While a crash with any vehicle could be catastrophic, the odds rise when the other vehicle is a truck. Why? Because they are huge. The average motor vehicle is simply much smaller, so it’s much more likely that the occupants of one that collides with a truck will be seriously injured.
That makes it important to make sure you understand highway safety when it comes to driving around semis and other large trucks.
Isn’t it the truck driver’s job to take extra care around me?
Truckers need to be extra careful due to the size of the vehicle they are in charge of, and most of them are. Yet, the vehicle itself imposes certain limitations that make driving harder than driving a car. So, as the person who will come off worse in a collision, it is wise to find out more about the unique characteristics of trucks. They have:
- Big blind spots: If you sit too close to a truck, the driver cannot see you. They have massive blind spots to the front, rear and sides, far more than cars.
- Large turning circles: While you are unlikely to meet a truck doing a 360 in the middle of the road, you need to take care when a truck indicates to turn off. It may need to pull out in the other direction first to make the turn.
- Slow brakes: If you force the driver to brake suddenly, they may well hit you from behind. Trucks take a lot of stopping at the best of times, and they need even more time on downhills.
- Vulnerabilities to the wind: Long, high trailer sides make it easier for the wind to tip trucks.
If you are injured in a truck crash, finding out why it happened will be crucial to getting adequate compensation. Truck drivers know the limitation of their vehicles and need to take steps to compensate.