swisschris62

You'd have to give me a little more.... We don't particularly like "lining up" out on the highway but sometimes we don't have a choice. It could be that the rest area was packed ( happens a lot on 95). If your not stopped by, let's say 10pm, you just might not find parking at all. So now there's no spots, but your tired and can't keep going...so you make a spot. It won't be long the next guy comes into the rest area and again, tired, no spots and he " makes" a spot. Before you know it, we are lined up on the highway. You ( the general public) wakes up and heads to work and sees us parked all over the highway. The guys out on the road were the last to stop and therefore most likely the last to get up. Personally, I can't sleep if I'm out on the road on the shoulder. It's incredibly dangerous and over the years I've seen some horrific accidents from exactly this. I make sure to time my trip so that this doesn't happen to me but timing isn't always completely under your control. Recently the Feds changed our rules...AGAIN! They make laws and expect us to drive and sleep/take breaks to an exact schedule which doesn't work in this industry because of the gazillion different variables. Their quick to make rules without stopping to think if they make any sense ( although they do spend TONS. Of money " studies") One thing they didn't think all the way through was...where the hell all these trucks going to park to do all this sleeping and break taking. There just isn't enough parking out there, especially on the eastern corridor. It actually gets a little worse yet....states looking to save money have even closed down many rest areas giving us even less places to sleep.

I'd keep an eye on the storms and then decide which route to use. I've picked up loads in Oakland/San Jose going to NJ and been known to drop down to one of the more southern routes just to stay out of the mess. I have a few reasons why I'm not bothered by extra miles in winter. Here's 2.... Sitting in Nebraska snowed in at a truck stop because the highways shut down really starts to suck after about a day. The winds blowing 70 mph it's freezing cold and to get to the resteraunt you have to walk through 6 - 8 foot drifts of snow. Other then to let the dog out I just stay in my truck with all the comforts of home but I don't like sitting. I come out here to truck, not sit. #2... The road is a dangerous place...real dangerous. Go see how many people our highways kill every year. In winter it's worse. The trucking industry sucks these days. The pay for new drivers is horrendous ( you could make far more money for way less hours flipping burgers). The big freight hauling companies ( I can provide you names if you like ) have huge turn over rates and find it nearly impossible to find new drivers. This has forced these companies into getting new drivers trained as quickly as possible and sent out on their own. The problem is these companies suck all the way around and almost everyone uses them as a stepping stone for experience and then they leave for greener pastures. Since they can't keep anyone in their seats because of pay and shitty equipment even their " trainers" are in actuality rookies themselves and have no business being trainers. These companies are the cause of loads of accidents out here. The only reason these companies continue to get away with this is because they are self insured. If the Feds really want to make the highways safer they'll quit creating laws against us that do nothing to promote safety and they'll go after the real offenders.

That's really over exaggerated... The blind spots aren't nearly that bad although for the sake of safety keep thinking that's how little we see and try and stay out of the " no zones". Those zones are directly in front, both sides and right behind us. It's true, if you can't see my mirrors, chances are I can't see you....stay back! The worst place to ride is on the passenger side between the steer and drive axle. The truck in my picture is my truck...peterbilt 379 with an extended hood. It's probably the worst truck when it comes to blind spots and I have very few and only very small areas. It's about setting your mirrors correctly. Here are 2 pictures of either side. As you can see, my lower blind spot mirrors allow me to see the white line even when it's practically under my door on both sides. The big mirrors take care of the rest.on the driver side the upper blind spot mirror is there so I can see the top of my load when I need to.

In California recently the cops set up in a school zone to catch drivers going through the cross walk when pedestrians were in it. I don't remember the number but they pulled over a lot of vehicles. Guess what most people said? They said they didn't notice anyone in the cross walk. It gets better...the cop who was acting as a decoy in the crosswalk was wearing a big giant bright yellow chicken suit and looked much like big bird. Driving has become an inconvenience that just happens to get you places. People do a lot of stuff behind the wheel besides focusing on the task at hand. A good reason why the majority of accidents happen within a few miles from home...people thinking of everything but driving. Complacency doesn't work behind the wheel either. Obviously how far you look ahead depends on your driving conditions and at times isn't very far ahead. Constantly being aware of your surroundings and moving your head to check your mirrors keeps you far more alert than keeping a fixed watch out the windshield?

Your world is completely foreign to me... Good luck!

Think positive for a change...maybe they came across a whole bunch of extra money and they're calling all you guys in to pass out the bonus checks

You got yourself a few miles ahead of you. I got you having a full day without stopping to see sights. Figure you've got about 12 hours of drive time ( easily 12), a couple of fuel stops and a bite to eat and your looking at 14 hours. I got you being tired and glad to be home when you get there. I average 7-800 miles a day but I do it all the time. I know when I take time off the first few days are a little rough. Be safe and enjoy the ride.....

South of the border could possibly be the worst place to stop unless you like dirty bathrooms, shitty over priced food and unruly kids.

If I'm not mistaken your looking at 6 - 700 miles. Your not going to get home before dark even without sight seeing considering some of the cities your rolling through that are going to slow you down. You could pretty up the ride some without adding too much time if you get off 95 and head over to virginia beach and get on the 13. Got yourself a nice bridge there and you'll avoid some of the 95 mess.

