What Speed to Exit a Highway for an Off-Ramp

Yes, signal before you start slowing down. Rolling a truck by taking a ramp too fast is the last thing you want to do... Try to be courteous but being safe is more important.

 

Aiming a big truck at a highway exit ramp... this is something that some people find terrifying. That's ok.

If you look at the small reflective markers on 4 foot posts approx 750 feet, 500 feet and 300 feet prior to a exit ramp you notice they gain a reflective circle to three circles on a post outside of the highway gaurd rail at the 300 foot mark. You should already be out of cruise, into your jake and working down your down shift tree while braking smoothly to set up the whole thing for ramp speed.

If it's 25 mph and you have a very low center gravity, slow it to 18 and be steady around. If you had a high center load like swinging beef hanging from your trailer roof, you slow that to 12. If you had a massive steel coil on a flatbed you slow it to 5.

Follow me?

Some ramps do not allow for a smooth transition such as along US 30 into Lancaster and are short very sharp and have little to no accel, decel lanes. If you fired up Google Earth, and looked at US 67 in Arkansas exit 19 at Cabot, you see a hill top southbound, just beyond the bridge is a ramp marked 30 for cars. with a half way decent decel lane. That ramp I had the big truck down to 20 before entering the curve from 70 300 feet back. The braking is more severe but steady and sustained.

Let her settle into the ramp and if all is well, everything will be in balance. If not? Your trailer will tip, pulling your cab over to the side. Or she will understeer and off the ramp you go. What a mess.

Don't let ramps scare you. In time you will get experience and understand what trucks can and cannot do versus ramps.

There is one set of ramps you should hope never to be using. Escape ramps. If you ever decide to use one, make #### sure your arms are outside the wheel and that you are leaning back in your drivers seat with the feet flat on the floor as she comes into it. Whatever happens at that point is a literal battle with physics, speed, momentum and weight versus whatever the escape ramp is made of.

If you are on a highway and have plans to use a ramp and are scared off by how small or tight it is, going too fast etc blow past it, turn around at the next set of ramps down the highway and work your way back to the first.

 

I did something like that once or twice when I was new. In the moment, I felt I was going fast for a ramp that was very sharp so I went on and turned around.

 

Very well put. Some ramps in places like Western PA, you have no choice but to slow down while still on the highway.

 

My two cents if it's an unfamiliar off ramp drop it down ten from posted speed and never roll into a exit at 65 for a couple of reasons one if it's a blind off ramp and traffic is stopped for some reason ur screwed two if ur a top heavy load and all of a sudden it turns quick u will end up tipping over, the other thing in winter during daylight you get snow melting which can run across off ramp and freeze before shakers drop some salt on it again no time to react . as far as traffic behind you signal your getting of and gradually slow down your main concern is getting on and off in a safe manner if there in a hurry behind you to bad for them think of it as your doing them a favor we've all seen trucks on there side on off ramps and cars skidding off road cause they we're going to fast and not paying attention. don't be that guy.

 

I'll agree with the above. Here there's a clover leaf interchange where I-80 meets hwy 61. The ramps are posted 25mph curves. I try to get my speed down early but not to much. All depends on traffic really. Plan early and expect that 4 wheelers don't know how to merge. More than a few occasions someone gets a wild idea like I'm going to blow by them and go 55 into a sharp curve fully loaded with a short entrance/exit ramp.

I'll tell you the same thing I got told. When trying to merge from short on-ramps. Ride the white line all the way out and signal early. Gives time for traffic to let you blend in. I know not always do we get the luxury and courtesy so plan for that to. lol

 

When I was in school a trainer said something that still sticks with me and I still do it on the road(one of the few things I didn't immediately discard)... I would always slow down way too early and downshift quickly to get myself ready in case I had trouble downshifting and came in too fast to make my turn...

He would say: "at least use your turn signal so people know why you're driving so #### slow"

And I still do that. Oddly enough though, they would ##### if we would hit the brakes BEFORE we were already in the offramp. Well, I slow down well in advance of the offramp now that I'm fully loaded. 1/4 mile out, I'm braking and downshifting, going through my gears. If all else fails and I can't make the turn or I'm missing gears, I'll bypass or if nobody is behind me trying to take the ramp, I'll stop.

Whatever you do, be safe about it. You don't have to be going fast to roll one of these trucks. If you roll one, you don't have to be going fast for it to kill you.

 

Hitting that ramp on 30 in Lancaster at least 3 times a week for the last 2 months. Do not like.

 

You remember the west/southbound shoulder? To 30 West? Where you sink the inside tires into the bank to gain a angle to balance your extra speed? Or did PADOT widen that ramp yet? It's been freaking 40 years since I used that one. I got 30 stamped both on my brain and ###... from all those bad plates in three states...

Anyhow.

Being newbie is the most dangerous time IMHO. I can sit here and write and write. But ultimately it's on you. People point and laugh when big trucks fail on the ramp coming or going in the next days paper. Remember that cab is no protection in a roll over on a ramp, that gaurdrail or jersey barrier will do it's best to rip your head and shoulders from your remains that continue to spray the cab red with gallons of blood from inside you until your heart arrests.