Letters to the Editor

This could happen to you next.Ed

An Open Letter to Every Motorist in New Zealand

Dear Mr & Mrs New Zealand,
Did you know you nearly died today? As I approached the intersection, I saw you sitting there to my left at the stop sign. I did not have a stop sign, but I slowed none-the-less. I scanned and searched the intersection for anyone who might fail to stop and looked at you. You looked at me. You were completely stopped. It was a 80 kph speed zone and I had probably slowed to about 60 - 70 kph at this time. All was well, and I proceeded cautiously. I was very surprised when you decided to go ahead - to make your left turn - right in front of me! I don't know what possessed you to do this - I'm moving relatively slowly but I also have 40,000 kilograms behind me and now you've put your little 1000 kilogram car directly in my path.

 Oncoming cars prevent me from going right and to my left is a very steep, rocky ditch. I am on the brakes - hard - but can't put them to the floor. In an air-braked vehicle without ABS, putting the brake to the floor is a fast invitation to jack-knife. If the trailer were to swing into the oncoming traffic, there'd be nothing saved by the manoeuvre. For the lack of a better option, I'm staying on the brakes and I'm praying, praying so hard that I don't wipe you out, annihilate your family, run right over the top of your little car. Everything is moving in slow motion - I'm staring into the big beautiful eyes of your two little children in the back seat. They seem to notice that this very big truck is an inch off your bumper, yet you are busy talking to your passenger and don't seem to have the slightest idea of the fight I'm fighting for your life.

 I may have to choose between running you over and taking the steep ditch and it's a choice I've always known, since the day I got into one of these trucks, that I might have to make. I'm so angry that you've put me into this position. If I run you over, I will most likely live and you, your passenger and your two sweet, beautiful, innocent children will surely die. If I take the ditch, I will likely die.

 Why in the world would you give a total stranger such a choice?

 Thank heaven I don't have to make this decision. I have managed to slow this truck down enough to remove the danger and no one here is going to die today.
My heart is pumping a million miles an hour and you are driving off into the sunset, not a care in the world. You nearly died today and your passenger (your wife? Husband? I don't know) and your children would have gone with you. You can't tell me you didn't see me - you looked me right in the eye. Besides that fact, I am nearly 20 metres long and more than 2 metres wide! Did you not want to be stuck behind a truck? Were you in that much of a hurry? Were you just distracted? Do you have a secret death wish?
I don't wish to be harsh - or reprimanding. Scenarios like this play out every single day in New Zealand. There is a great lack of understanding - as well as pure selfishness on the roads today.
I am a truck driver and I take my job seriously. I consider myself a professional. I am not the one who tailgates you and I have no desire to try to intimidate you with the size of my vehicle. I am not immune to road rage, but have learned to shrug off the numerous incidents that occur every single day. The only thing that really makes me angry is when you deposit your life into my hands and assume I'll make the right choice.
You're probably lucky that it was me you pulled out in front of. If worse had come to worse, I likely would have taken the ditch to avoid taking you out. Is this what every single truck driver would do? Most of them probably would but is that a risk you're willing to take?
Trucks and cars CAN share the road … and speaking for myself, I'd much rather share the road than share an ambulance.
Some other quick ways to end your existence:

1. Pull out in front of a truck when the truck is moving at a significantly faster rate of speed.
2. Cut off a truck on the motorway and hit the brakes.
3. When the truck is making a left turn, and the driver first positions the truck to the right to make room for the turning trailer, get your car directly to the left so the trailer smashes it when in the middle of the turn.
4. When entering the motorway and coming off of the ramp, don't look until the last minute, and then, move over directly in front of the truck in the left lane.
5. In a traffic jam, such as in a construction zone when a lane is ending, try to "squeeze" yourself in front of the truck at the last minute.
6.  When exiting the motorway, even if the ramp is only a kilometre away, do not stay behind the truck - pass the truck and drive back in front of it at the very last second and slam on the brakes to make your exit ramp.
7. Just before the top of a big hill or mountain, pass the truck and get directly in front of it before it starts down the other side. The weight of the truck will push it down the hill and if you're going nice and slow directly in front of it, it will present the truck driver a problem.

I'm sorry to be so sarcastic and I don't want to make the relationship between cars & trucks worse than it already is. Ignorance and misunderstanding are the enemies here - not my truck, not your car. I'm watching out for you every single day out there on New Zealand’s roads…can you say the same?

A NZ Trucker

 (This letter arrived on my desk and was to good not to publish, but I do think I have seen it before, if you wrote it originally, well done, I hope you dont mind me reprinting it. Ed)

Superman versus Mahammad Ali