Off The Cuff

Driving Around Semi-Trucks

Posted by: From Arkansas in Tips On Driving on Aug 20 2007

Welcome back!

Possibly the last thing you want to hear is a tip about driving when you think you’re a pretty good driver. Ah yes. I do know what you mean. The only one who knows what’s going on out there is you. The rest of the drivers are nutcases and need to get a pair of glasses at least. The main thing is that they do not have to occupy the road at the same time you do and everything is great.

You learned to drive from one of your relatives..Dad or Uncle Frank. Or you went to driver’s education where they taught you everything you needed to know in those simulators. Piece of cake on the road. Passed your driving test with flying colors. Only ran over the cones when you parked a couple of times. Not bad. And now, you are at the prime of your driving time. Got some awesome wheels and you are going to show them off!

Now, what is wrong with that picture? ALL OF IT! I have met people like that who are so arrogant because they learned to drive and haven’t had an accident in years if ever. What you do not know and neither does he or she…is how many accidents did they cause without knowing it? Who knows.

This type of attitude is what causes problems, road rage (either theirs or someone else’s). It costs time, nerves, emotions run high. This person is a danger to himself and/or his passengers as well as those who drive around him or her. And these arrogant people are the ones who love to drive next to semi-trucks.

So, here are a few tips and notes about driving next to or near a semi:

1) Do not get next to a semi and stay there for miles on a four lane highway. This is dangerous no matter what you think or how much fun you’re having showing off to the driver. Why? Because the driver may have problems and wipe you off the road by moving over accidentally.

2) Do NOT ride right next to a set of tires on the truck. Do you know that if a tire blew, the possibility of you or your passengers getting injured is high? How about death? Yes, it is possible. The tires on a trailer, especially, are prone to blowing just like a bomb went off. They have an amazing amount of push. I used to haul refrigerated foods so the trailer was insulated. The tire blew straight up, thank God, because a family car was in the lane next to my truck. The damage done to the trailer was huge. It blew a hole about two feet in diameter in the bottom of the trailer plus twisted a couple of crossbeams made of steel. The hole went almost all the way to the floor of the trailer. If it had blown to the left where the car was, it might have killed or injured the family with children. No one’s fault but the driver, if he lived, would have either blamed himself or the trucking company and the driver…me..not his own stupidity for riding there just to get a horn blow for the kids.

3) Despite what you may think, trucks do not stop on a dime. In fact, they usually take about the length of a football field to stop if they’re loaded. Sometimes, it’s less but not much. If they’re going the speed limit (55 miles per hour), they might be able to stop within the football field barely. If the speed is higher, no way will the truck stop that easily. Of course, if the weather conditions are not good, then add lots of feet to that ability to stop. Not good.

4) Trucks require a lot of room to turn a corner. The biggest mistake you can make is to get up close to the side of a truck that’s turning right. He has to swing wide to make the turn. That is NOT an invitation for the guy on the right to go ahead. I had a really stupid accident in Braintree, Mass. because some nut decided to come up beside me on the right as I was turning right. The turn signal is at eye level under the trailer right where he ended up. He was staring at it as his car went under. The police officer was extremely sympathetic to me and let the guy stew for a while. The officer thought the guy’s stunt was stupid too!!!

There will be more tips on driving in other posts. If you have questions, I can probably answer them about driving. Please don’t ask about things like logbooks. I have not been on the road for a few years and the laws have changed. If the question is about driving, I might be helpful to you. Thanks for visiting! Be sure to comment.

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