Question:
My son related the following to me last night. He does not have access to internet so I am posting for him.
Yeaterday evening on I-10 East of Tuscon at 65 mph, heavy rain, was passed by rig doing 75+. The draft blew him onto the right shoulder and he almost lost control. He saw the rig approaching on his left but was surprised by how far right it pushed him onto the shoulder.
How can you prepare for something like this. Said he was lucky it got his truck/trailer under control, scared the crap out of him.

Answer:
Slow down and if the shoulder has room, take some of it while in full control rather than being pushed there with less than 100% control.Hunt, Fish, Shoot

Answer:
Something wrong with this picture!
May be, he just panic, and, that's why he ended on a shoulder?
Not, that i'm saying 75, or even 65mph is safe in heavy rain, but it wouldn't blow, another truck of the road!
Answer:
I agree with Norush. It was more than likely the "surprise" than the draft.
I had trucking school more than eleven years ago; but I still remember that we are to check our mirrors just as often as we look forward. Constantly scanning from left mirror to road to right mirror (always know where your trailer is).
Your kid told you he saw the truck comming---I don't think he did. A 10 mph difference between 2 loaded trucks will not "blast" one of them off the road.
Just my opinion.It's apparent this place is never going to change....then again; why should it? It gets the clientel it deserves.
Bette Midler

Answer:
I agree with both Norush and Ice Man on this. Don't be afaid to use that break down lane if it's "CLEAR"...
In an avoidance emergency "Hit that Breakdown lane" (if it's clear) It will save your a$$. I had to do that about a month ago in VA. on I-95.. A 4 wheeler was doing something crazy, had everyone scambling I immediately hit that break down lane to give everyone else "ROOM"!!!!!!

Answer:
I would personally be concerned about a driver who gets so startled in a rainstorm that they almost lose control of their truck just because another vehicle is speeding. How would he react in an accident situation? Driving requires a cool head to prevent accidents, not getting surprised, scared, or startled to the point of losing control.
A few months ago, I saw an SUV lose control and cross in front of a tractor-trailer on an interstate. The truck driver could not avoid hitting the SUV, but after impact, he slowed his now-badly-damaged rig down and safely pulled it off the road and to a stop on the shoulder to wait for emergency personnel. Being involved in an accident like this is shocking, but think how many other lives would have been lost if the truck driver lost his head instead of handling the situation like a professional. This is what professional driving is all about these days.

Answer:
I drive (drove?) for Swift. I get passed all the time. I watch my mirrors, I know when I am going to be passed. If I am surprised, then I am not doing my job correctly. I pay attention to who is passing who behind me and how fast they are passing. I also know which trucks are going to need a hand getting around me, and which trucks are going past me so fast I have to hang on to the door!!!
…it’s not just about holding the steering wheel.
I worry about getting passed in the snow, because if the driver passing me doesn’t know what he is doing, then I will have a problem. But in the rain, just make sure the wipers are running; if the splash is too much and there is no one behind you, let of the fuel a bit so you get your space back. Otherwise, just keep on going.
-JHappy Dwellers Society
Company Driver Division

Answer:
If you need to hit the shoulder because some faster truck is passing you in the rain you should go home. The breakdown lane is just that, a break down lane. Stay out of it unless you absolutely have to. There's lots of debris there and in the rain you most likely wont see it.
I've never been pushed out of my lane by a faster truck no matter the speed. You have to be aware and in control. If your not it is your own reactions that will get you in trouble.

Answer:
i never been pushed out like that either in a big truck. but have had this happen in a 4 wheeler. i suppose it could happen more to a box more than a flat. the emergency lane is just that, an emergency lane. its made to be driven on in an emergency. if its good and you need it in an emergency, take it. thats what its there for, an emergency.
Answer:
I have 2 observations:
1) He needs to learn how to drive, and
2) He needs to stop having his dad try to solve his problems.
'nuff said.
Answer:
For a second I thought I might have been that truck...but I was standing on it east of Tucson on the 3rd not the 4th. Though I did leave Tucson about about 1730...hmmm ask him what kind of truck it was. Hopefully he doesn't say a black W9 with a spread axle reefer...
I passed alot of trucks that day in the rain but I never saw any "hit the shoulder".

Answer:
I have had this happen to me on I-10 coming back from Tucson. I run from Tempe to Tucson everyday. I am usually empty coming back from Tucson and I have a 40 ft. trailer. My truck is a Columbia day cab. I got my cdl in July 04 and had been driving maybe a month and was coming back from Tucson. My truck is governed at 76 mph and that is what i was doing when I was passed by an otr driver. He must have been doing at least 85 and I did see him coming. Next thing I knew I was stradling the break down lane. It scared the crap out of me because one minute I was in my lane then half of my truck was in the break down lane. I talked about it to my supervisor who has over 25 years of driving experience and he says it can happen.

Answer:
The only way, it could happened, it's driver reaction!
Otherwise, every truck, geting on the road, from an entrance ramp, would be blown of hi-way complitly, cause of the speed difference.
AND, YOU ARE TALKING 10MPH!!!
Answer:
Ok, doing a little math..........
at 76 mph, you were traveling 110 ft/sec(about 2 truck lengths/sec)
The fellow going 85 was traveling 114 ft/sec(barely faster than you) 4 more ft than you per sec. Just moving past you.
Now if you were going half your speed, that truck would have been moving twice the distance and would have looked a whole lot faster coming by.
I got to agree.....driver reaction. Two objects of similar design, traveling the same way, would not create a turbulence bad enough to "blow" you off the road.