Drive Like You're Playing Chess

Drive Like You're Playing Chess

Drive like you're playing chess means planning ahead. We see it all the time. Someone will take a mile to pass you. Then a half mile after they have done all that they could to pass you they take an exit. What did they save? I don't know. I would guess less than 5 seconds. Yet, they couldn't wait. They had to do everything in their power to get there as quickly as possible. They did not care that they burned extra fuel. The aggravating part to me is that they force the other truck to lose momentum. Regaining momentum costs fuel.

There is no reason to speed up to 65 mph a half mile before entering a 45 mph construction zone. It takes fuel to reach 65. If you are going to be traveling at that speed for a few miles. It might be worth it. If you are only going to be traveling at that speed for half a mile, it isn't. Drivers pass my truck when I am going 63mph a lot. That's fine. When they duck in between me and the 61 mph truck that I am gaining on, that is irritating. Really, if you are going to pass that 63 mph truck, chances are that you're going to want to pass that 61 mph truck 100 yard ahead of it too. Think ahead!

Thinking ahead when you drive is always pertinent. My reactions are not what they were 30 years ago. My anticipation is better. Thinking ahead is easier on my equipment. It helps avoid hard braking. It keeps me from engaging with my collision mitigation system.

Once, I had to rescue an over gross trucker. He had scaled out at the scale house at about 80,400 pounds. Now, I might mention that this was a large driver with a large wife and a large child with him. I could also mention the fact that they had two adult Saint Bernard's with them. Ok, I will mention that. My main point is that the company had two potential fuel stops. One right before the scale and one right after the scale. The driver put 150 gallons on just before the scale. It was the Franksville WI scale and he was heading to Philadelphia.

Not that I would encourage ever being over weight. I would encourage it less before you cross the scale. Think ahead. I rarely fuel up. Many of my loads are over 45,000 pounds and I can carry 240 gallons of fuel. It is nice to have that kind of fuel capacity. You don't always have to use it. Carrying 1,000 pounds of extra fuel can make scaling some of my loads impossible. It makes scaling all of them easier.

Trucking is easier when you plan ahead. It is easier on you. It is easier on your truck. That means it is easier on your bottom line. A better bottom line make is easier at home. I don't have to tell you what that means.