My father was a truck driver for as long as I can remember. It was in the days when there were virtually no creature comforts in the cabs of the trucks. I don’t think he ever drove a truck with air-conditioning, and there were certainly no navigation systems, CD players, video monitors, or CB radios. One night during the summer, around 10 PM, he was driving between Dallas and San Antonio and fell asleep while driving. He woke up too late to navigate a turn in the highway and turned the big rig on its side, spilling 40,000 gallons of paint in pop-top cans. It was a mess, but nobody was killed and no other cars involved.
Without truckers, there would be no gas, grocery store shelves would be empty, and the economy would crater. The 18-wheelers you see today carry heavier loads than ever before, and will go faster than in years past. I was proud of what my Dad did for a living, but as someone who drives a lot, I see a lot of truckers these days who drive too fast, drive too aggressively, seem to have trouble staying in their lane, and I often see them bully their way into traffic. The stats would seem to agree, take a look at the latest NHTSA statistics from 2022, the last year of available statistics:
NHTSA 2022 Large Truck Safety Facts
Note, a "large truck" as defined in the NHTSA fact sheet is any medium or heavy truck, excluding buses and motor homes, with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) greater than 10,000 pounds. These large trucks include both commercial and non-commercial vehicles.
- In 2022 there were 5,936 people killed in traffic crashes involving large trucks. This was a 2-percent increase from 5,821 in 2021.
- Seventy percent of people killed in large-truck traffic crashes in 2022 were occupants of other vehicles.
- Seventy-six percent of the fatal traffic crashes involving large trucks in 2022 occurred on weekdays (6 a.m. Monday to 5:59 p.m. Friday).
- Three percent of drivers of large trucks involved in fatal traffic crashes in 2022 had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher, much lower than drivers of other vehicle types (28% for motorcycles, 25% for passenger cars, and 21% for light trucks).
- Drivers of large trucks involved in fatal traffic crashes in 2022 had a higher percentage (20.8%) of previously recorded crashes compared to drivers of other vehicle types (motorcycles, 18.9%; passenger cars, 17.8%; and light trucks, 15.9%).
- In 2022 drivers of large trucks in fatal traffic crashes were less likely (6.0%) to have previous license suspensions or revocations than other vehicle types (motorcycles, 16.3%; passenger cars, 12.9%; and light trucks, 10.1%).
Sharing The Road With Large Trucks
People are going to continue to drive, and products must be moved from factories to merchants, so how do we co-exist? If you do battle with an 80,000-pound object traveling at over 60-miles per hour, the odds of winning are not good. So, here is a list of don’ts to be conscious of while traveling the American road:
- Don’t travel next to a big truck. Slow down or speed up, but don’t linger there. The trucker may not be able to see you and he or she has a much better view of the road ahead and may have to make an emergency lane change. There is also the chance the truck will blow a tire, causing a loss of control. What it says on the back of many trucks is true: If you can’t see the driver’s eyes in the side mirrors, he or she can’t see you either.
- Don’t get in a trucker’s way. Most truckers like the middle lane on a three-lane or wider road. It gives them more options and they don’t like merging traffic. It takes a loaded truck as much as a football field and a half to stop, you don’t want to cut in front of them.
- Don’t tailgate them either. When following closely to a semi, you cannot see anything in front of you except the trailer and you have no idea what is happening down the road. If the trucker has to make an emergency stop, it won’t likely end well for you.
- Don’t get distracted when an 18-wheeler is around you. Truckers tend to be very good at using their blinkers. If you see a turn signal come on, be extra cautious and never get on the right side of trucker when his or her right blinker is on. Trucks need a lot of extra room to navigate turns.
- Don’t get into a road rage incident with a trucker. Be patient when a big rig is passing another truck or even a car. Acceleration is not quick in these rigs. I’ve actually seen ignorant people get mad at a trucker, cut in front of them, and slam on the brakes. That is a death wish.
We can all safely co-exist on the highways and byways of our wonderful country, but it takes patience, skills, and a healthy respect for a vehicle that is way bigger than yours.
