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Driving Safely Around Big Rigs
Driving Safety Around Big Rigs
by the White Rose Z Club
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been educating motorists about driving
safely around big rigs since 1994, when it launched the No-Zone* campaign, a public awareness
effort to promote safer driving near large trucks. No-Zones are the blind spots around big
trucks that prevent the drivers from seeing other vehicles. Collisions with big rigs are most
likely to occur in these blind spots.
Be aware not only of the truck, but the driver, too. A good rule of thumb is,
if you can't see the driver in the mirror, then he or she probably cannot see
you.
Do not linger when passing a large truck; you may be in one of the driver's blind spots.
After passing, wait until you can see the entire truck cab in your rear view mirror before moving
into the truck's lane.
Don't cut in front of trucks. Drivers need at least 10 to 20 feet of space between the truck
and the vehicle ahead to maneuver safely. And what happens if you both have to hit the brakes?
At 55 miles per hour, it takes a large truck more than the length of a football field-twice the
distance of a passenger car-to stop.
Respect the No-Zone behind a truck, which may extend as far as 150 to 200 feet. In addition,
drivers of vehicles following too closely behind trucks cannot see what's ahead. If the truck
brakes suddenly, the vehicle behind has no warning.
Give large trucks plenty of room to maneuver. For example, when making a right turn at an
intersection, large trucks typically must pull to the left first.
Never cross behind a truck that is backing up. Hundreds of motorist and pedestrians are
killed or injured each year behind trucks. Truck drivers do not have a rearview mirror and may
not see you crossing behind them.
According to a 1999 study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which examined the
factors involved in car-truck collisions, "Drivers of passenger vehicles, rather than truck
drivers, are disproportionately responsible for crashes involving passenger vehicles and large
trucks."
Common lengths of big rigs on the highway today range in length from 60 feet for an 18-wheeler,
90 feet for a "Rocky Mountain double" (a full length trailer with a half-length trailer); 105
feet for a triple trailer combination and 110 feet for a turnpike double (two full length
trailers). The average passenger car is 18 feet. In a contest between car and a truck, the
truck is going to win!
*Large truck "No-Zones" include an area behind the truck which extends approximately 200 feet,
a 10-20 foot zone immediately ahead of the cab; and areas on the left and right and behind the
cab where the driver can't see you.
© 2007 Triad Z Club
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