It’s more than a little nerve-wracking when you pull up and realize that you’re right inside a commercial truck’s blind spot. It happens to all of us you’re cruising down the freeway, and then all of a sudden, there’s a truck right next to you. There are ways, however, that you can drive safely near commercial or semi-trucks and reduce the risk of an accident.
As we see, car accident claims come through the Virginia Injury Law law offices every day. Our goal is not only to help you recover from a car accident but to prepare for getting back on the road. Truck accidents are always serious and almost always come with severe injuries. So if there is anything you can do to decrease the likelihood of you getting into a truck accident, it’s worth a shot. But if you are involved in an accident, you should call a Virginia truck accident attorney at Virginia Injury Law right away.
Avoid All Blind Spots
Blind spots are the high-risk areas because truckers have no control over vehicles entering those locations, and once a car is in a blind spot, they’re absolutely visible. Commercial trucks have four primary blind spots.
The first is for about 20 feet directly in front of them. The size of the cab makes it difficult for them to see the road directly in front of their vehicle. The second blind spot expands over the two lanes to the trucks right and covers from the front of the cab to about the end of the trailer. This is one reason why trucks are encouraged to travel in the rightmost lane. The third blind spot is about 30 feet behind the trailer. As they have no rearview mirror, it’s unrealistic to assume that a driver would know that you’re behind them. Finally, right near the driver side door on the cab of the truck that left Lane until about halfway down the length of the trailer is a total blank spot for drivers.
Pass Quickly and Safely
It is vital that whenever you’re passing a truck, you do so as quickly and safely as possible. That means not using the larger blind spot on the right side of the truck to pass at all. To pass a truck, always get into the left lane safely and quickly make your way to the front of the truck to re-enter your desired lane.
Additionally, you should make sure that you always use the proper turn signals to indicate that you’re passing. That gives the truck driver an opportunity to adjust their speed so you can pass more quickly.
Never Cut Off A Truck
Cutting off a truck is always a bad idea, but most people don’t realize that there is a blind spot in front of the truck, and there’s a high-pressure spot. If you get too near the front of the cab when cutting off a truck, the air pressure in this zone is severely reduced, and there’s a high influx of airflow. The result is that this reduced pressure creates suction between your car and the truck.
Always Signal and Check Your Lights
Fleet Net America, one of the primary fleet companies in the United States, implores all vehicle drivers to use defensive driving tactics. One of the most often forgotten defensive driving tactics is to check your lights and always signal.
Newer vehicles especially have an auto light system that many vehicle owners leave on all the time. However, during sometimes of the day and night, particularly near dusk and dawn, that auto light system can kick on your bright lights and lead to serious accidents, especially with truck drivers who are seated higher than standard vehicles.
In A Crash with a Semi-Truck? Contact Your Local Truck Accident Lawyer
You’ve probably been told to call a car accident attorney after any type of crash and had someone turn around and say that it wasn’t necessary. Truck accidents or one of those times were speaking with an attorney can be really important for your claim or your lawsuit. You aren’t handling a one on one situation with your car insurance company where your car insurance provider will take care of most of the process.
Car insurance providers are always going to do what they believe is best for their company, which is why an attorney can be useful. When it comes to truck accidents, you need a Virginia truck accident attorney that can handle big insurance companies and big trucking companies. Call Virginia Injury Law for more information about how to handle a Richmond truck accident.
Let's get started with your free consultation!