It hasn’t happened today…yet! Most days it does though; somebody is in a hurry to get to their exit, turn, or just to get ahead of my husband’s truck. So, they pass him just in time to slow down.

You on the motorcycle who we flew past as you exited, were the extra 10 seconds worth your life? Had my husband not seen you cut him off, you would be dead.

Mom in the minivan loaded with kids, did you think about it before you sped down the freeway, sitting at the side of a semi today. What if a tire blew out and smashed into you? Whose kid would die or would you leave your babies motherless? Was the extra two miles an hour worth a life?

What about you, Rodeo Cowboy? Is the 60 seconds you gained by turning in front of us worth the life of your horses; I counted two saddled horses in your trailer as my husband shut his engine down with brakes and shifted to slow a semi loaded with 80,000 pounds. You and your horses would have been mangled, my husband and I would have been injured, and who knows who else would have died when the propane truck crashed into us. All for 60 seconds.

Most of the time I’m sure none of you
actually have a death wish. But if you pull out in front of a semi truck, whether it’s loaded or not, you are taking your own life plus others in your hands. You see, the engine in a semi can weigh more than your entire vehicle.

Before you pulled out did you consider things like if the brakes had been maintained, if the driver was experienced or just out of a school and nervous, what kind of load the truck had on, or if there people driving behind the semi who would wreck if the driver had to slam on his brakes to avoid killing you?

My husband doesn’t want to hurt or kill anyone on the road, nor do 99.9% of semi truck drivers. However, it goes without saying, they drive bigger and heavier vehicles than you.

And me? Well, I just don’t want to lose my husband or for him to have to live with the regret of killing you or yours, all because you thought you could get there faster than he could.

Sincerely, a trucker’s wife