Trucks! You can’t live with ‘em and you can’t live without ‘em.
Actually, we really could live without trucks but it would not be as luxurious a life as most of us have now. Trucks bring us everything—clothing, fuel, household goods, houses, cars, lawn mowers, potting soil, food, shotgun shells—well, literally everything comes to a store near you by truck. So, it’s time we stop cursing trucks and learn to live with them.
Since I began driving, I have a whole new appreciation for truckers. With the exception of a few jerks along the way, truck drivers are a considerate lot and would never do anything that jeopardizes the safety of fellow drivers. Everything truck drivers do has a practical purpose beyond just trying to tee you off.
To help us all get along better with the 18-wheel behemoths that prowl our highways day and night, from time to time I will offer some tips for sharing the road peacefully and safely. I welcome your own tips or any question you might have about truck, truck drivers or truck driving practices.
Tip 1: Watch your spacing around trucks. Trucks need a lot of room to maneuver. Never pass a truck on the right when it is about to turn right. A truck driver will often have to make a right turn from the next lane over to the left in order to make the turn without going up on the sidewalk or taking out a sign. Give the truck plenty of space to make a right turn. And don’t pull up right behind a truck at a stop light or sign. Sometimes, especially if the truck is on a slight incline, it will have to move backwards a few feet before it moves forward. Leave at least a car length between you and the truck.
Tip 2: Don’t cut a truck off in traffic. Trucks can’t stop on a dime, so don’t pull in front of one without leaving safe distance between you and the truck. It takes about a football field length for a truck traveling 60 mph to come to a complete stop. If you need to pull in front of a truck, be moving at the speed of or greater than the truck. This is especially true if you are entering a highway from a ramp in front of a semi. A courteous truck driver will switch to the left lane when he sees traffic getting on the interstate in front of him. But sometimes other traffic in the left lane won’t allow that, so he has to stay in the lane with merging traffic. Just be aware of the time it takes a truck to stop and start before you pull in front of one.
