One of the common causes of accidents are due to distracted driving. While this means texting and driving, the truth is that there are many ways that drivers can become distracted while driving. They can take their hands off of the wheel, their eyes off of the road, and even take their mind off of their task at hand (driving).
This is even worse when a commercial truck driver is distracted. He or she has a big powerful truck and trailer full of supplies behind him or her. One swerve could cause serious injuries to him (or her) self, as well as the others on the road.
So, what can you do? Here are some tips to avoid driving distracted, especially on long trips.
You should NEVER multitask while you are driving. This includes changing the radio station and eating or drinking. You should avoid making phone calls and never text and drive. Though you may see others do it, you should never check your emails (or social media), read, put on makeup, stream TikTok or anything else when you are driving. Make sure that you are able to focus on driving and only that!
There are many apps that will help. There are several apps that may help you if you find yourself distracted easily. There are some that won’t let your cell phone work while you are driving, while others help you avoid distractions when you are on the road.
Make sure that you get plenty of sleep. If you didn’t sleep well the night before, you are going to struggle to stay awake when you are on the road. For this reason, you need to make sleep a priority, even if that involves getting a hotel when you are on the road.
Keep your cab colder. If your cab is too warm, you may find yourself drifting off to sleep. You may want to leave the windows open or turn on the air so that you aren’t quite as comfortable (and less likely to space out).
If you have a passenger along, get him or her to help. Make sure your passenger knows that he or she can speak up if you are getting distracted. Let your passenger know that you would be glad if he or she called you out when you aren’t really paying attention to the road.
Get your passenger to help you navigate the road. As a commercial truck driver, you may not know where you are going, and figuring that out when you are behind the wheel can be very distracting. If you have someone to help, let him or her. Your passenger can keep an eye out for road signs and figuring out where you need to turn, while you can focus on all of the vehicles that are on the road.
Though you may just want to get where you are going, taking a few extra minutes to get ready before you go will be worth it. You won’t be worrying about eating breakfast and checking your emails, you can just focus on the road. You may see some people reading and checking their phones, as well as putting their makeup on in the car, but that is not very safe!
It often helps to have someone with you. He or she can help you get where you need to go, so that you can focus on all of the traffic that is around you. He or she can also wake you up, if you seem to be in some sort of trance! Just let him or her know that you want to stay focused and don’t mind being told that you are not doing so.
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