EZ Server

Some players ask what I do IRL, or want to know why I'm always so busy and afk. I drive big trucks about 14 hrs a night, 6 nights a week currently.

Here is a video I made several years ago. I know the music won't appeal to everyone.

The video is basically in two parts. First half is just a long drive throughout the Southwest of the USA, then the 2nd half of the video is shorter clips of a variety of stuff all over the country.

http://vimeo.com/14513591 (http://vimeo.com/14513591)

Enjoy!

Hunter

The music was pretty cool. Really like techno. Btw people, he wasn't looking at his instrument panel, he was nodding off.

You got me!

Good work avoiding the Tumbleweed.

I think only a professional like Hunter has logged more hours on the road then me.
While I love crossing the country by car and seeing everything I have no idea how you could manage it as a profession.
I salute you on this one sir.

Ya saw that tumble weed? Yeah, was a scary storm going on. Video was played in slow motion, and you can see the truck rocking left and right from the wind.

I just reached my first one million miles this year by the way. I average about 10,000 miles per month.

Nice to see a parrot to keep your company!

Funny you said that Hunter I drive for US Xpress, been out here just about 8months now and loving it. Hate it when i get stuck in an area where my cell does not get 3G cause playing is harsh then. Just reached 100k miles this week so i average around 8k-12k miles a month. Do you run all 48 or just SW?

I was from NY, and I was driving all 48 states, but now I'm living in Indiana and work out of a Walmart DC delivering to all the Walmart/Sams stores in MI, and northern IN and OH. I love getting home every day now.

Yeah, I hate getting stuck without a cell signal.

I think i saw the same bug splatter stuck on the windshield the entire video. And it obviously wasn't all filmed on one trip lol.

I've got a lot of respect for what you do. I commute on I-80 through Western PA 5 days a week and see what you guys have to put up with on a daily basis with regard to automobiles, bad weather and people who dont have a damn clue as to how hard it is to stop a loaded big rig.

I've also experienced first hand how important it is to maintain these trucks. In 2007 while I was laid off and between jobs I worked part time at a parts counter for a major truck stop. I learned a lot about these machines!

75 is the highest posted speed limit I have ever seen and you are doing 10  :D

Welcome to climbing any large hill or mnt with 30K+ lbs behind you trying to make you go the other way. slowest i have gone up a hill side is 15 that was with 47500lbs(max i can carry). talk about adding time to your day. and I HATE i-80 with the every 50miles shut a lane down took me 6hrs to get thro that the other day.......talk about ruining someones day.

      LoL crazy frog FTW!  :P

I hate driving enough as is. Couldn't stand to be a truck driver. How do you do it man. lol

Hunter, I don't know many truck drivers so I'm going to take this opportunity to ask you a question.  When I was a kid, my dad taught me what I would call 'advanced driving,' specifically in regard to cross-country/ highway driving.  There were a whole bunch of different things, but a lot of it revolved around courtesy to truck drivers.

A partial summary of the rules would be: Don't make a truck slow down if you can avoid it.  Don't make a truck change lanes if you can avoid it. Don't sit in the lane next to a truck.  Trucks go faster downhill than uphill (i.e. if you just passed a truck going uphill be aware that he may well pass you going down the next hill and give him the right lane to do that if you can).

There's a lot of situational variations to that, and obviously you don't want to create a hazard or screw up everyone else's day, but the gist of it was to be conscious of trucks when you're driving.

I have taught all 4 of my sons these rules, but recently I took a trip out west with my youngest, and had the opportunity to give him a little on the job training in that regard.  It was a real eye opener for him, but also for me.  I had long since come to the conclusion that this kind of driving was largely a thing of the past, but I noticed that the farther west we got,  the more courteous drivers seemed to become in this regard. 

So, my question is - do you see many drivers who practice courtesy towards truck drivers any more?  Do you notice a significant difference in various areas of the country?

I can tell you I live on the East Coast, in the D.C. area to be specific, and drivers here are the biggest asshats you will ever see. 

People don't let people over or merge. If you put on a turn signal they will basically shoot forward to close the gap. This has led to people being jackasses and just shooting in to tight spaces abruptly. Often times you will see the half a flash of a turn signal go off as someone has already put the front half of their car into the lane. They do these things to trucks too, which is just plain stupid.

Also people in this area can't drive for crap in adverse weather conditions.

Actually I live near Atlanta where drivers are just bad in an ordinary way.  I did have to drive up to D.C. last year though, with another of my sons, and I agree that they have to be among the worst drivers in the world (seems to spill out well into Virginia for that matter). 

We got there on a Saturday and as we headed into town we ran into an accordion traffic jam at every single exit - created simply because no one would let anyone else merge onto the highway and would actually appear to go out of their way to make sure they couldn't.  I can't imagine what it's like during the week. 

