Robert Lake
Publisher
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Recently, big news that our nation’s Department of Homeland Security had lowered the terrorist threat warning code from high-alert orange to lower-alert yellow shared the same news page with a story about how it is now illegal to talk on your cell phone while driving in Washington, D.C.
Mandating caution is as tricky as outlawing reckless behavior, and every bit as confusing. Truckers do not need Washington to assign a color code for them to stay on high alert. Why? Because you are driving around some idiots – and I know of what I speak. Between my hometown of Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Birmingham, there’s an orange alert of another kind. Construction zones with their orange cones and double-the-fine penalties that bring out the worst in the worst drivers. I watch with utter amazement as cars cut off trucks, zipping in and out of lanes in orange-coned construction zones without the slightest awareness of truck stopping times or reaction ability. I’ve seen the grim look of concentration on truckers’ faces as they negotiate not only complicated construction zones but also the unpredictable actions of their fellow travelers.
If there were a terror alert code for truckers, the orange cones around a construction zone would be a symbolic color.
Here’s what professional drivers say they do around construction zones to stay safe, and keep those idiots in cars safe, too.
distance.
Trucking is a risky business and no matter what the Department of Homeland Security says, the best alert level to operate under is “high alert.” And double that if you are in a part of the country where car drivers can zip and chat on the phone at the same time – that is, most parts of the country.
There ought to be a law against stupidity. Until there is, be prepared for anything.
