7 Important Truck Driver Safety Tips

Did you know that there are 500,000 trucking accidents that happen every year in the United States?

If you’re a truck driver, it’s important for you to understand how to be safe while you’re out on the road. But, a lot of truck drivers instead focus on getting their work done for the day and don’t always focus on being the safest drivers they can be while out on the road.

That’s why we’re here to share with you the best truck driver safety tips we have to ensure you’re able to keep yourself safe and others safe out on the road. Keep reading to learn more!

1. Always Wear Your Seatbelt

The most important tip to being a safe truck driver is to make sure you’re always wearing your seat belt. This is one of the most important driving safety tips you can put into practice. Not only will buckling up keep you safe, but it’ll keep others safe too. 

Why?

If in the instance you’re in an accident, the seat belt will keep you inside of the vehicle. You won’t get ejected from the vehicle, which would potentially put other people’s lives at risk.

2. Don’t Use Your Phone

Another great tip to keep using while your out of the road is to make sure you aren’t using your cellphone while you’re operating your vehicle. The CDC states that there are nine people killed every day in the USA that involved in accidents caused by a distracted driver.

Using your cellphone while you’re driving will keep you distracted, and unable to react to avoidable accidents in time. If you need to use your cellphone, make sure that you pull over and are completely stopped. 

3. Keep Your Eyes Open For Blind Spots

As the driver of a tractor-trailer, being so high off of the ground can make it challenging for you to see what cars are behind you or beside you. This means that you’ll have different, and larger, blind spots than when you’re driving a regular car. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lists that there are over 840,000 accidents that happen every year because of blind spots.

Your blind spots are the most dangerous when you’re working on changing lanes. You can always depend on your mirrors how to show you everything that you need to see, so it’s important for you to complete head checks.

Before you attempt to get over in a lane, make sure that you check for blind spots. You’ll need to look out the window and over your shoulders to make sure that there aren’t any cars is the way so you could potentially hit when switching lanes.

Also, another great tip to keep in the back of your head is to make sure that you got plenty the room around you before you do attempt to switch lanes.

4. Always Be Prepared

Another great tip to remember is the conditions are always changing while you’re out on the road. To keep yourself safe, it’s great to always be prepared for emergencies. There are a lot of different emergency situations that you should be prepared for as a truck driver.

For example, poor quality driving conditions, such as rain or snow, can make it as difficult for you to drive safely as you possibly can. That’s why it’s important for you to always make sure that you have snacks, a change of clothes, water, and blankets in your cab. These will hold you over until the bad weather lightens up and you’re able to drive over to a safer location.

5. Don’t Get Heated

When you’re out on the road, you’re going to need to interact with a lot of different personalities and types of drivers. Sometimes, you may even find that you’re traveling with inexperienced drivers. That’s why it’s important for you to make sure that you don’t let road rage affect you while you’re behind a truck.

Why you may feel angry after you’ve been cut off, harass, or honked at by another driver out of the road, don’t give in to road rage. When you let your anger take over you and control how you reacting while you’re behind your truck, it increases your chance of getting into an accident.

6. Always Be Sure to Communicate

Another great tip to remember is to make sure that you’re always communicating with other drivers while you’re out on the road. This means that you should be careful to use your turn signal whenever you plan on turning. Not using your turn signal properly greatly increases your chance of getting into an accident.

Also, using your turn signal before you change lanes or turn is required by law. Even if you don’t see any cars around you, it’s important for you to continue to use your turn signal. 

7. Slow Down

Whenever there are any conditions changes while you’re out on the road, your first response should be to slow down. Whether that means the visibility has changed, there’s bad weather, or if you see an accident up ahead, you should slow down.

Slowing down is important because it gives you extra time to make the best decisions and choices while you’re driving. Also, slowing down can greatly decrease the severity of an accident if you are to get into one. 

Understanding How to Be a Safe Truck Driver

As a truck driver, you likely understand how many different dangers present themselves while you’re driving. By learning how to stay safe, you can keep yourself, and other people protected while you’re on your way to your next stop or you’re on your way home.

Have you recently been involved in a truck accident and are seeking legal representation? We’re here to help you. Click here to contact us today!