Jun 12, 2008

Cue the Fat Lady........

in three..........two............one.............



The Powers that be have spoken.



As of Saturday, June 14th, my slow truck will be turned in the mosey mobile..... Top Speed = 62.



In the previous weeks, I have recorded my fuel mileage for the sake of posterity. I have been logging anywhere from 6.4 (with heavy loads) to 7.9 (empty). Last week, I averaged 7.3 mpg. I will be shocked if the castration of my truck results in better fuel economy.



Shocked....



Tonight, I head out and my final run, as a remotely slow moving vehicle. Beginning Saturday, I will become the large metal object obstructing the right lane.



I will go ahead and offer my apologies now, as I will be unable to get out of my own way.



These folks are really making it easy for me to transfer.......hey, might as well acknowledge the bright side of this tragic situation.



So for the next few months, expect alot of snotty nose, swollen eyed posts complete with huge amounts of whining....



Interesting Facts (okay, maybe not interesting.....)



*Cruising Altitude (Top Speed of previous trucks driven by ME): 117 mph, 98 mph, 76 mph, 72 mph, 67 mph.



*Blue Light Specials (speeds at which an officer requested an introduction and gave me a Driving Award): 98 mph, 84 mph, 84 mph, 84 mph, 77 mph. Don't judge me!! Texas has a lot of open roads and Cow Haulers are a bad influence!



*Safe Driving Awards (actual tickets I have received for speeding): One! I actually got the ticket for doing 77, in Tennessee... Coasting down a hill in a 55 zone... The judge mercifully threw it out. So, I guess that really does not count. The others resulted in a warning. It seems Texas and Oklahoma have compassion on little bitty girls driving great big ol' trucks. :)



*No Fly Zones (states in which I can actually do the speed limit, now): California 55mph, Illinois 55mph, Michigan 60mph, Ohio 55 mph, and Oregon 55 mph. Out of the five states listed, I was last in California and Oregon over 7 years ago. Last trip through Illinois, um, maybe 3 years ago. Michigan and Ohio, I venture through about once a year. Boy, that is depressing! I am now a moving hazard in the remaining 43 contiguous states.

It is all over, but the crying..........*sniff, sniff*

4 comments:

Unknown said...

That bites! I'm picking up a used truck in Austin, TX next week and if it's not already turned down it will be by next weekend because I'm sure it's going to require alot of repairs so won't be able to avoid the company shop. Nothing like being in the way on the interstate and getting the one fingered wave.

It's not much consolation but it's looking like a lot of the companies are going to 62-65 mph. Even most of the o/o are doing 65 and below.

I'm the opposite on the tickets, warnings in TN, a ticket in TX (San Antonio when they had the 50 mph max on I35-got stopped and fined for 60). I think the only reason the TN trooper pulled me over was because I had a giant Harley sticker in the sleeper window and he wanted to talk bikes.

Terry said...

Gab, it is no consolation to me if everyone drove 62.... It will definitely take some getting used to.... ugh....

And I got out of a New Jersey DOT Inspection for the same reason... Bike Talk.... I love to baffle em with BS, and make them forget why they flagged me over..... ha ha ha.

Love Bears All Things said...

But will that truck climb those long hills at that speed when full if you can't get up faster speeds going down hill first?
Mama Bear

Unknown said...

Terry, I found your blog, great stuff, enough reading and links posted to keep me occupied while enjoying a fast Wi Fi at the J here in S. Beliot IL great to have met ya on here, lots of us are using twitter if you don't already use this, it is a great way to keep up with everyone and it is quick to update with, I am at http://www.twitter.com/truckertwotimes if ya get a chance to look at it TTYL, Jeff