For those of us who drive our cars daily, getting into some sort of car accident is more of an eventuality than a hypothetical. However, there are a variety of different types of accidents that you can be involved in, and avoiding accidents with semi trucks is very important. These types of accidents tend to be extremely dangerous for persons in traditional four-wheel passenger vehicles. Thankfully, there are many tactics you can employ to drive safely around semi trucks. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, it is absolutely vital to give semi trucks more space than you would give other vehicles for multiple reasons.
The first reason to give semi trucks more space is that they have much larger blind spots as compared to four-wheel passenger vehicles. In fact, the blind spot on the right side of a semi truck can extend over two lanes of traffic. These blind spots also extend 30 feet behind the semi truck and 20 feet in front of it. A good rule to follow is that if you cannot see the mirrors on a semi truck, it is highly likely that the semi truck cannot see you.
Semi trucks are also bigger and heavier than traditional passenger vehicles, so cutting them off is never a good idea. In the event that the semi truck has to stop suddenly, it will require more space to slow down and stop as compared to a regular car. Make sure that you give semi-trucks plenty of room both in front and behind so that they have ample time to react to the road and you have plenty of time to react to the semi-truck.
