Give them Space

#TruckerTuesday

Some people don’t mind truckers and others are nervous when they pass them. No matter how you feel about them you do share the road with them.  Most (notice I do not say all) are more cautious than your “average” driver.  They drive the road everyday sometimes as much as 11 hours at a time.  They practice safety daily, their job depends on it.

Have you ever noticed these signs on the back of trucks?  They have to take wider turns so they don’t knock down light poles, buildings and pedestrians on the side of the road.

I learned a technique where I “close in” my turn.  That is so a car can’t pass me on the right. I once had a lady complaining in a truck stop bathroom that she was behind a selfish trucker that took up two lanes to turn and wouldn’t let her pass on the right. She was talking about me. I tried to explain to her what would happen had I let her pass on the right in my turn but it went in one ear and out the other. The pic above shows what can happen to a car that gets caught. (I did not watch the video this pic came from and do not know which driver was at fault, the image was only used to show you what can result).

Another phrase I’d hear a lot is “Semi’s have 18 wheels, they should be able to stop faster than me.”  That is completely false.  Well, they do have 18 wheels, but it takes them a lot longer to stop.  Cars weigh about 4,000 lbs give or take. Semis when fully loaded weigh 80,000 lbs. That’s a huge difference and it’s a lot to bring to a stop – especially quickly.  Please do not cut a trucker off.  Most of them keep a safe distance so they can stop. You are putting your life in danger.

Trucks are about 72 feet long and due to that they have limited vision.  Please be careful when passing. A good rule is if you can see the driver in their side view mirror, they can see you 🙂

Since I’ve been talking about the size of semi’s I thought I’d throw in this fun pic.  We were in MI and my husband had a McDonald’s craving.  Only the drive through was open and the cashier would not let him walk up. She insisted he had to go through the drive through even when we said we were in a truck.  It was pretty comical 🙂

Hope you have a great day and drive safely!