How to Avoid a Truck Driver’s Blind Spot

Car accidents are one of the most common causes of damage out there right now. With so many accidents happening on a regular basis, it’s better to know all of the different ways in which you can be as safe as possible while driving. While you may feel safe and sound in your smaller compact vehicle, truck drivers have large rigs and these leaves far more space for blind spots.

How to avoid a truck driver’s blind spot begins with being as aware as possible yourself. The sides of the truck are one of the most vulnerable areas. If you must pass a truck on either side (especially the right side) then use your signal early and often as well as doing so as swiftly and safely as possible. You want to minimize the amount of time you spend directly on either side of the rig, so pass with caution.

A cardinal rule of truck driving is that if you can’t see them, they definitely can’t see you. By this we mean, if you’re looking in the mirror of the truck and you don’t see the drivers face it’s safe to assume that they have no idea that you’re near them and you’ll want to exercise extreme caution as you’re moving out of their blind spot.

Traffic can be one of the worst aspects when it comes to truck driving. Since the rigs take longer to speed up and slow down, it’s important that you give them ample space between your vehicles to do so. This will help you have more time to react to whatever unexpected things may happen in bumper to bumper traffic as well as give the truck driver more peace of mind as well.

You’ll also want to be aware of your own speed when doing things like passing and merging. After you’ve gotten in front of a truck, you don’t want to slow down too quickly because you’ll be putting yourself in the perfect situation to get rear ended. Instead, keep a steady pace and if you need to slow down do so gradually or merge to another lane that doesn’t have the truck in it.