Here's What It's Like To (Poorly) Drive And Back Up An 18-Wheeler

If you like doing things in your life like eating food and owning objects, then chances are really, really good that you owe trucks a big thank you. Trucks very literally make our economy and modern lives possible, so we were happy to get a chance, thanks to our pals at Volvo Trucks, to really spend some quality truck-time with some quality trucks. Last time, we showed you how trucks were built; this time, we're going to drive them.

Modern trucks with automatic transmissions are vastly easier to drive than the double-clutching, 18-gear monsters that most of us picture when we think of trucking. Those manuals are still around (thank the Truck-God, Optimus Prime, long may he reign) but new systems like Volvo's I-Shift 'automated manual transmission' make driving a full-sized semi truck even possible for an untrained moron like myself.

Even with the transmission duties handled, driving a full-sized, fully-loaded truck is no picnic, unless your picnics involve wrangling a 70,000 pound box around moving traffic and tricky city obstacles.

The sheer scale of a truck makes driving one challenging, and even just my short stint behind the wheel gave me new respect for the men and women that ply our roads in these leviathans every single day.

I got to abuse a colossal dump truck and really push the limits of those air-suspended seats, as well as embarrassing myself by trying to back a trailer into a loading dock.

Driving a full-size big rig is something I've always wanted to do, and I'm glad I got the chance. Backing one into a dock is something I'm probably not going to miss, though.

Oh, and as a bonus, enjoy this strangely soothing video of human and robotic welders:

Why is that so hypnotic? Probably the sparks.