the hay, just running gear left with burnt tires. He had land 10 miles north of here, that's where it was coming from, it was nothing to run these 2 lane roads in those days. I used certain areas to pull over and let cars pass, but I would pull of the road, not on the shoulder, or they'd have to live with it until I go to the destination.

In recent times, accessing the 2 lane state road, briefly from the county/town road is a dangerous affair, his newer equipment had lights and signals, but if it was anything significant or older, we escorted it with the 3/4 ton p/u with a flashing light. Its just too dangerous without lighting, and even then it may not make a difference given how people are.

In '88, same situation as you, but in the nearby city, while turning onto a 2 lane state road, with a tractor trailer, hooked to a dump d matic truss trailer made in Texas, with a small load of wood roof trusses on the left side, lower bolster arm kit installed, that has low heavy angle iron chained to the trailer to carry certain types of trusses. Some elderly man, tried to pass me on the left, after I had looked back, started to proceed forward into the turn. I was up-shifting and it felt a little odd, as if the trailer brakes were hanging up. I keep going until I see this 80 something year old man in a car that the angle iron hooked onto and was now dragging the car into granite curbing. I wrenched the car enough to break about all the windows in it, it broke off the driver side wheels too! The car was totaled. Also shows you how much torque a tandem long wheel base R model Mack truck with 300+ mack engine and 9 speed fuller transmission creates. I could have kept going and might have if I did not see this happening eventually. I was in the right lane to make the wide turn, 2 working signals on the left, flashing on the trailer and the tractor which you can see because of this pole type trailer. I turned them on well in advance of this wide left turn. This motorist came out of nowhere with no regard to a delivery truck with every right to be on the road and making a turn as needed to clear the curb, proceeding to do so when I saw it was clear. He got wedged in, city police issued me some rotten ticket and I got 2 points, a moving violation for it! My first and only commercial driving infraction! I was livid, and that old man got the brunt of it, but he could care less, he said "well I'm 80 something years old, looks like I am getting a new car now".......

I do not see how I was in the wrong to this day, show up to work, to do my job and that's what you get sometimes. At least no one was injured, never saw a car twist up and pop windows like that before.

Hand signals were part of my first drivers test too, not many know the meaning of the 3 simple signals today and they should, nothing has changed, I still see bikers using them on occasion though.

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