Have you ever found yourself wishing a truck driver would hurry up as you climb a steep hill behind them? Or spotted an overtaking opportunity, only to find that when you pull out, the truck is much longer than you think, so you have to pull back in again?
It’s understandable if you find sharing the road with 18-wheelers frustrating at times, but without trucks, store shelves would be empty, so you need to accept them. Letting your frustrations get to you could be dangerous.
You need to give trucks more space, not less
Sitting on the tail of a truck, eager to seize any opportunity to pass, could go badly wrong. If the driver brakes suddenly, you may end up underneath the trailer with horrific consequences.
They cannot see you if you are too close behind. If you drop back a bit, it will be safer, and you might get past sooner as the trucker will know you are there and perhaps make it easier for you to overtake.
The same applies in front of the truck
Some overtaking drivers pull immediately back in front of the truck they overtake. In some cases, it’s because there is nothing but a tiny space. In others, they intentionally make the driver brake out of frustration at having had to wait so long to pass. Yet, there is no guarantee the truck driver can slow their vehicle sufficiently to avoid rear-ending you.
Truck drivers can make mistakes, and if you are too close, one of those mistakes could injure you. If so, you’ll need help to examine your legal options.
