Here’s Why You Need to Drive Safely Around Trucks

Any time you hit the road and are behind the wheel, you need to ensure that other road users are safe. You can’t be looking at your safety alone – you need to take up responsibility. Sadly, not everyone takes responsibility while on the road, so be careful. 

This should be the case, especially when you’re driving around trucks. It would be best if you took extra precautions when you are on the road with heavy trucks. More reasons why you need to drive carefully around trucks can be found below – they can help you avoid accidents. 

Drivers Aren’t Well-rested

Truck drivers drive for long hours and, in most cases, aren’t as well-rested as you. It isn’t their liking, though, to be tired on the road; their schedules are usually demanding. When they are tired, and they face stress, their judgment may be flawed. When you are around a truck driver who isn’t well-rested, you may be involved in a truck accident anytime. Most of the maneuvers they pull off can be pretty dangerous due to their tedious schedules. You need to give the trucks a wide berth and give them enough distance. 

They Have Large Blind Spots

With trucks, as opposed to the regular passenger cars, they have quite a lot of blind spots – and they are the ones that make it easy for them to cause accidents. When you are driving around the truck, you need to be careful due to these blind posts. 

When you drive at night, you need to dim your lights when you are close to the trucks to blind the drivers’ mirrors. If not you, you may cause an accident between the truck and another car. All cars need to be in the view of the car’s mirrors for them to be seen. 

If your included cars aren’t visible within the truck’s mirrors, they are in danger. The trucks don’t have rare view mirrors like the passenger cars, and hence all vehicles behind are usually in the blind spot. This also applies to vehicles that are on either side of the truck, in some cases. 

Trucks Don’t Maneuver Easy

With trucks, as opposed to passenger cars, aren’t light enough to maneuver. Neither are they easy to accelerate – and there’s no margin of error in case an incoming car comes up. There’s also a concept of the trucks being heavily loaded – more than the recommended weight. 

Tips to drive safely around trucks;

• Practice safe passing – one of the driving rules is only to overtake when it is safe to do so.
• Allow Time – with trucks, you need to allow time as trucks can’t accelerate quickly. You also need to ensure that you indicate for turns when you are around truck drivers

Before you make the turn, the signal needs to be made quite early;

• Watch out for turns – turns are some of the most difficult to get by when driving around trucks.
• Patiently drive – when you are driving around trucks, you need to exercise patience. Most truck drivers are under instructions to drive at a certain speed that may be low but needs to be adhered to.
• Stay focused – since truck drivers aren’t well-rested and can make mistakes, you need to stay focused. Focus is what will help you see if the driver is struggling in controlling the car.

Regardless of whether there are truck drivers or not, it would help if you were focused while on the road. When there are truck drivers, you need to be on high alert. 

• Wear a seat belt –the next thing you need to do, regardless of the road, you need to wear a belt. A belt can help prevent severe injuries when you are involved in an accident.
• Don’t drive tired – when you are sleepy or drowsy, you need to stay away from driving. Always rest well before you get behind the wheel of the car.
• Don’t drive under the influence – when you are going to be behind the wheel, you need to be sober. You should under no circumstance drink and drive. If you drink, you need to have a designated driver or get a cab after.

It’s not all about drinking; you should avoid driving when you are under any influence. This includes hospital medication, too – others can make it hard to control heavy machinery. 

When driving on the road with many trucks, you need to be careful how you go. When you drive carefully, especially around trucks, you can avoid accidents. These are some of the reasons you need to drive around trucks carefully and how you can drive carefully around the trucks. 

Read Also: How Are Truck Accidents Different Than Other Cases? Find Out Here