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I can think of a few highway on-ramps that I use on a regular basis. They are very short, and it takes about everything my four-cylinder Saturn has to make it up to highway speeds to merge in, but I can make it as long as I plan it out properly and push the go-pedal down to the floor.
I don't think an 80,000 pound truck would stand a chance at making 40 miles an hour on some of these, let alone the 55 mile per hour speed of traffic in the right hand lane. What's the "textbook" way to merge a loaded truck onto a busy highway in such a situation? How do you, personally, handle the situation?
Well you get onto the on-ramp as fast as you can which would still be well below the speed of traffic and then you watch all of traffic get the hell out of the way because you're driving an 80,000 pound truck. At least that’s how it was with the huge UHAUL I rented to drive up from Los Angeles to the Bay Area.
Well you get onto the on-ramp as fast as you can which would still be well below the speed of traffic and then you watch all of traffic get the hell out of the way because you're driving an 80,000 pound truck. At least that’s how it was with the huge UHAUL I rented to drive up from Los Angeles to the Bay Area.
Not the same thing and not even remotely close to driving a semi.
First of all you did not weigh 80,000 in a UHAUL and you did not have a trailer that was a separate piece of equipment being pulling by the truck and they do NOT rent Semi Trucks.
The ONLY one's who can actually rent a semi are those companies who use them for business and are legally able to put drivers behind the wheel who have an actual CDL License.
No one in their right mind would put some yahoo off the street in a semi just because he wants to drive it.
Most 4 wheelers do NOT get out of the way and they will squeeze in front of you and cut you off in a flash with no room to spare between their back bumper and your front bumper.
To the original poster: It depends on the load that the truck has if it is even loaded.
A solid van trailer that is loaded is very different that a tanker that has liquid that sloshes all the time.
Each ramp entrance and exit is different for every type of truck, trailer and load.
There is no blanket statement for this one, experience teaches each driver how to handle different situations with ramps, merging, snow, ice, rain, heat, etc.
Not the same thing and not even remotely close to driving a semi.
First of all you did not weigh 80,000 in a UHAUL and you did not have a trailer that was a separate piece of equipment being pulling by the truck and they do NOT rent Semi Trucks.
The ONLY one's who can actually rent a semi are those companies who use them for business and are legally able to put drivers behind the wheel who have an actual CDL License.
No one in their right mind would put some yahoo off the street in a semi just because he wants to drive it.
Most 4 wheelers do NOT get out of the way and they will squeeze in front of you and cut you off in a flash with no room to spare between their back bumper and your front bumper.
To the original poster: It depends on the load that the truck has if it is even loaded.
A solid van trailer that is loaded is very different that a tanker that has liquid that sloshes all the time.
Each ramp entrance and exit is different for every type of truck, trailer and load.
There is no blanket statement for this one, experience teaches each driver how to handle different situations with ramps, merging, snow, ice, rain, heat, etc.
Wait...driving a UHAUL is nothing like driving a loaded semi? No way!
I would think this is fairly obvious but I guess not for some. My comment was merely meant to say that from my experience driving a relatively slow truck that had trouble hitting speeds that match the flow of traffic you learn that traffic generally adapts to it. A loaded semi is likely even slower and the experience of merging with faster moving traffic would be similar in that you can’t possibly reach that speed quickly enough so it’s important for surrounding traffic to understand this and either slow down, speed up or do whatever else it takes to let you merge.
The OP did not mention trucks in particular, as if the only CDL drivers are truckers. Commercial bus drivers also hold CDL's. But yes, it depends on the the conditions you mention and the configuration of the ramp as to whether there is a long merge lane at the end of the short ramp to allow passage of heavy right-of-way traffic [it's courtesy, but they dont have to slow to allow your merge] while signalling entry. Usually, if there is room to safely do so, preceding motorists may move to the left to allow your entry onto the roadway. But they also reserve the right of way not to. Better to know whats up ahead at all times by researching your trip before begining, in a large/heavy vehicle that is cumbersome to maneuver.
We've got short on-ramps along 99 that agricultural trucks are always getting on. I don't know what those things have for engines, but it takes them about four miles to get up to freeway speed. So they just get on and everyone gets out of the way of the giant object moving at 35 mph.
A few miles from here are some shortish on ramps onto a dual carriageway. The speed limit (where it is going past a small town) is 70 mph and the authorities refuse to reduce it.
At one point there is a very short on ramp which also goes by a gas station located on this same dual carriageway. Joining there is fraught with danger. There have been calls to shut down that very short on ramp, and how the gas station can operate safely is a great matter of debate.
There have been at least two fatalities in that area in the last year.
There are plenty of short ramps in the NY Metro area.
On stretches of highways where this is frequent, the experienced and courteous drivers will get out of the merging lane when they see a car on the merging lane. However, this is not always the case and you just have to time it correctly.
I've never seen any 4-wheelers that didn't get out of the way. You're supposed to have your blinker on to indicate your intentions, no different than a car. If your empty, you can start out in 3rd gear on a 9 speed and it won't be much of a problem. Loaded, you just get it going as quick as you can and get in when you can. A lot of experienced drivers don't even use the clutch and or they'll skip gears from 3rd to 5th, 4th to 6th, so that helps a little also. also.
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