Safety is a two-way street
A perspective on road safety was the focus of a blog post by Ron Mayes, a truck driver based in Eureka, Kan.
Mayes, who has more than 30 years of experience as a professional driver, provided examples of experiences he’s had as well as ones he’s witnessed between trucks and four-wheel vehicles.
“When cars get around a semi, it’s like they don’t even know the semi is there,” Mayes said. “They drive as if the truck isn’t even there.”
A lot of that stems from perspective, he added, also noting that many four-wheel drivers fail to factor in just how long it takes a truck to come to a stop.
“You have to understand that’s a lot of mass, motion and density moving down the road,” Mayes said. “If you cut us off, we can’t stop that fast. You have to be careful, especially around trucks with a fluid-type load. Everybody needs to pay attention, and they’re just not doing it.”
Much of Mayes’ perspective and safety habits came from his father and his brother, both of whom have trucking backgrounds.
“My dad had his own trucking business at one time, and my brother is still driving,” he said. “The main thing I learned from them is when you’re driving a truck, you have to do your job and (the jobs of) at least 50% of those passing around you.”
Not tailgating, avoiding phone use while driving and staying off a truck’s right side are ways drivers of four-wheel vehicles can interact more safely with trucks, according to Mayes.
On the flip side, checking blind spots, making wide turns carefully and maintaining your vehicle are among the safety tips for truck and bus drivers on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s website.
“Every day a driver gets in his truck, he has to live with the possibility that (he) might not see something quick enough,” Mayes said. “If something were to happen, even if it’s not my fault, I’m going to blame myself for the rest of my life. I’ll think, ‘What could I have done?’”
He suggested that additional driver training and ride-alongs would be ideal ways for four-wheel drivers to understand what a trucker encounters on a daily basis.
Ultimately, just seeing things from a truck driver’s perspective would go a long way, Mayes said. LL