Safety Tips for Passenger Vehicle Drivers Sharing Highways With Large Truck

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Driving on Virginia highways should not be hectic like first time drivers may see it. Before one joins the driving school, and in most cases after, people often have the phobia of getting into the roads. Some people will say that they are fearful of sharing highways with a large truck and the motor carriers. This kind of fear is brought about because of the fatality of the accidents that could happen between a large truck and saloon or SUVs.

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However, the laws on driving are so clear and if you join colonial driving school, you will know how to share the road with large trucks and also the other important things that will help you remain cautious while sharing the highway with these motor carriers. Here are some of the things relating to large trucks and motor carriers that you will learn from our driving school.

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Some of the Differences Between Large Trucks and Passenger Vehicles

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Large trucks weigh 10,000 pounds and above and this depends on whether it is a single unit truck or the combination trucks. These combination trucks will also be classified as a single unit or tractor pulling one or more trailers. This will help you in identifying the truck type so that you know what and how to drive when you see these trucks near you.

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The trucks and buses have more powerful engines than the passenger vehicles and this is what enables them to pull the weight that you will see them pulling. It is important to know that the trucks will need more gear shifts to be able to reach the maximum speed or to be able to drive fast on the highway. Therefore, when you join the highway, don’t remain behind a truck, as long as there is room to overtake and the road signs show that you can overtake the truck. Actually, this is the reason why these large trucks are driven on particular lanes in most cases. Therefore, note that the truck might require twice as much the time required by passenger vehicle to reach the highway speed.

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Trucks will require more stopping distance than passenger vehicles. Therefore, they will brake often before you start braking to be able to stop where there is a barrier. The passenger vehicle that is traveling at the speed of 50 MPH can stop in about 140 feet, but a truck at the same speed will stop at 400 feet.

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Tips You Should Follow When Sharing a Road with Trucks

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1. You should not stay at the blind spot of the large trucks. Even if you are able to see the driver of the large truck on his side mirror, he probably doesn’t see you.
2. Avoid tailgating when following a large truck. This reduces your ability to see the road ahead before overtaking and also the driver of the truck can’t see you.
3. Avoid cutting in front of a large truck even if there is some space. The large truck drivers leave that space so that they can be able to stop in case of emergency. If you do this, the driver might hit you or will be forced to apply hard braking which is dangerous to those following him/her.
4. Avoid passing a truck from the right side since this is the largest blind spot. If the driver needs to turn to the right, he might not see you hence causing a crash.

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These are some of the tips we will be able to train you at our driving school. To apply for driving school lessons or to learn more about us, you can follow this link: https://colonialdrivingschool.com

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