No matter how experienced your truck drivers are – or how good you’ve been maintaining your rigs, there is still a chance that your company will experience trucking accidents. A recent article gives some tips that professional truck drivers should keep in mind when out on long hauls:
- The Bubble. This is a standard defensive driving technique which is increasingly more important with larger trucks. Keep a 360-degree buffer around your truck and “constantly monitor the ‘space cushion’… to make sure that [you] are not too close to other objects, whether stationary or moving.” However with trucks, this bubble must include the area above and below the truck – keep a lookout for low clearance areas like tunnels. Keep a lookout for dangerous surfaces and take precautionary measures when you see “sloped and uneven road surfaces, pot holes, speed bumps, road hazards, slipperiness, accumulated precipitation, weight restrictions, [and] etc.”
- Stopping Distance. Large trucks need more stopping distance than other vehicles. Importantly, during winter or when there are inclement conditions, make sure to allow for a greater amount of stopping distance. You should also accommodate for longer stopping distances “at night, on secondary roads, in hilly or mountainous areas, and along curvy roads.”
- “Never use [the] engine brake (aka ‘Jake Brake’) in wet weather because traction could be lost.
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