If you scroll through the slide show, you will see all sorts and sizes of oversized loads. Some of these were sent to me over the years by Robert Misitano, Justin Minor, and Mike Lofgren. (If i didn't name you, I'm sorry!)
One thing about oversized loads is the same; no matter how wide, heavy, long, or tall they are; no matter how pretty or ugly they are; no matter what commodity they are; they are bigger than the normal sized trailer.
We all know idiots abound around trucks, no matter what the wheel count is. You're cut off, tail gated, and dodging swerving cars. There are those people who feel the shoulders and ramps are the perfect places to park, of all wheel counts, and you're dodging them as well. There has been a rising concern industry wide that people need to learn how to drive around trucks. Industry wide, people seem to forget the need to learn how to drive around the oversized loads though, and inside the industry, the lack of respect for the load size is alarming, and increasingly getting dangerous. I will start this off with prime examples of issues that have been faced, and end with reminders of how to act around them. In my opinion, it should be in every trucking school and in every driver's education course. It is also believed, by many, that before they approve you for any license renewal, you would need a refresher course on how to drive around oversized loads.
Many that are not oversized haulers and heavy haulers do not understand why those who haul these special loads would want this. The answer is simple. When you see the people who could've killed themselves with your load, and see the kids in the back seat, you know something must be done.
Another issue in the oversized industry has arisen and reared it's ugly head. Big fleets who specialize in wind are turning inexperienced people into higher levels faster to try to keep the wind fleet going, instead of opting for only the most experienced. This is dangerous for everyone involved, for most of the time, proper training and experience is not met before they move onto super loads.
Law enforcement also doesn't understand the laws of oversized a lot of times, and most of the time, those acting precariously while under, and while driving around oversized loads, aren't cited. This inefficiency in enforcing the laws could also lead to fatalities on the roadways due to lack of knowledge of how to act.
So who is there to protect the loads? The drivers do what they can, but once you get to certain specifications, pilot cars/escorts are required by the law. Some drivers will get them even in the states they aren't required, for the permitting systems aren't the best (we will get to that next). The issue there is, just like the mega fleet oversized driver mills, there are also pilot car driver mills. The best pilot car you can get, in many's opinion, is someone that's had to haul big loads before. They know what you can and can't see, and how idiots will act around the load. There are the ones though that even I won't put on a load. Our first escort couldn't follow instructions, didn't know cardinal directions, didn't help stop traffic, wouldn't warn us around blind curves, and almost hit the load twice. When there is no room for a car on a bridge, and you are crossing the bridge, for the safety of the public, traffic should be stopped. She, however, couldn't get the point through her skull. There are those who do great, by all means, but there are those that shouldn't be on the roads as pilot cars. Another thing pilot cars forget is that if there are issues with a certain driver, call the police, and ensure that the aggressor is dealt with.
The state routing systems are faulty in some states at best. Nebraska has came up with, in my opinion, the hardest online routing system, on the face of the earth. It looks like a program from a 1983 Macintosh computer. This system "makes it easier." I still wonder who it makes it easier for. They permitted a 12' wide load (and we blanket 6") down a 10' path. We cleared at 11'6" with maybe 3" to spare. This could've been a horrible plan if we were actually 12'. Oklahoma has turned to the pros system that Texas also runs on. These systems are computer generated, and leave out connectors on some permits, permit 16' wides down a 14' lane on road construction, etc. The issue is that they don't update often enough, and, in many's opinion, computer generated will never be as good as human generated.
We were in West Virginia, sounded on the horn that we were moving around an oversized and to let us know if we need to wait. He sounded to come on around and we did. I'm looking in the rear view, and see Swift almost clip the load. Lou asked me if he really just saw that, and I said yes. "Swift, those loads need room." "I didn't see that he was oversized till I past him." "What did you miss? The yellow signs, red flags, or flashy light?" "He didn't have an escort." "Not all loads require escort." Fresh out of school, and clueless about loads that weren't in a box. Why? Well, since it isn't a federal requirement (yet), they don't teach it.
A while back, a FedEx truck in Wyoming chose to crowd a mobile home. As always with doubles, he wiggled when he should've waggled. The end result? A destroyed mobile home, a tractor and two pups destroyed, and two drivers in the hospital.
Escorts have been killed because of negligence on their parts and others' parts. There is no room for error when on these loads.
