4 Tips for Safely Sharing the Road with Large Trucks

Large trucks are subject to certain restraints in their ability to maneuver, accelerate, and slow down. This can cause them to seem less like vehicles being driven by other motorists, and more like moving road hazards. However, driving around big trucks does not have to be a frightening or intimidating experience if you keep in mind a few simple tips and techniques for sharing the road with these vital transports.

Be Aware of Blind Spots

The view from the driver’s seat of a big rig is at once one with a commanding perspective, but also one with an alarming number of blind spots. Drive closely behind a semi-truck with its trailer attached, and you are likely to see warning messages letting you know that you are within the driver’s blind spot. To be safe around these big trucks, give them plenty of space. Do not follow too closely behind, as you will be obscured from view and the driver will not know to take you into consideration when making maneuvers.

Follow at a Safe Distance

Aside from staying out of a truck’s blind spot, another good reason to not follow too closely is the chance that the large, heavy tires of an 18-wheeler can very easily throw debris from the roadway into your vehicle, damaging the windshield and possibly obscuring your vision and raising the risk of an accident. Resist the urge to “draft” behind a big truck—taking advantage of the displaced air in the semi’s wake—to gain a little better mile per gallon average. Depending on its load, a large truck can come to a stop surprisingly quickly, and being too close may expose you to the risk of collision.

Be Aware of Wide Turns

Another warning sign regularly posted on large trucks is one letting other traffic know that the vehicle makes wide turns. In the United States, 18-wheelers must make wide right-hand turns. This means they start their turn to the right from as far left as they need in order to stay on the road and make the turn. This can leave a seemingly empty space to their right that can be tempting to drivers in a hurry, or a trap for drivers who are unaware. Do not crowd a truck waiting at a traffic light, and pay attention to a truck’s turn signals before passing a seemingly stopped truck on the right.

Safely Passing Large Trucks

When it comes to passing large trucks, the trick is to not hesitate and not linger alongside. On an interstate, do not leave the cruise control on while passing a big rig, as this can expose you to many minutes of cruising alongside, passing in and out of blind spots, and increasing the risk that the driver will forget you are there or be unable to see you and merge into you. A brief bit of acceleration will get you safely past, where you can begin to cruise again.

By exercising common sense and extending a little courtesy to those who drive the nation’s large trucks, it is easy to safely share the road with these important, though sometimes imposing, rigs.