Members of the Youth Traffic Safety Council attended a scheduled monthly meeting on Friday, December 8 held at the IU#1 in Coal Center, PA. There, they converged with council peers from several schools within the SW region of PA. The topic of the meeting was “Sharing the Road with Trucks.”
Representatives from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute shared their program about safely sharing the road with large commercial vehicles. Students then went outside to the parking lot where they had the opportunity to climb up in the cab of a tractor-trailer and experience what the view is like from the driver’s perspective, with emphasis on how large the blind spots, or “no-zones” are around such vehicles.
They rotated through other stations outside as well, hearing from two different PA State Troopers about Truck Safety Inspections, Stopping Distance, Wide Turns, Backing Up, Speed, Traffic Congestion and also viewing a few videos of multi-camera viewpoints of trucks traveling the roadways and showing how vehicles can easily be hidden in unsafe positions while traveling near commercial vehicles.
Remember, all vehicles have blind spots that we should refrain from traveling in for too long. However, the blind spots of large commercial vehicles are surprisingly large and one can be driving within it very easily, without even realizing it. Stay safe around commercial vehicles - give them their space!
Keep these simple tips in mind. 1. When following behind a truck, stay far enough back that you can see both of its side mirrors. The rear blind spot of trucks can extend up to 200 feet behind the trailer! 2. When passing alongside a truck, move steadily and with purpose. Don’t linger along the side for too long, as you can “disappear” from the driver’s view and they may not even know you are there. Note that the passenger-side blind spot for a truck is even larger than its driver-side blind spot. 3. After passing a truck, don’t move back over in front of the truck until you can clearly see the ENTIRE front end (from wheels to roof) of the truck in your rearview mirror. This will ensure you are giving the truck enough space and not cutting them off by moving back over too quickly.
Share the roads safely, West Greene!
In crashes involving large trucks, passenger vehicles never win. Take extra care around large commercial vehicles.
Getting perspective from the driver's seat. Seeing how large those blind spots really are.
