With the holidays approaching, millions of drivers take to the highways on vacation. During the holiday rush, you should be careful around each semi-truck you encounter. This is of utmost importance for the safety of you and your family.
Highways stretch, wind, and crisscross the United States, and with them come a stream of cars, semi-trucks, and other vehicles. It’s common to cross paths with a semi-truck on any drive through a city or on a highway. This is especially true near industrial areas. Most semi-truck drivers are licensed and practice safe driving techniques. However, you should also take special precautions around a semi-truck. There are several things drivers sharing the road with such trucks can do to be safe.
Here are some tips on how to be safer while on the roads when driving your vehicle around a semi-truck:
Tip #1: Mirrors
Semi-trucks are gigantic. While their equipment is manufactured to match this immense size, that does not mean that they have better vantage points or more visibility of the road than any other driver. Their large side-view mirrors are crafted to eliminate blind spots as well as possible. However, they still don’t have full visibility of all sides of the truck. Whenever you’re driving next to a semi-truck, try to make sure you can see the truck’s mirror. If you can see them, there’s a good chance they can see you, and that will ensure that they don’t change lanes without knowing you are next to them. Along with this, if you are riding in the lane next to a semi-truck it is always better to try to pass them without breaking the speed limit than to remain next to them where they could possibly shift into your lane.
Tip #2: Space Around a Semi-Truck
Space is the best thing a fellow motorist can give a semi-truck driver. Tailgating a regular size vehicle is dangerous enough and has resulted in countless collisions, injuries, and deaths, but tailgating a semi-truck is even more dangerous and can much more easily result in a fatal accident. If the truck has to make a sudden stop or malfunctions in some way, a tailgating car can hit the back of the truck causing a potentially fatal crash. Always try to stay at least 30 feet behind a semi-truck when driving behind it, and increase that distance the faster you are traveling or if there are any adverse conditions such as inclement weather or if you are driving at night in low light.
Tip #3: Always Use Signals
Turn signals are an incredibly useful invention and the best and easiest way to communicate with fellow motorists on the road, but so many people tend to ignore them or don’t use them properly. Practicing correct turn signal usage is crucial to staying safe around semi-trucks.
When passing ahead of a semi-truck, check the lane next to you that you want to shift into. If the semi-truck is far back enough that you can safely switch into that lane without forcing the truck to brake at all, you can continue. If not, wait until you are farther ahead of the truck to complete your maneuver. After it is deemed to be safe is when you should turn on the appropriate turn signal. After indicating your turn for a few flashes of the signal, you can check again that the lane is still clear and cautiously but swiftly make your lane change. Once you have entered the lane, turn off your signal and continue on your way, safe and sound.
Were You in a Semi-Truck Accident?
Driving around semi-trucks can be intimidating and dangerous, especially at high speeds or on tight roadways. Practicing these semi-truck safety tips can make you a more defensive driver when around large vehicles and help prevent accidents.
No matter how many precautions you take, there is always a slight chance that something can go wrong and you or a loved one can be involved in a semi-truck accident. If you find yourself in such a situation, call Grabb and Durando Personal Injury Attorneys.