Lifestyle Tips, Travel

Tips For Driving Safely Among Large Trucks And Buses This Leaf-Peeping Season

Leaf peeping is a huge tradition for those who enjoy watching the metamorphosis of nature each year, and taking a drive is the best way to “peep.”  Driving long distances to see pieces of the world’s landscape you don’t normally have the pleasure of experiencing can make for some unforgettable memories, but you want to make certain you’re safe along the way.  

The best nature views often come equipped with some pretty sketchy driving circumstances, and it’s important that your road safety knowledge is up to par.  Driving narrow and curvy roads alongside large trucks and buses during a heavy travel season can be challenging.  

Here is a brief look into a few helpful tips for driving safely among large vehicles.  Keep your leaf-peeping adventures happy, and stay sharp on the roads.

Practice correct merging habits

Truckers often complain about the terrible merging habits of smaller vehicles on the road.  If you’re driving on the interstate or highways with big trucks, you need to be very deliberate with your merging movements.  

If you are merging in front of a semi, do your best not to drag your feet.  It’s a lot harder to slow down an 80,000 lb vehicle than it is for you to speed up efficiently.

Keep it moving when passing

Just as you should keep it moving while merging, you need to keep it moving while passing a semi or bus.  Don’t spend several minutes driving beside an 18-wheeler on the road.  The driver could lose sight of you, and you could quickly be placed in a dangerous situation.  

Pass with authority, so that there’s no confusion between you and the driver of the larger vehicle.  You don’t want to be the cause of a trucker having to slam on his/her brakes.

High beams can be extremely distracting

Driving with your high beams on at night is perfectly acceptable in some situations.  Other times, you should refrain from turning on your “brights.” When you’re driving beside a larger vehicle, for instance.  

Driving with your high beams on next to a semi truck can make it very difficult for the driver to see and focus on the road.  If you happen to notice that the driver’s mirror has been turned to shine the lights back at you, understand that that is a sign to tell you that you’re causing problems.

Trucks and buses need extra space

Truckers need space.  They need space to do everything on the road.  The turning radius of an 18-wheeler is nothing compared to the tight winding of a small car or SUV.  

You should also keep your distance from large vehicles on the road.  They are much heavier than you, and it’s much harder to shift speeds on a dime.  Big vehicles need big space.