As we were leaving, driving south through Virginia, I was amazed at how agressively annoying many drivers were - often for no apparent purpose.  My son was driving at one point, and finally figured out that when you had someone riding your blind spot in the left lane, boxing you in (which happened over and over again - and the highway wasn't that crowded), that the best thing to do was put on your left turn signal.  Then they would speed up and get around you, in fear that you might actually pull out in front of them. 

lol you sure you guys dont live in Florida.   Imagine what you have in DC / ATL but with old people!!

Generally all those rules are good, especially don't drive next to the truck for an extended period. I hate it when people do that, cause I have to watch my mirrors more cause they are there. I've been known to pretend to fall asleep by drifting within my lane to encourage them to move on, and if they don't get the hint, I've even put on my directional/blinker. Of course, I've never gone into their lane, but my little bit of drifting wakes them up to move on.

Think of this, would you stop in front of a train? Trucks take a long time to stop too. Kinda suicide to get in front of them or cut them off.

I've driving in all 48 states, and been thru every major city in the country. For the most part, people have zero courtesy in and near big cities, and generally nicer out in the country. Just last week, on a 2lane small road, I even had a driver pull over to the shoulder cause he knew I wanted to pass and go faster, since he wanted to go 10 under the limit, so it was nice of him to let me by.

Generally speaking, yes, the south west have nicer drivers on the road.

Truckers put in (legally) 14 hour days now. Thats up to 11 hours on the road + 3 hours on duty, but not driving, for total of 14 hours. Many drivers are ex-military and probably a some are ex criminals. These tough breed of people are over tired from long hours. Sometimes towards the end of their day, they could care less about consequences if you upset them by doing retarded actions. Would you want to be on the receiving end when you finally upset the wrong person? Many times truckers will run away too when having an accident. Imagine getting put in the ditch, and the truck keeps driving. Even if the truck stops, good luck trying to sue a truck company that has a team of lawyers, and if the driver and/or company are from out of state, good luck collecting even if the court favors you. Just play nice and avoid having a bad day.

Personally, I care too much about my job security and I let all the little 4-wheelers win when they want to have their own way. I just back off and give everyone room, and let them go first, etc. Maybe I'm just too easy going, but a lot of drivers are not.

A few months ago one of my kids got stopped for speeding on an interstate north of here.  He told the cop, "I accelerated to get past that truck.  My dad taught me that if you're going to pass a truck, pass it quickly, get clear and then slow back down."

He told me the cop just kind of chuckled, put his book away and let him go.

I don't mind trucks at all, I generally stay out of their way.  Here in CA they are legally required to use the right lane only, and I'm usually as far away from that lane as I can get lol..  It's only when they clog up the left lane that they piss me off.

Or like this guy driving a dumptruck a few years ago, he's going literally 3 mph up a steep hill on a windy back road.  So when the passing lane opens up, which is on a downhill, not my fault that's where they put the legal passing zone..  I start to pass him and he acts like we're in a goddamn drag race.. finally at about 70 mph I pull back into the right lane, and had to tap the brakes... wasn't trying to brake-check him (I'm not stupid) but I mean I'm now doing about 25+ over the limit, f'ing asshat can just slow down and let people pass.

You know what's worse though, motorcycles.  Riding between lanes and passing illegally on blind curves, like they are in some kinda death-race.  WTF man, it's your ass if we hit, I'll be wiping scuff marks off my bumper while the paramedics are trying to stuff pieces of your brain back in your skull...

As a rider here is what I get from your MC rant....

"KIDS!  GET OFF MY LAWN!!!"

naw dude, motorcyclists who drive like that are just dumb.

lawn playing or not, you roll a pair of dice everytime you drive like a dumbass on a MC

I just hate generalizations. Whenever the subject of motorcycle makes an appearance it's always the irresponsible riders who get mentioned, never the responsible riders.

Imagine as a rider, everyone you run in to who does not ride says the same thing to you - "those things are dangerous" "you're going to get killed on that thing", Etc. Never once does a non rider consider it could be safe in addition to fun.

It's like when foreigners say "All Americans are fat”.

Really? All of them? Me too? Even though I’m 6’1” and 185 lbs.? I’m fat too? 

Lol, ok rant off, sorry to de-rail.

Well the bad of everything always makes the headlines. As numerous people will tell you, there are a million flights every day that takeouff and land fine, but if one of those crashes...

I too see plenty of idiots on motorcyles doing dumb things that could land them six feet under. But I think the real danger of riding a motorcyle is unattentive car drivers. I've had friends tell me stories of being pushed off the road by people changing lanes. I've seen cycles swerve out of the way because people weren't looking.

I kind of want a bike but I can't justify it with a 4 year and 2 month old. I can recall last year one of the first warm weather days had 3 seperate motorcycle fatalties in my area.

The only generalizations here that I'm doing is "Driving like a dumbass on a MC = more likely death"

If you dont drive stupid (no helmet, switching lanes fast, going in between cars, etc) then you aren't in the generalization. lol