Welcome to the fast-moving world of truck driving! Let's get right to our exciting first lesson!
When you're cruising down that double ribbon of concrete, loaded with freight and going flat out, you've got to go fast. And when you're driving hell-bent for leather, you can't slow down just because some slow truck is ahead of you. You've got to pass it.
``But hold on partner!'', you say, ``What's the best way to pass that slow truck?'' I was afraid you'd never ask.
You see, a slow truck is carrying a heavy load. It's weighted down with goods that keep this great country going. But all those goods make slow trucks go even slower uphill. That's why the best way to pass a slow truck is to wait until it starts to climb a hill.
Sure as you're born, you may not even realize that the truck ahead of you is a slow truck until it gets to the start of a hill. But then, by gosh, as it starts to climb that hill, it'll start to slow down. That's when you know: it's a slow truck! And that's when you know, it has to be passed. Remember, when the truck in front of you starts climbing the hill, pull out to pass!
Now sometimes, a slow truck isn't carrying much of a load at all. These trucks are dawdling on the way back from delivering the goods that keep this great country going. But as you go down a hill, well, you're not dawdling. No way, you're picking up speed, and that truck in front of you, why, it's just sitting there! That's why the second best way to pass a slow truck is to wait until you're both going downhill.
Sure as you're born, you may not even realize that the truck ahead of you is a slow truck until you're both going downhill. But then, by gosh, as you start to go downhill, you'll see that that other truck just isn't keeping up. That's when you know: it's a slow truck! And that's when you know, it has to be passed. Remember, when the truck in front of isn't picking up speed on a downhill, pull out to pass!
Now, there are places where you have to pass a slow truck and there aren't hills around. Normally, I really like roads that are real flat, like, for example, I-80 in Nebraska. What a great stretch of road that is! You never have to shift once! But there's one tiny little itsy-bitsy fly in that ointment. You guessed it: slow trucks.
Slow trucks are hard to spot in Nebraska. But let me tell you how to do it. You'll be tooling along at a good clip, and then, without your hardly even noticing it, this truck in front of you will get the slows. Pretty soon your front bumper is just a foot away from it's rear end. That's when you know that it's a slow truck. And that's when you know, it has to be passed. Remember, when you see a truck a foot in front of you, pull out to pass!
Now here's a word about safety. Safety is very important. So when you pull out to pass, please, for gosh sake, take a quick look in your mirrors. Okay? Just check that you won't hit a car that's right next to you in the passing lane.
Of course, there's always some fast-driving hot-shot racing up to pass you in some fancy sports car. Don't let that bother you much; they'll slow down! You certainly shouldn't have to slow down just for them.