Some people are obviously negligent at the wheel, as they engage in clearly unsafe behaviors like drunk driving. Other people may consider themselves relatively safe drivers and never realize that their behavior at the wheel increases their risk of certain kinds of collisions.
For example, there is a safety tip related to sharing the roads with semi-trucks or 18-wheelers that people tend to forget after a few years of commuting daily. The important safety tip below can help people avoid potentially deadly collisions involving a semi-truck. Being proactive is key.
Bigger trucks need more space on the road
A big vehicle doesn’t just take up more space. It also has bigger blind spots and requires more stopping distance. In fact, commercial trucks need more space just to turn or merge in most cases. The most common mistake that the average driver makes that puts them at risk of a commercial vehicle crash involves getting too close to a semi-truck.
These vehicles have large blind spots on all sides of the trailer, including roughly two lanes to the right of the commercial truck. Drivers should do their best to stay out of those blind spots, even if it means slowing down or taking a different route.
Drivers who encounter a commercial truck in traffic also need to be careful if they intend to turn or merge in front of that commercial truck. Big commercial vehicles take much longer to slow down and therefore require roughly twice as much distance between the front of the commercial truck and the rear of the vehicle merging for the safety of everyone involved.
Semi-truck claims are often more complicated
From the slightly different traffic rules that determine fault after commercial vehicle collisions to the higher levels of insurance coverage possible, there are many factors that make commercial collisions more complicated and stressful than passenger vehicle crashes. People often struggle to handle the fallout of such crashes alone.
Avoiding a crash with a semi-truck is ideal, but pursuing a claim after a crash may be necessary for those who have been affected by the poor traffic choices of others that were out of an injury victim’s control.