Truckers know the importance of safe driving particularly when it involves heavy-duty vehicles. Before anyone can drive a Kenworth, one has to undergo a commercial truck driver training essentially to learn safety rules. Nonetheless, no matter how cautious a trucker can be, road accidents still happen and are often attributed to the driver’s fault.
Driving an 18-wheeler like Kenworth could be dangerous since large vehicles are not that easy to maneuver, have bigger blind spots, and tend to take longer to brake as opposed to traditional vehicles. Below are some tips shared by the driving pros that can help save lives.
Safety Tips When Driving Your Kenworth
1. Steer clear of blind spots.
Perhaps the most challenging and threatening reality any tractor-trailer driver faces is the blind spots – areas around the vehicle where the driver cannot get a view of the other vehicles in the side-view or rear-view mirrors. Simply put, if you cannot see a vehicle behind you through your mirrors, that could spell danger.
As well, if you’re behind a big truck with no view of the driver’s mirror, it means the driver cannot see you either. Ignoring a blind spot results in serious injury or even death. Take note, there are instances when a semi-truck driver forgets to check his blind spots – overfatigue, lack of experience and distractions are among them. Reports show that big rigs are involved in an average of a half-million traffic accidents every year.
So, as a Kenworth driver, you must be aware of these 4 major blind spots:
- In front of you
- At the rear
- Driver’s side close to the side mirror
- Passenger’s side close to the side mirror
In addition, 18-wheelers like Kenworth have larger mirrors likely to be affected by bright headlights. It’s only ethical to adjust your lights to a standard low-beam setting if you’re driving behind a truck so that the other driver won’t be blinded through his mirrors.
2. Always observe the proper distance.
Semis almost always take 6 seconds to come to a full stop. So, you need to keep a safe distance between your truck and another vehicle so that you can have more time to react to a tire blowout, and even a rollover due to high winds, if ever. Likewise, the danger here could be, that if a smaller vehicle is behind you then your 18-wheeler starts rolling backward. It can be pushed underneath your trailer without you knowing!
3. Obey the rules.
Basic road safety rules like wearing seatbelts and avoiding distractions are sometimes neglected by truck drivers. It’s not only your own but also other lives you’re putting in jeopardy when disobeying the rules.
Examples of distracted driving are using your communication gadget, eating your lunch, adjusting your stereo, or even encountering a road rage while you’re behind the wheels. When driving your Kenworth, always stay focused on the road.
4. Avoid DUI
The popular saying ‘a drunk driver is a dangerous driver’ makes sense because drugs and alcohol weaken your judgment and reaction time. Their negative side effects make you lose concentration. Likewise driving when tired, sleepy, or feverish just worsen matters.
Safety is of utmost importance when driving so be a responsible Kenworth driver. Now, if the business is brisk and you’re planning on expanding, finding a semi-truck like a used Kenworth T680 for sale is easy these days. Check out this page for the best selection.