I have recently passed my class 1 and am working my notice period with my current employer with a view to a future driving trucks. Dreaming of a new life that will allow me to escape the confined space in which I now work with other people but a life spent in my own company in a cab out on the open road, I set off for a walk to a bridge on the nearby A1 to observe the trucks passing beneath me. (There was nothing worth viewing on TV!!) It soon became apparent that the drivers, with a few exceptions, would either flash their lights, blast the horn, wave or any combination of those three as they approached and I found myself gleefully but awkwardly waving back feeling like a 10 year old!
Did those drivers think that I was about to jump or is it a truckers’ tradition to acknowledge those standing above them on a bridge?
Maybe they thought you were a spotter,maybe they liked the look of you,maybe they wanted some ■■■■ time with the man on the bridge,maybe they were just bored…the lists endless
xichrisxi:
Maybe they thought you were a spotter,maybe they liked the look of you,maybe they wanted some ■■■■ time with the man on the bridge,maybe they were just bored…the lists endless
I saw a young boy with his dad on bikes, overlooking the motorway from a bridge. The boy waved at me, so I tooted my horn back. He looked back at his dad with a big smile all over his face, which kind of made my day too
My only regret is that it was a MAN horn which is a bit girly. I would have preferred the more manly truck horn in a Mercedes or Volvo, but hey ho, it got the job done I suppose…
[EDIT] Incidentally, whatever happened to the chain pull type of horn mounted above the driver’s side window somewhere ? Isn’t that the proper way to do it? Not one of those apologetic little buttons in the end of the indicator stalk…
Some drivers do it if they see them.Ive got air horns on the roof so when i see a spotter or kids waving they get a very loud blast some of them do jump but not off the bridge.
i was coming down middle lane a while ago watching 2 old pensioner couples enjoying the ambience of a simmer evening and generally looking around.1 guy had a big mega set of binoculars on and was looking all over the place…with perfect timing he stopped looking at trees and stuff and turned to point them towards me with the bins still on his face …coincidentally that was the exact moment he got both barrels of airhorn in a continuous blast for the last cpl hundred yards before and during i went under the bridge…the other 3 jumped a tad with the blast…binocular man cleared 8 feet backwards in 1 leap for the 2 seconds i could still see him before i went under the bridge…possibly he died.if he didnt,he certainly killed his undies.
dieseldog999:
i was coming down middle lane a while ago watching 2 old pensioner couples enjoying the ambience of a simmer evening and generally looking around.1 guy had a big mega set of binoculars on and was looking all over the place…with perfect timing he stopped looking at trees and stuff and turned to point them towards me with the bins still on his face …coincidentally that was the exact moment he got both barrels of airhorn in a continuous blast for the last cpl hundred yards before and during i went under the bridge…the other 3 jumped a tad with the blast…binocular man cleared 8 feet backwards in 1 leap for the 2 seconds i could still see him before i went under the bridge…possibly he died.if he didnt,he certainly killed his undies.
if i see kids or youths waving on a bridge,i always wave back/give them a toot…i think if you acknowledge them they are less likely to be hurling bricks etc at lorries when they are older.
