Safe Driving Tips Around Tractor Trailers

As my regular readers know, I drive a tractor trailer for work. It is a good job that pays very well. However, the stress that comes with it is sometimes unbearable. It never ceases to amaze me, how a person driving a car would cross the double yellow lines and pass a tractor trailer about to make a left turn. Yet, it happens to me almost daily.

So, I am going to take a few minutes and reiterate some of the basic defensive driving skills everyone should have learned in Drivers Education way back when in high school.

Trucks are designed to carry products long distances; they are not designed to be as maneuverable as cars. Trucks have longer stopping and accelerating distances, a wider turning radius, and weigh more. On multi-lane highways tractor-trailers usually stay in the right lane to help the flow of local traffic to avoid congesting the flow of faster moving traffic. Staying in the right lane also increases the truck driver's options if he or she has to switch lanes in order to avoid a dangerous situation or an accident.

Do you know what the safe stopping distance of a fully loaded tractor-trailer is? At fifty-five miles per hour it is well over one and a half football fields on dry flat ground. A car can stop in about one hundred and fifty feet in the same conditions.

A red sign with eight sides means that you are supposed to stop and make sure it is clear before you drive through the intersection. A red sign in a triangular shape means to yield. Now, stop signs and yield signs are very simple to understand. This is to make sure you don't drive your car in front of another vehicle. Yet, daily, while I am driving an eighty thousand pound vehicle, people ignore these signs, dart in front of me as if I was not there, and then give me the single finger salute for blowing my air horn at them as I try not to hit them with my brakes locked up.

About those double yellow lines, they mean do not cross over them. It is very unsafe to pass a tractor trailer, or other vehicle, when those double yellow lines are on the road. Usually they are there for a reason. Just today, as I mentioned above it happened not once, but twice at the same spot I was in the middle of a left hand turn. Now, I should not have to tell you, but the eighty thousand pound truck is going to win in the event the car hits the truck.

Cutting off a truck in traffic or on the highway to reach an exit or turn is extremely dangerous. Cutting into the open space in front of a truck removes the truck driver's cushion of safety. Trying to beat a truck to a when a road goes from two lanes to one lane, or to a stop sign/light represents a particularly dangerous situation. Take a moment to slow down and fall in behind the truck; it will only take you a few extra seconds. Remember a tractor-trailer needs a lot more room to come to a safe stop than a car.

Don't linger alongside a truck when passing. Always pass a tractor-trailer completely and always on the left side. If you linger when passing the truck, your position makes it impossible for the trucker to take evasive action when there is an obstacle or accident ahead. When you pass a tractor-trailer on the right side, you are in a blind spot for most of the time. If the driver of the tractor-trailer has to merge to the right, he may not see you until it is too late.

Following too close or tailgating can easily cause rear-end accidents. When following behind a truck, if you cannot see the truck driver's rearview mirrors, there is no way the truck driver can see you. Tailgating a truck or a car is dangerous because you take away your own cushion of safety if the vehicle in front of you stops short. In addition, if the vehicle you are following hits something in the road you will have no time to react before it hits the front of your car.

Never underestimate the size and speed of an approaching tractor-trailer. Because of its large size, a tractor-trailer often appears to be traveling at a slower speed than it is. A substantial number of car-truck collisions take place at intersections because the driver of the car does not realize how close the truck is or how quickly it is approaching. If you even think it is going to be close, do yourself a favor and stop and wait until it is clear.

There are some things you can do to make it easier for a driver of a tractor-trailer to see you or know your intentions. First, if visibility is reduced, night, rain, snow, fog and the like, turn on your headlights. Did you know that in most states it is illegal to drive with your lights off and your windshield wipers on?

Use your turn signals to indicate your intentions. Even if you are making a lane change or are in a turn only lane, it clearly indicates that you are going to move your vehicle in the direction of the signal. It removes the guess work of the tractor-trailer driver.

When changing lanes, only move over one lane at a time. It is as simple as this: signal, merge when clear, and settle in lane, cancel signal, and repeat until you are in the lane you need. Multiple lane changes at one time are dangerous. Why? Because most inner-city interstates are many lanes wide and no one knows where you are going. Additionally, people you cut off have to hit there brakes, causing a chain reaction that can involve several cars being involved in an accident.

Talking on cell phones is a distraction to you. When a person talks on a cell phone while driving, they pay more attention to what the conversation is about, and not enough on driving. Many accidents are caused by this kind of negligence. The driver on a cell phone just did not see the other vehicle, because he just was not looking.

Slow down when it is raining, snowing or foggy. I shouldn't have to mention this, but I see it every time the weather turns sour. Rain and snow cause slip and slid accidents (hydroplaning), where you are no longer able to steer the vehicle. Fog can be so thick that you will not see the vehicle in front of you until it is too late.

To summarize, know and obey traffic signs, slow down and give a little extra room. The truck driver is at work when his or her tractor-trailer is moving down the highway. The driver does not want to hurt someone or cause an accident, but sometimes, it cannot be avoided due to the careless driving habits of other people on the road.