There is a good reason why a clean driving record is important for finding work in the trucking industry: trucking is a dangerous profession. It’s dangerous because driving itself is dangerous, and truckers do a lot of driving.
How do you log thousands of miles every week for years without ever getting into an accident? The answer is: there is no answer. There is no guaranty that you will remain accident free over the long-term no matter what you do. That’s why we have commercial or owner operator truck insurance. However, you can keep this risk to a minimum by driving defensively. As providers of commercial or owner operator truck insurance in Georgia, we would like to share these five defensive truck driving tips:
- Always do your pre trip inspection. No matter your level of experience or how carefully you drive, the failure of something critical to controlling your commercial or owner operator truck can be fatal to yourself or others on the road.
- Maintain plenty of following distance. A commercial or owner operator truck that’s pulling a fully loaded trailer is about twenty times heavier than the average car, and it requires more braking distance. Increase your following distance when the driving conditions are less than ideal.
- Look far down the road. The commercial or owner operator truck’s large size and poor handling (compared to sedans) means that you shouldn’t rely on emergency maneuvers to avoid an accident. You will have to see traffic problems well in advance. Look about 15 seconds ahead of you. You can estimate this distance by timing how long it takes to pass by stationary objects. Keep an eye on the brake lights of the traffic ahead. When lots of cars are braking, expect an abrupt slow down of the traffic flow.
- Practice patience and calmness. Don’t allow rude or bad drivers to get to you. Emotional driving increases your risk of an accident because it diminishes your mental focus and driving ability.
- Alert other drivers of your intentions well in advance. This especially applies when changing lanes. Use your turn signal well in advance and make your lane change gradually, just in case a vehicle is in your blind spot.
J.E.B. Insurance Services provides commercial or owner operator truck insurance for Georgia at affordable rates. To learn more, contact us today!
