Most of the complaints about Interstate 81 apparently come from drivers in cars. People who drive trucks seem to like Virginia's stretch of I-81.

And those truck drivers actually give a passing grade to their fellow motorists in cars.

Overdrive magazine, a publication for independent truck drivers, rated I-81 the fifth-best road in the United States, based on a survey of drivers' opinions in its December issue.

Virginia highways overall got fifth place in the survey, too.

"Apparently, they know how to build" roads, Tennessee truck driver Joseph Marshall said during a recent break at the Travel Centers of America truck stop beside Exit 150 at Troutville.

Virginia's car drivers avoided a mention in the magazine survey; they weren't listed among Overdrive's ratings of the best five states or worst five for four-wheelers, the trucking-industry term for other drivers.

Although motorists' complaints about trucks on I-81 turn up frequently among letters to the editor of newspapers, many people appear to have developed some share-the-road skills to avoid conflicts.

"They seem to know that trucks have to do things like hold back going downhill, and they're pretty courteous about it," Marshall said.

Perhaps to the consternation of Virginia motorists, drivers of the big rigs compare I-81 favorably with Tennessee, Florida and Texas -- all of which got high ratings for their roads.

People who think I-81 has problems haven't seen how bad roads can be in other states, said Linnie Gregory of Fleetmaster Express in Roanoke.

Big-rig drivers like I-81 because "these guys have driven so many other roads, and they are far worse than around here," Gregory said.

Louisiana, where swampy land undermines pavement, has the worst roads, and its Interstate 10 was the worst, truckers said in the Overdrive survey. Rough roads mean wear and tear for trucks, drivers said.

Motorists, perhaps taking smooth roads for granted, may tend to focus on other aspects of highway driving.

Ben Richardson of Roanoke said he'd like to see no-passing zones that would restrict trucks to the right lane in certain areas.

"You pull out to pass one, he sees a hill ahead and he doesn't want to give up his momentum, so he will race you to the top of the hill and when he starts down he's gone, 80 mph," Richardson said.

Bobby Crawford of Boones Mill, who complained in a letter to the editor of The Roanoke Times in June about the hazards from broken chunks of truck tires, said I-81 between Roanoke and Christiansburg is the worst piece of interstate highway he sees because it is congested.

"Maybe truckers rate I-81 in the top five, but I've been across the country on Interstate 70 and Interstate 40, and I rate 81 in the bottom five," Crawford said.

Truckers notice other characteristics of highways too, including both congestion and speed.

In some states, "the roads are not maintained or serviced, they are crowded, and there is no speed limit," Gregory said.

"Everybody around here does 5 or 10 mph over the limit, but in Jacksonville, Fla., everybody is 20 over the limit," Gregory said.

"The drivers are worse and nobody has respect for law and order," he added.

Marshall and Terry Campbell, a driver from Wildwood, Fla., who also was taking a break at the Troutville truck stop, backed up Gregory's comments about Florida -- which rated No. 1 for its roads' overall quality.

But the Sunshine State's four-wheelers were at the other end of the spectrum, No. 5 among the nation's worst, according to the Overdrive survey.

"The worst four-wheelers are in Florida," Marshall said. "There are so many young four-wheelers, and so many old ones who will brake or stop for the least little thing."

Virginia is different, in Marshall's opinion. "Virginia people are pretty smart about knowing when a truck needs to be in the left lane to deal with hills," Marshall said.

Campbell agreed, saying, "There are not too many cars ducking in and out" between trucks that follow close together on I-81. "You get more of that on flat roads like Interstate 95 than you do on I-81."

On the Net: www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=56766