Sharing the Road with Large Trucks: Safety Tips for Teens

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on June 8, 2012

When a semi truck collides with a passenger vehicle, the results are almost always worse for those in the car. Teens stand a particular risk of a semi accident because they often lack the experience to recognize or predict a truck’s movements, according to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Association (CVSA). Here are some tips to help teens and older drivers protect themselves when sharing the road with trucks this summer.

• Bigger vehicles move differently. Whether it’s a semi truck, box truck, passenger bus, or other vehicle, larger vehicles need more room to stop, turn, and accelerate.
• Trucks need twice the room to stop. A passenger vehicle going 55 miles per hour needs about 225 feet to stop under ideal conditions, once its driver sees a hazard. A fully-loaded semi truck needs over 430 feet to make the same stop.
• Big vehicles have big blind spots. A semi truck or bus driver cannot see you if you are too close to the rear of the vehicle, riding alongside it, or cut in too close to the front. Assume that if you cannot see the driver or the vehicle’s mirrors, the driver does not know you are there.

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, investigating what happened and getting the compensation you need can be overwhelming when added to the burden of recovering from your injuries. At Hardwick & Pendergast, our dedicated Washington truck accident lawyers apply our years of experience to help injured people get the compensation they need, so that you and your family can focus on healing. Call us at (888) 228-3860 today for a free, confidential consultation.