Just think how much worse this could be... This nut bag could insist you all get in the car and go with her and if you don't she'll come back acting like someone pee'ed in her Cheerios that morning. I always shoot for a major break down in a place far from airports now that the kids aren't kids anymore. I have a sister in law who can turn what should be fun into drama too.

I think we should commend her for doing her job. She could be like the majority of people that schlep themselves to work and just not give a crap. What the lady did was go above and beyond because she wanted to be sure things were ok. I'm sure she wasn't just trying to be an asshole, which can be seen because you say no one else was being harrassed. As for the goofing around you say they were doing...they may have been playing, but typically when it is your "turn" with the lady your more or less standing there at attention and no longer goofing around. Typically the closer you get to the counter you get the tighter the line gets and the playing stops. That's what the lady sees...lots of faces looking at her waiting to hear ..."next". As for the ID thing...that can be faked pretty easy. Not trying to be hard on you at all ...I think a half dozen questions directed at a kid to be able to determine reaction ( wheteher good or bad) to see that the kid is safe is the least intrusive thing we need to get upset about.

This is only the beginning....

http://youtu.be/eIhuisot7XA Very cool!

Nice to know at least some doctors were willing to stand up for what's right. Seems like you could throw in a kidnapping charge or something. Can local cops take someone out of their jurisdiction/county like was done to this guy when no crime was committed?

This particular picture was taken on hwy 285 somewhere between Santa Rosa NM and Roswell, NM. About 120 miles of pure nothing....it's absolutely beautiful. About the only thing to see on that highway, other then nothing, which is sometimes the most beautiful of all things to see is one small wooden sign with an arrow. The sign leads you to billy the kids grave site. The sign isn't much larger then a typical garage sale sign. It's not a big fancy sign. If you blink, you'll miss it. On the drive between those 2 towns you'll never run into more then a handful of vehicles, usually just a couple other long haulers. Here's another view from my office....

Not to sound like an old fuddy duddy but I don't really know of any roads to open it up on in NJ. The roads weren't designed for those sorts of speed and there's just too much traffic. That sort of speed can't be judged by other drivers and if someone were to change lanes on you it could mean trouble. Did your uncle clock a steady 100 mph the whole way...probably not. It's not the same as kicking back and doing 70. Passing another vehicle that's traveling at the speed limit looks as if it's standing still when you blow by them in the triple digits. An accident at those speeds whether it be with another vehicle or a mechanical issue has entirely different outcomes then a safe speed mishap. If your going to play make sure your vehicle is up to the task, the road is made for it and no other vehicles are there that could really screw you up. Roads like this one in the picture are perfect. 100 miles of nothing in every direction, damn near perfectly straight and flat, and almost no other cars.

I wasn't suggesting they start cutting the drug mules slack. This sort of thing is just a little over the top though. I'm wondering why they took him 60 miles up the road to silver city and didn't just go to the hospital in Deming. Are the doctors in Deming not willing to play along?

This area is notorious for drug mules. There isn't much between deming and the border 'cept lots of dirt/sand. These cops definately don't have it easy down here. We've been wanting enforcement along our border for a long time and these guys are at the front lines of it. This story made the head lines...most of these stories don't, I'm sure. Just another ugly truth of a drug war gone mad!

No telling how crazy this could get....

Good ole " border" land mentality. Almost scary to think of the stories we haven't heard about. The ride from Deming to Silver City is about 50 miles on a very lonely 1 lane state hwy. No telling how many people were taken on that ride and never made it to the hospital. If there's a wild Wild West, this is one of the areas. These folks don't play nice down there.

Dusty little desert town in the middle of no where...kinda Nasty little speed trap always set up on 10 just outside of town They play by a different set of rules in these border towns. All in all, a dangerous part of the country. This is crazy what they did but this sort of thing is probably happening more then we are hearing about.

When you get out into those middle of no where sort of places; you know those areas where your 100 miles from anything...there isn't much risk to the public. There's nobody out there, the next closest vehicle is sometimes 1/2 - 1 mile away from me. You blast past state police in any of the three states I mentioned ( and there's a few more) and they're just going to look at this as a challenge and come after you. They're also going to radio ahead. Your not going to outsmart them. People that don't know any better, go on trips and find themselves on these roads and push their cars to see what they can do. They think they're in no mans land and anything goes. They catch them. I was at the Triple T truck stop in Tucson reading the paper about a year or so ago. Front page article was that Howard sterns side kick robin had gotten nailed speeding out in the desert. Apparently she had rented a high performance Benz and was traveling. They nailed her well into the triple digits and she basically said she was just having a little fun and the way the roads are she didn't even quite realize how fast she was actually going. On the 15, coming out of LA, people rent these high performance cars and head to Vegas. They think they're on a race track out there and do ridiculous speeds. I see them get nailed all the time. Anyhow...I don't doubt the guy could have made real good time out in those states. I see it all the time and I've done my own share of putting my foot into it. I was doubting his NY to St. Louis part of the trip.

I didn't see where the op mentioned she was first. Alls I see is someone who must have put in a lot of hard work, challenged herself, and set out what she intended to do. Seems pretty cool to me, not to mention the video quality on her jump is so much better. Have you done anything really cool lately?

They still apply the " get on the radio and set a trap up ahead" though...I would think. I don't know how the law reads in each state but I'm pretty sure Arizona,New Mexico and Texas troopers wouldnt tolerate this stuff and would give chase.

World Without End - Ken Follet Great story... Highly recommend...read Pillars of the Earth first.