EXPERIENCED BASED TIPS FROM A
PROFESSIONAL DRIVER
SAFETY IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL
DRIVERS. PLEASE, LET'S WORK
WITH EACH OTHER
USING TURN SIGNALS ALLOWS OTHER DRIVERS TO BETTER ANTICIPATE YOUR MOVES AND NEEDS, AND TO WORK WITH YOU MAKING THE TRIP SAFER FOR ALL. PROPER USAGE MEANS TURNING THEM ON IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOU REALIZE YOUR NEED, AND ALLOWING THEM TO BLINK MORE THAN 3-5 TIMES BEFORE MAKING THE MOVE. THIS ALLOWS OTHER DRIVERS TO SEE AND MAKE YOU ROOM. TURN SIGNALS SHOULD BE USED FOR ALL LANE CHANGES, CORNERS, AND RAMPS.
MOST TRUCKS HAVE A MONSTEROUS BLIND SPOT DIRECTLY BEHIND THEM, MEANING THE DRIVER CAN'T SEE YOU THERE. GETTING TOO CLOSE TO A VEHICLE ALSO BLINDS YOU TO WHAT IS IN FRONT, MAKING YOU TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON THE DRIVER IN FRONT AND YOUR QUICK REFLEXES. IN THE EVENT OF A SUDDEN STOP, THE CHANCE OF A REAR END COLLISION IS VERY HIGH. THE DIFFERENCE IN HEIGHT IN CAR/TRUCK COLLISIONS MEANS THAT A CAR WILL OFTEN CRUSH ITSELF UNDER THE REAR BUMPER OF THE TRUCK. PLEASE, STAY AT LEAST 4 CAR LENGTHS BEHIND TRUCKS TO MAKE SURE THE DRIVER CAN SEE YOU IN HIS/HER MIRRORS AND THAT YOU HAVE ENOUGH SPACE TO STOP IF NEEDED. PASSING IS MORE DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS WHEN TAILGATING, AS YOU ARE NOW TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON ACCELERATION INSTEAD OF ALREADY BEING FASTER THAN THAT WHICH YOU WISH TO PASS.
AT NIGHT, IF YOUR HEADLAMPS ARE SHINING ON THE BUMPER OF THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF YOU, YOU ARE TOO CLOSE.
IN MOST STATES, A TRUCK CAN WEIGH UP TO 80,000 LBS LEGALLY, (MORE IN OTHER STATES) AND CAN TAKE OVER 3 TIMES LONGER TO STOP FROM THE SAME SPEED AS A SMALLER CAR (BASIC PHYSICS). STILL, PEOPLE OFTEN JUMP IN FRONT OF A TRUCK FAR TOO CLOSE, RISKING THEIR LIVES. WHEN PASSING A TRUCK ON THE HIGHWAY, PLEASE DO NOT COME BACK OVER UNTIL YOU CAN SEE BOTH OF THE TRUCKS HEADLAMPS IN A PROPERLY ADJUSTED REARVIEW MIRROR. DO NOT JUMP IN FRONT OF A TRUCK JUST BEFORE TAKING AN EXIT RAMP, DO NOT PULL OFF A SIDE STREET OR THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD IN FRONT OF A TRUCK. THE TRUCK DRIVERS WILL THANK YOU.
PLEASE BE SURE YOUR LIGHTS ARE PROPERLY ADJUSTED TO BENEFIT YOU WITH BETTER VISION AND TO HELP OTHER DRIVERS BY NOT BLINDING THEM. LOW BEAM LIGHTS SHOULD POOL EVENLY, AND SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT ABOUT 100 FEET IN FRONT OF YOUR CAR. BE SURE TO USE YOUR LOW BEAM LIGHTS WHENEVER WITHIN HALF MILE BEHIND OR APPROACHING ANOTHER VEHICLE, A GOOD RULE IS THAT LOW BEAMS SHOULD BE USED WHEN YOU CAN SEE TWO SEPERATE LIGHTS.. MANY VEHICLES ALSO HAVE ROAD OR FOG LAMPS, WHICH ALSO NEED TO BE CHECKED AND ADJUSTED.
THE LARGEST BLIND SPOT ON MOST TRUCKS IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PASS ON UP THE RIGHT SIDE OF A TRUCK, IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. WHEN COMING OFF A RAMP, PLEASE ALLOW THE TRUCK TO GO FIRST, IN THAT YOU CAN SEE IT BETTER THAN THE DRIVER CAN SEE YOU. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE DRIVER WILL SEE YOU COMING ON HIS/HER RIGHT SIDE, MEANING YOU MAY HAVE TO DRIVE ON THE SHOULDER OR THE GRASS TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT. MOST TRUCK DRIVERS WILL MOVE OVER WHEN THEY CAN DO SO SAFELY TO LET YOU ENTER THE TRAFFIC, BUT THIS IS ONLY A COURTESY AND IT MAY NOT ALWAYS BE POSSIBLE.
IT HAS LONG BEEN A COURTESY AMOUNG TRUCK DRIVERS, AND MORE RECENTLY A LAW IN MANY STATES, TO MOVE OVER FOR VEHICLES ALONG THE SHOULDER. THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO GIVE A SAFETY CUSHION OF SPACE BETWEEN ANYONE THAT MAY BE OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE AND MOVING TRAFFIC. THIS IS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF EMERGENCY PERSONNEL AND THOSE WHO HAVE THE MISFORTUNE TO BREAK DOWN. PLEASE ALLOW THE TRUCKS TO MOVE LEFT AND PROVIDE THIS SPACE FOR SAFETY'S SAKE. IF YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT LANE AND CAN'T MOVE OVER, PLEASE SLOW DOWN AND SOUND YOUR HORN TO MAKE SURE FOLKS OUTSIDE SEE YOU COMING.