Prioritizing safety in traffic is always a smart decision. Motorists who maintain their vehicles and pay attention to their surroundings can prevent situations that put them at unnecessary risk.
Avoiding all crashes is the ideal, but preventing the worst types of crashes is certainly the most important safety consideration. Semi-trucks are so large that they can demolish smaller vehicles in a collision.
Therefore, motorists may want to specifically focus their safety efforts on minimizing their chances of a commercial vehicle collision. Many semi-truck crashes occur because the commercial driver does something unsafe or inappropriate. How can those operating smaller vehicles reduce their likelihood of a semi-truck crash?
By leaving adequate space
Immediate proximity to a semi-truck is arguably the single biggest contributing factor to commercial collision risk. People who drive in the blind spots around a semi-truck’s trailer, for example, could end up injured if the commercial driver merges or turns without realizing they are there.
Extra space is also important when approaching an intersection with a stopped semi-truck. Wide turns make it important to stop farther back from the intersection than normal and to leave more space around the commercial truck.
When in doubt, it is also often beneficial to yield the right-of-way to semi-truck operators at intersections. While they should make every reasonable effort to follow the law, the pressure of tight delivery schedules may result in aggressive driving habits that have major implications for smaller vehicles.
Knowing how to limit semi-truck crash risk is important, but so is knowing how to respond. People hurt in semi-truck collisions often require assistance if they need to file a commercial insurance claim or a lawsuit against a trucking company.