Is Your Mind as Big as Your Truck?

We have all seen it, maybe some of you have even done it, used your size to bud in line or make yourself known. You may even know someone that is short in stature but is constantly trying to make themselves seem bigger. Usually this comes from a person being small on the outside, but feeling large inside so they are constantly trying to show people how big they are and how they can keep up with others. This can sometimes cause aggressive behaviour from the individual and is known as the Napoleon Syndrome. That’s for people, but what about equipment?

Many will use the size of their vehicles to intimidate others on the roadway. This happened to me just this past weekend when I was on the highway and we were all being directed down to a single lane of traffic due to construction. I had come into the traffic and we were all doing our thing going slowly through the construction when this big black pick up truck came up the lane on the side and almost drove into my car, he didn’t even leave enough room to fit his whole truck into the spot. If I hadn’t swerved onto the shoulder (I am glad there was one to go onto) there would have been incident on the highway. After my honking at this clown showed him my opposition to his driving technique we were able to move on. Now I have not seen good professional drivers drive like that, we are already intimidating to the public due to the size of our vehicles. Good drivers know we can be left liable for using our vehicles to push our way through traffic and usually do the opposite by hanging back in traffic and focusing on driving safely. Every so often however, you will find someone who believes that larger vehicles have the right of way whether you agree with them or not. I am not saying I have never squeezed my way into a line up in traffic, I think we all have at some point, but I certainly didn’t do it putting the other vehicle or myself in the position to have an incident. People get lost, people don’t realize a lane is ending, and yes some people just are trying to get to the front of the line, I get it! Bulldozing your car into other’s vehicles, or using the size of your vehicle to intimidate others is not only wrong for you, but a message that hurts the industry as a whole. We are all in a hurry but causing an incident in a single lane of traffic in the middle of a construction zone is just a way to show people your courtesy level needs a little check the next time you get in your vehicle.

About the Author
Bruce Outridge is a transportation consultant with 30 years of experience. He is the author of the books Driven to Drive, and Running by The Mile. Learn more about Bruce on his website at www.outridgeenterprises.ca