With summer vacations just around the corner there is going to be an increase in traffic across the country. Len Dubois Trucking, of Winnipeg Manitoba, and our team of drivers wanted to share some safety tips that are essential for everyone to know; especially when traveling around semi trucks.
There are many people out there that aren’t aware of the blind spots around semi-truck. The vehicles are extremely large, generally 72 feet long, making it impossible for drivers to clearly see all of the areas around them. While professional truck drivers take a lot of care to help keep other motorists safe, it is your responsibility to stay out of their blind spots and give them the space they need to operate safely.
When driving around trucks there are 4 blind spots that you should avoid.
The Front Blind Spot
The front blind spot is created by the hood of the truck. Normally four wheelers don’t like to sit in front of a truck, or have a truck driving that close behind them, but what often happens is four wheelers sneak in this blind spot to change lanes. Don’t. You should never cut a truck off. If you’ve come from a truck’s blind spot the driver may not have enough time to react to your quick lane change.
The Side Blind Spots
The side blind spots are similar to those you have to deal with in your personal vehicle except they are much larger. When you are traveling beside a truck a good rule of thumb to remember is that if you can’t see the driver in the side mirror, the driver can’t see you. Staying in these side blind spots is a common occurrence that can cause accidents, or at the very least, scare the heck out of you when the truck starts moving into your lane because they have to do a lane change. They are not being reckless, in fact the reckless driver is you, the person sitting in that blind spot. When passing a truck either pass them, or don’t. Driving along side the trailer increases your risk of creating an accident.
The Rear Blind Spot
This blind spot should be pretty self explanatory, but many drivers have seen the aftermath of a four wheeler traveling too close to a semi-truck. Driving too closely behind a semi-truck presents two problems. One, the driver can’t see you and two, your view of the roadway ahead is greatly reduced. If the truck driver has to make an emergency stop, your ability to stop safely is greatly reduced.
Please share this article with your friends and family so that we can all do our part in keeping everyone on the roadways safe.
