EPISODE 411 TRIPLE AXLE DUMP TRUCKS…HOW DO THEY STOP IN TIME?
alan skeoch
august 19, 2021
This is the truck I timed…speed limit? Consistently 20 kph faster than the speed limit. And one other very strange
thing. See if you can see what I mean…look closely. Look! Look! Then scroll down past the other dump trucks for
the strange thing.
I have never ever seen an OPP cruiser pull over a dump truck for speeding.
That is rather odd. Nor have I ever seen an 18 wheeler pulled over…nor a 22
wheeler. Yesterday an 18 year old boy was killed by a cement mixer truck which
usually has 10 wheels. Not sure who is at fault. Cyclists often play fast and loose
with stop signs. Lots of bikes on the road these days…and lots of cement trucks…and even
more dump trucks.
Have you ever seen a cement mixer getting a speeding ticket by the OPP?
I think not.
Probably because these trucks do not exceed the speed limit? Right or wrong.?
So I did a little test on Trafalgar Road east of Milton about mid morning when traffic
was light. I drove at the same speed as a dump trick. When the speed limit
was 70 kph we drove at 90 kph…When the speed limit dropped to 60 kph we
drove at 80 kph. Clearly in both instances we were speeding.
Given the choice who would get the speeding ticket? Need I say more.
Why would a dump truck driver want to speed? I interviewed a driver
a month or so ago when he had trouble dumping his load.
“Wet soil..stuck in the bottom…bitch to get out.”
“What do you need?”
“heavy shovel.”
“:How about an axe?
“great”
So he borrowed my axe. Seems a long leased borrowing as I have never
seen the axe lately. But I learned one thing from that driver. He was worried.
“They expect me back for another load…now I will be late.”
So dump truck drivers want to pick up and dump their loads as fast
as possible. That pressure might encourage speeding. Right?
Tried to count the number of dump trucks I met today. Had to give jump. Too many going too fast.’
What is strange? There is no licence plate! I have to have my licence plate clearly visible from behind
or I am fined and perhaps taken off the road. Why is the dump truck any different? I have no idea.
alan skeoch
P>S. I am a tire counter. There was a time when the biggest rigs on the road were “18 wheelers”. That is no longer
true. Today I counted 20…22 and even one seemed to have 24 wheels. Makes me think. How long does it take
a big rig to stop dead…even with air brakes? Why do we hear the term ‘jack knife’ so often. Are most truck drivers
under pressure to get where they are going as fast as possible? Danger danger danger danger!
Is it difficult to get a dump truck or big rig licence?