Killed By Kindness? Don't Make This Dangerous RV Mistake When Driving

You could wreck your RV and lose your life.

Is there anything worse than that slow truck or RVer that won’t stop and let you over?

They clearly can’t keep up with traffic, and a long line is piling behind them. Why don’t they get off the road and let you go by? What kind of pr!cks must be behind that wheel—secretly enjoying that everyone is going 20 MPH below the speed limit with them! 🤬

We all know these drivers and have encountered them at least once in your lifetime. The memory of that frustration can cause us to do anything possible to avoid being that annoying, unforgivable person holding up traffic.

But be careful of what you do to be courteous to other drivers as an RVer.

Take it from me. It can get you killed.

Skidding on gravel in Joshua Tree Park.

I learned this lesson the hard way just five months into my RV journey. For further context, consider the following:

• I got my first driver’s license in August 2018.

• I drove a tiny city car until trading it in for my FJ Cruiser in July 2020.

• I bought the RV in August 2020 and left Atlanta in September 2020.

• I knew nothing about RVs until purchasing my own.

• This incident happened in early January 2021.

On the way to Joshua Tree, I drove through the park’s winding, narrow roads with low speed limits. As I checked my side mirror, I noticed traffic piling up behind me.

“No problem!” I thought. “I’ll just use the next pullover.”

When the next one came up, I indicated, slowed and pulled into the spot. The problem? It was gravel. Instead of stopping, the FJ Cruiser and the RV started to skid. Luckily, my FJ and RV are extremely well paired and held straight. Not panicking was also quite effective.

Imagine if this was a pullover on a mountain road. And let me tell you, I have seen many a cross on mountain pullovers, and I no longer wonder why.

It took one more near-miss to properly learn my lesson.

After that skid in the gravel, I no longer used pullovers unless they were long enough to accommodate my RV’s stopping distance. I also grew wary of the ones made of gravel, which are fairly common in the desert areas where I spent most of my time.

However, there was one courtesy I still followed that almost got me killed on a Salt Lake City highway.

Here’s what happened.

There was construction on the highway and the right lane was ending. The trucks and I decided to be courteous and let the cars fly past us before moving over. The problem? These cars did not move ahead. They stayed in the lane next to us.

Why? I have no idea. Welcome to Utah! They drive like maniacs. Only Arizonans are worse.

I was at the front of the line and that concrete block was coming toward me pretty fast. My left indicator lights clearly weren’t enough, so I started honking and did that slow-merge technique that you can usually get away with when you have the bigger vehicle.

I promise: I only use it for good.

The lady who had blocked me from merging for a mile and a half flashed me the middle finger and finally moved. I swung over just in time—as did the trucks behind me who also narrowly missed that concrete block.

That was the last time I stayed in the right lane to be courteous to other drivers.

This experience also cemented an important strategy RVers use, especially when towing. Every RVer has a plan for picking a lane, especially on the highway.

Next week, I’ll tell paid subscribers my lane-picking strategies to stay safe as a solo female RVer. All while towing a 22-foot rig across the US and Mexico for four years.

Stay tuned!