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People Who've Actually Called A Truck's 'How Is My Driving?' Number Share Their Stories

People Who've Actually Called A Truck's 'How Is My Driving?' Number Share Their Stories
Photo by Brian Stalter on Unsplash

When was the last time you were driving down the highway and saw a truck with the words, "How is my driving?" stenciled on the side? Ever call? Probably not, right? Is there even someone on the other end of those things?

I used to think that was a joke––calling, that is––maybe something from the movies, but it turns out people do call. The results are pretty intriguing, as we found out after Redditor arabit_ asked the online community,

"People who have called the 'How is my driving?' number on the back of company trucks, what's your story?"

"I think being upfront..."

"I have a CDL myself, so I don't ever call lightly because I know I could be on the receiving end too.

The only time I've ever called one was a semi doing the same lane weaving we always watch cars do. The only reason I called was that this truck was doing it on I-95 at 70 miles an hour. I think being upfront with the company about being a driver myself helped because everything was super easy and cordial."

FlyJunior172

When companies realize they're talking to someone "in the know" things do tend to go a lot more smoothly!

"I was driving on the freeway..."

"I was driving on the freeway and a company truck was going in and out of lanes, cutting people off. We were doing 75 and he kept driving up, pulling in front of someone, and then braking. My baby was asleep in the back of the car so I started getting worried he was going to cause an accident and I was also just pissed off that he was such a crappy driver. His car didn't have a number to call, but it had the vehicle number. So I called the company and told them the vehicle number. I was transferred to the manager and they kept asking a lot of questions and were super nice about it so it made me feel better."

limpoo421

"I was behind a semi..."

"I was behind a semi around 2 am on I-26, they were swerving all over the 2 lane highway so it wasn't safe to pass. I called the number and about 5 minutes later he pulled off onto the shoulder."

fuzzymeister69

Ha, that was fast! That'll show him.

"This dude cut me off..."

"This dude cut me off and I watched from behind as he kept looking at his phone and swerving into the adjacent lanes, forcing one driver onto the shoulder. I called the number on the back and said, "Hey I just want to complain about your driver--he's cutting people off and swerving all over the place and not paying attention at all" to which there's a short pause and then a very timid, "Oh, sorry". I laugh a little and go, "Is that YOU?" and he goes, "Ya, I'll put my phone down, sorry."

Leopard1

I wish people would get off their phones and stop looking at screens while they're driving. It's honestly terrifying––an accident waiting to happen.

"This was years ago..."

"I did, but for a good reason! This was years ago before mobile phones were ubiquitous.

Some friends and I were driving down the interstate, heading to a girls' shopping weekend, and we had a flat tire. We pulled over safely, luckily, and attempted to change it. Unfortunately, none of us were strong enough to loosen the lug nuts, and no mobile phone meant no ability to call for help.

A semi-driver pulled over and changed it for us. He'd parked in front of us on the shoulder, and one of the girls wrote down his ID number and the 800 number. When we reached our hotel, we each called the number to let them know how great that driver was. I hope he received a bonus or at least recognition!"

LaLianneEcossaise

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"I called the number..."

"I called the number on a school bus. In fact, there was nothing at all wrong with the driving, but the bus had a pretty substantial leak. I called simply to tell someone about it before something died in the engine."

WhenDucksAttack

You are a good citizen! I'm sure the driver appreciated you very much that day.

"A friend of mine..."

"A friend of mine once called one. Turns out it was the driver himself, and he responded angrily claiming he wasn't driving that badly."

John_MartinII

The denial was certainly strong with that driver!

"It was a larger company..."

"HVAC company truck cut me off on a highway and then started weaving in and out of cars while going 20-30 over the limit. I didn't catch the license plate but I saw the company name. Yelled at Siri to get me the number and called.

It was a larger company in town (so they had more than just a couple of trucks) so the older sounding guy who answered the phone asked where this truck was when it happened. I told him where and he started cursing, saying he knows exactly who that is because he's the only one on that side of town today. He said he was the owner of the company and thanked me for calling and asked that I not think the driver represented their entire company and said he would handle it. He was really pissed off so I imagined it didn't go well for the guy. Never found out what happened."

TheRedWolf

"I thought it'd be funny..."

"I watched a semi really deftly maneuver down an on-ramp into heavy traffic. Did everything right. I thought it'd be funny to call the number to compliment them. The call-center woman was so confused. She took all the information on the truck (ID number, plate number, location) first and then asked what they did wrong. So, after all that build-up I surprised her by explaining they did a great job."

partyondude69

"I've called a few..."

"I've called a few for complaints, but one time there was a guy driving a truck in an especially good way - like, navigating heavy traffic like a champ, letting people merge, leaving space, just... Pretty exceptional. The lady on the other end definitely wasn't expecting a compliment, and it seemed to make her day to take a call where people weren't swearing at her because of someone else."

PM_ME_YOUR_RIPE_TOMATOES

Huh! Who'd have thought?

Well, what are you waiting for? Get behind the wheel, find yourself a semi and call that number! It's not like we're starved for content or anything.

Have some of your own stories from the highway? Feel free to tell us all about it in the comments section below!

Things People Secretly Love But Would Never Admit To In Public

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?;

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.

historical reenactors
Sigmund on Unsplash

We've probably all heard some variation of the saying "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Real life isn't just strange, it can also be downright ridiculous.

History is riddled with moments of absurdity.

So ridiculous that people have a hard time believing real life is, well, really real.

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