Steering through the streets of my old haunt: Cambridge, Ontario.

Feel the Fear

I’m going to scare the hell out of you without even trying, if you’re up to the test. Hop into my cab and we’ll go for a ride around the city – any city. I want you to see how tricky and dangerous it can be driving a tractor-trailer through busy streets. By the end of this unique day, I’ll want your answer to this question about city truck driving: Is it thrilling or soul killing?

Pretend real hard that you’re sitting beside me in my Freightliner cab. I know most of you won’t know what that looks or feels like. So, imagine that you’re in a massive truck that’s loud and powerful. You’re sitting up high and have a superb view of all nearby vehicles. If you look down into any regular car driving beside you, you can stare at people on their phones. Yes, it’s illegal for drivers but they do it anyway. You’ll also have a bird’s eye view of passengers playing with their hair and slouched in their seats looking unabashedly bored. Sometimes they will look up at you with ostensible fear. In this case it’s probably your truck they’re scared of, not you.

My cab has a sleeper bunk in the back; it’s called a sleeper cab. The added length makes driving even harder. Plus, I have no rear windows. I rely entirely on my side mirrors to see what’s behind and beside me.

I’m pulling a 53-foot trailer. The tractor and trailer combination weighs between about 32,000 to 80,000 pounds, depending on how much freight I’m hauling. That number is important because it affects everything, namely how much time it takes me to come to a complete stop. If I’m heavy, it could take 5-8 seconds to stop. It may take longer than that to build speed again. I do a lot of stops and starts in the city, so you’ll need to use your patience. I use mine hourly.

One more thing: the cab and trailer are each just under 4.14 metres high. That’s 13 feet 6 inches. When we’re nearing a bridge, we’ll want to look for a sign that says the bridge has enough clearance. On the highway that isn’t usually a problem because most every highway bridge is truck-friendly. Not so in the city.

Are you scared yet? Continue reading →