For the Truckers -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

We All Call Home, Dierks Bentley

Remember, if you are an automobile driver in the Williston area:

• At an intersection, when stopping, stop well behind the white line/the intersection, to allow big rigs to make a left turn in front of you
• If you are the only car waiting, and there's a huge space between you and the next line of cars about a mile back, let that truck go first in making his left turn; if not, he/she will be waiting forever; it will cost you 15 seconds; it will save the trucker 5 minutes (which feels like an eternity when waiting)
• Fully loaded trucks cannot stop "on a dime"; in fact, I don't think they can stop in a country mile; use your rear view mirror; keep track of where the trucks are; use your signal lights; don't make sudden lane changes
• If enjoying a Sunday drive, get into the far right lane as soon as possible and let the truck pass you in those new passing lanes

There are other things one can do to help truckers -- some of them are frowned upon by the highway patrol so I won't post them --

If there's a mishap, it may not have been your fault, but that's small comfort when a truck meets a compact.

I was told yesterday that the vehicle count/day on the bypass west of Williston was 6,000 before the boom; the latest vehicle count was 26,000. And it's all trucks. I don't think it's the tourists. If it is, I don't know where they're staying in Williston.