Overdrive

VOICES 8 | Overdrive | August 2017 I try not to judge driving skills, mostly because I am not a professional driv- er, but also because I've learned that there are about a bazillion diff erent reasons to change things up when you're rolling. Obeying set-in-stone rules is hard enough sometimes; coping wisely with implied or vaguely ambiguous rules is something only experience can hone. That being said, I can't deny wish- ing a pox upon all of the extended family of a certain group of mega- fl eet banditos who insisted on remain- ing in a wall four deep in the middle lane of I-70. For the entire distance between Enon, Ohio, and the split in Columbus, the group had three lanes available, mind you. The only thing that should be governed on your trucks is the ability to let you in the driver's seat, come on. The old man pumping a railroad hand cart in "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" follows you, saying, "I see many ob-stack-ells in yo' quest fo' the treasure … most of them involve these four doofuses in governed trucks, hoggin' up the middle lane." OK, maybe not that, but seriously, drivers, you had to know you were a giant wall of "What is wrong with these truckers?" for 50 miles. It's em- barrassing. Cut it out. Also, get a CB. After I fumed about it for a while, I decided to ask the professionals if my ire was completely misplaced. I can always ask George, and I know his comment about the center lane will not be complete until he's got spe- cifi cs about the fl ow of traffi c, speed limit, wind shear, availability of plant life in case of breakdown and need to sustain life until rescue, temperature, tidal pull and barometric pressure. George doesn't make blanket state- ments about driving. Ever. So I posted on our Facebook page and got answers that ranged from hilarious to frightening. Everything from, "I do it to make super-truckers mad," to "I do, because nobody puts baby in a corner" (my favorite), to ref- erences to the Smith System and fuel mileage control. The general consen- sus of people being serious was based on traffi c fl ow, conditions and wheth- er or not the truck is governed, which leads me to believe the center lane debate will remain debatable unless all traffi c conditions are miraculously one day the exact same. I can't help but wonder what the autonomous trucks would do. Monsters moving in the middle Wendy Parker chronicles her journey on the road with her owner-operator husband, George, in the George and Wendy Show blog on OverdriveOnline.com. Scan the QR to read more from her on your phone or tablet. " It used to drive me batty when trucks were limited to two lanes and the trucks in the center lane were traveling the same speed as traffic in the right lane and you couldn't get around them. This is also really bad between Waco and San Antonio on I-35. Sometimes traffic in the right lane was going a bit faster, but if I tried to use that lane to get around, lo and behold, traffic merging from the entrance ramps would prevent it. Courtesy isn't being taught by trainers. " — Dennis Musselman, via OverdriveOnline.com One of the happiest men in trucking Search owner-operator Dickie Penrod's name at OverdriveOnline. com or Youtube.com/Overdrivemag for video detailing his big win in Landstar's latest game-show-like truck giveaway, a tradition every other year for the fleet's contractors. After hauling for most of his 17-year tenure with Landstar in a 1998 Peterbilt, Penrod won the Detroit-pow- ered 2017 Western Star 5700 XE the company gave away in Nashville, Tennessee, at its All-Stars million-miler recognition event. The photo shows contest finalists, with Penrod lofting the Western Star's keys. While trucking hasn't always been a "bed of roses," he told Over- drive, all the hard work has paid off. "I'm in clover now." One of the happiest men in trucking Search owner-operator com or Youtube.com/Overdrivemag for video detailing his big win in Landstar's latest game-show-like truck giveaway, a tradition every other year for the fleet's contractors. After hauling for most of his 17-year tenure with Landstar in a 1998 Peterbilt, Penrod won the Detroit-pow- ered 2017 Western Star 5700 XE the company gave away in Nashville, Tennessee, at its All-Stars million-miler recognition event. The photo

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• Wendy Parker: Don’t hog the middle lane.
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