Many oversized drivers, once over 10' wide, will take up two parking spots so that no one will back into their load. People will still try to fit into the 1/4-1/2 parking spot left over. Please, stay away, and get a full parking spot instead. That driver has to move when he can. These loads are governed by a whole new set of rules, and you can pick up an oversized directory from the truck stop to learn more about the hours they can run. Also, truck stops, such as Pilot and Love's (these two are the most notorious for it) need to learn two things. 1. They can't get off route to park somewhere else, and they are drivers in trucks, hence why they park in a TRUCK stop!! 2. If they need to run to a shop real quick, they can't get off route. Let them drop the trailer and run to the shop.
So, how can you avoid losing your vehicle, and possibly you life? There are cardinal rules:
1. Do not crowd the load on the roadway. They are trying to give you room, do the same for them.
2. If you're going to pass, pass! Don't pull up along the load and then just sit there forever. If the driver has to move for vehicles on the shoulder, a narrow bridge, or anything, you will force a chain of events that you may not want to be a part of.
3. Stay off the shoulders and ramps. Many times, you being there puts you in direct jeopardy of being struck by a load.
4. If a pilot car is trying to stop you, it may upset you, but it's for your own good. Follow the directions, the load will pass, and everything will go on as usual. They are doing it for your own protection.
5. Don't practice road rage on oversized loads. This will never end good. There have been steers that have thrown the blades over to stop people because of their aggressiveness toward the pilot car, the load, and the driver. While this wasn't legal, and I don't condone it, when you are an aggressor to someone with so much on the line, many will turn the tables on you.
6. Use common sense. If an oversized hauler is moving over, it isn't because they want you to pass them on the right hand side. There's an obstacle they need to clear, and you will actually be in their way, and may come face to face with the load.
7. Just because there's nothing hanging over the trailer doesn't mean they aren't really oversized. Many are overweight, which means they take longer to stop. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, cut them off. If something happens, they can't slow down fast enough, and your car will look like a sardine can.
8. If you see 4ways and brake lights on an oversized load, it may be that there's an overhead obstacle that they are concerned about clearing. Give them their room, for if they hit, you don't want what they hit to land on you.
Most of all, think of it like this. The load is a square peg. You, and the obstacles you represent to the driver are a round hole. Square pegs don't fit in round holes. That's something you learned when a toddler. The same lesson applies now. Take care and be safe.
One thing about oversized loads is the same; no matter how wide, heavy, long, or tall they are; no matter how pretty or ugly they are; no matter what commodity they are; they are bigger than the normal sized trailer.
We all know idiots abound around trucks, no matter what the wheel count is. You're cut off, tail gated, and dodging swerving cars. There are those people who feel the shoulders and ramps are the perfect places to park, of all wheel counts, and you're dodging them as well. There has been a rising concern industry wide that people need to learn how to drive around trucks. Industry wide, people seem to forget the need to learn how to drive around the oversized loads though, and inside the industry, the lack of respect for the load size is alarming, and increasingly getting dangerous. I will start this off with prime examples of issues that have been faced, and end with reminders of how to act around them. In my opinion, it should be in every trucking school and in every driver's education course. It is also believed, by many, that before they approve you for any license renewal, you would need a refresher course on how to drive around oversized loads.
Many that are not oversized haulers and heavy haulers do not understand why those who haul these special loads would want this. The answer is simple. When you see the people who could've killed themselves with your load, and see the kids in the back seat, you know something must be done.
Another issue in the oversized industry has arisen and reared it's ugly head. Big fleets who specialize in wind are turning inexperienced people into higher levels faster to try to keep the wind fleet going, instead of opting for only the most experienced. This is dangerous for everyone involved, for most of the time, proper training and experience is not met before they move onto super loads.
Law enforcement also doesn't understand the laws of oversized a lot of times, and most of the time, those acting precariously while under, and while driving around oversized loads, aren't cited. This inefficiency in enforcing the laws could also lead to fatalities on the roadways due to lack of knowledge of how to act.
