Although safety should be your primary focus on the road, it is altogether too easy for drivers to lose focus. Every time you get behind the wheel, you take your life in your own hands, and even a momentary lapse in judgment or focus could lead to a wreck.
Most people don’t treat the process with the respect it deserves because it is a part of their daily routine. However, thousands of people get hurt and die in collisions every year in the United States. Many of the worst injuries and most tragic outcomes occur when passenger vehicles collide with semi-trucks or other commercial vehicles.
There is no way to completely avoid the possibility of a crash with a commercial truck. Are there safety habits that could help you reduce your risk of a collision with a commercial vehicle?
Respect the limitations of big vehicles
If there is one driving safety tip that might save your life around a commercial truck, it is that you need to remember how they differ from your four-wheeled passenger vehicle. They are much taller and longer, which means that they have large blind spots. If you drive next to a truck or directly behind it, the professional at the wheel can’t see you no matter how cautious they try to be.
Commercial trucks make very wide turns and conduct them relatively slowly when compared with smaller vehicles, which might mean you can end up in a crash if you are in the lane next to a commercial truck when it turns. Finally, semi-trucks require much longer stopping distances than passenger vehicles. If you merge in front of a commercial truck while traveling at a slower speed, you could be at risk of a rear-end collision that turns into an override situation.
What happens after a wreck?
Sometimes, no matter how cautious you are, you end up in a crash. If the other vehicle is a commercial truck and you believe you are not at fault, you may have the right to file an insurance claim or even a civil lawsuit. Claims against business policies can offer far more compensation to those adjusting to catastrophic injury or death in the family.
Reducing your own risk factors can protect you from potentially deadly commercial vehicle collisions.