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Mixing it up with trucks on the highway.

Understanding why truck drivers do the things they do, is half the battle. It's hard to imagine, while behind the wheel of a car, what it's like from the truck driver's perspective.

This is, by no means, a one way subject. There needs to be more understanding on the part of the truck driver, too.

To better understand what's going on with that truck, up ahead, imagine two little boys hauling a wagon load of rocks up a steep hill. One is older than the other and bigger. The younger boy has fewer rocks to haul. It would seem pretty much a match.

Both of them know the hill is going to be quite a task and the first thing in their minds is getting as good a run, at it, as possible. So they start trying to run, building up speed as fast as they can. They both hit the bottom of the hill at the same time. The older boy is stronger and holds on to his speed longer and winds up pulling over to pass the younger boy. As the hill gets steeper, the older boy begins to feel the weight and starts slowing down, while the younger boy is holding steady. The results are two boys, side by side, fighting to hold on to all the speed they can. In the meantime, all the bike riders behind them are becoming frustrated because the two boys are blocking the path.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? The point is to show you how it is. Those trucks have no intentions of holding up traffic. In fact, they feel badly about it but are really in a position of no choice. Just imagine a heavy truck losing all momentum, while attempting to climb a hill. We're talking a dead stop on the highway.

Have you noticed that the truckers turn on their 4-way flashers while climbing? Usually they will do this any time they drop below 40 mph to announce to oncoming traffic that they a slow moving.

Fuel costs are climbing, making it harder for a truck driver to make a living. Can you blame the driver for wanting to maintain steady speed? Every time they run up behind a slow moving vehicle, only to discover the traffic in the next lane is packing together to prevent him from moving over, he counts dollars going straight down the drain. I will never understand what 2 or 3 seconds could actually mean to those blocking off the truck. Is it truly that important?

Count the cost. The more that truck has to recover speed, the more costly it is to operate the truck. The more the costs go up, the more freight charges need to go up and that results in higher costs for the goods, sitting on the

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