Practice semi truck safety when driving

    When looking at driving safety in our state, it has to be looked at from every angle. This month, I want to talk about driving on the road with semi trucks. A semi with a trailer is approximately 70 feet long on average. Think of that as having a six-story building going down the highway. They are big, bulky and slow to stop, and they take up a lot of room when changing direction. Drivers making an error in judgment around semis or a semi driver making an error in judgment around cars can have serious to fatal consequences.
    All it takes is a little preplanning on both the semi driver and the drivers in other smaller vehicles to make sure a crash doesn’t happen. By this I mean have a plan for the unexpected. Don’t follow too closely, in case the other vehicle has to stop quickly and without notice. Know the stopping distance of your vehicle at highway speeds. For instance, a fully loaded semi truck with a gross vehicle weight of up to 80,000 pounds, going just 55 mph, has a stopping distance of 100 yards; that’s the length of a football field.
    Drivers in cars and trucks need to make sure to give semis plenty of space when merging in front of them, or you may have it sitting on top of your car. For the semi driver, make sure you are checking and continue to re-check your mirrors when making those lane changes. Smaller cars and trucks can easily hide in those blind spots.

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