So who is there to protect the loads? The drivers do what they can, but once you get to certain specifications, pilot cars/escorts are required by the law. Some drivers will get them even in the states they aren't required, for the permitting systems aren't the best (we will get to that next). The issue there is, just like the mega fleet oversized driver mills, there are also pilot car driver mills. The best pilot car you can get, in many's opinion, is someone that's had to haul big loads before. They know what you can and can't see, and how idiots will act around the load. There are the ones though that even I won't put on a load. Our first escort couldn't follow instructions, didn't know cardinal directions, didn't help stop traffic, wouldn't warn us around blind curves, and almost hit the load twice. When there is no room for a car on a bridge, and you are crossing the bridge, for the safety of the public, traffic should be stopped. She, however, couldn't get the point through her skull. There are those who do great, by all means, but there are those that shouldn't be on the roads as pilot cars. Another thing pilot cars forget is that if there are issues with a certain driver, call the police, and ensure that the aggressor is dealt with.
The state routing systems are faulty in some states at best. Nebraska has came up with, in my opinion, the hardest online routing system, on the face of the earth. It looks like a program from a 1983 Macintosh computer. This system "makes it easier." I still wonder who it makes it easier for. They permitted a 12' wide load (and we blanket 6") down a 10' path. We cleared at 11'6" with maybe 3" to spare. This could've been a horrible plan if we were actually 12'. Oklahoma has turned to the pros system that Texas also runs on. These systems are computer generated, and leave out connectors on some permits, permit 16' wides down a 14' lane on road construction, etc. The issue is that they don't update often enough, and, in many's opinion, computer generated will never be as good as human generated.
We were in West Virginia, sounded on the horn that we were moving around an oversized and to let us know if we need to wait. He sounded to come on around and we did. I'm looking in the rear view, and see Swift almost clip the load. Lou asked me if he really just saw that, and I said yes. "Swift, those loads need room." "I didn't see that he was oversized till I past him." "What did you miss? The yellow signs, red flags, or flashy light?" "He didn't have an escort." "Not all loads require escort." Fresh out of school, and clueless about loads that weren't in a box. Why? Well, since it isn't a federal requirement (yet), they don't teach it.
A while back, a FedEx truck in Wyoming chose to crowd a mobile home. As always with doubles, he wiggled when he should've waggled. The end result? A destroyed mobile home, a tractor and two pups destroyed, and two drivers in the hospital.
Escorts have been killed because of negligence on their parts and others' parts. There is no room for error when on these loads.
Many oversized drivers, once over 10' wide, will take up two parking spots so that no one will back into their load. People will still try to fit into the 1/4-1/2 parking spot left over. Please, stay away, and get a full parking spot instead. That driver has to move when he can. These loads are governed by a whole new set of rules, and you can pick up an oversized directory from the truck stop to learn more about the hours they can run. Also, truck stops, such as Pilot and Love's (these two are the most notorious for it) need to learn two things. 1. They can't get off route to park somewhere else, and they are drivers in trucks, hence why they park in a TRUCK stop!! 2. If they need to run to a shop real quick, they can't get off route. Let them drop the trailer and run to the shop.
So, how can you avoid losing your vehicle, and possibly you life? There are cardinal rules:
1. Do not crowd the load on the roadway. They are trying to give you room, do the same for them.
2. If you're going to pass, pass! Don't pull up along the load and then just sit there forever. If the driver has to move for vehicles on the shoulder, a narrow bridge, or anything, you will force a chain of events that you may not want to be a part of.
3. Stay off the shoulders and ramps. Many times, you being there puts you in direct jeopardy of being struck by a load.
4. If a pilot car is trying to stop you, it may upset you, but it's for your own good. Follow the directions, the load will pass, and everything will go on as usual. They are doing it for your own protection.
5. Don't practice road rage on oversized loads. This will never end good. There have been steers that have thrown the blades over to stop people because of their aggressiveness toward the pilot car, the load, and the driver. While this wasn't legal, and I don't condone it, when you are an aggressor to someone with so much on the line, many will turn the tables on you.
6. Use common sense. If an oversized hauler is moving over, it isn't because they want you to pass them on the right hand side. There's an obstacle they need to clear, and you will actually be in their way, and may come face to face with the load.
7. Just because there's nothing hanging over the trailer doesn't mean they aren't really oversized. Many are overweight, which means they take longer to stop. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, cut them off. If something happens, they can't slow down fast enough, and your car will look like a sardine can.
8. If you see 4ways and brake lights on an oversized load, it may be that there's an overhead obstacle that they are concerned about clearing. Give them their room, for if they hit, you don't want what they hit to land on you.
Most of all, think of it like this. The load is a square peg. You, and the obstacles you represent to the driver are a round hole. Square pegs don't fit in round holes. That's something you learned when a toddler. The same lesson applies now. Take care and be safe.
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