Don’t ride beside an 18-wheeler; they can’t see you, and something could fly off their truck. Don’t cut off an 18-wheeler; wait until you see both headlights in your rearview mirror before moving over because they can’t stop on a dime. These are just a couple of the lessons I’ve learned over the years from my mother, the passenger-seat driver.
Annoying as it may have been, I’m glad I was taught how to move safely around large trucks – knowledge that, if widespread, could save many lives. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth saying again: drivers of passenger cars need to be educated about how to operate vehicles alongside large trucks.
That’s why the Florida Trucking Association this week launched its “Share the Road” campaign. The series of public service announcements shared via YouTube aims to educate drivers of all vehicles on how to interact safely and improve driving behavior, particularly around large trucks and buses that have operating limitations. “By raising awareness and promoting education, we can create a culture of mutual respect and understanding on our roads,” said FTA President and CEO Alix Miller. “Our Florida Road Team and the 'Share the Road' campaign is a crucial step toward achieving this goal, and we are proud to share it with the motoring public.”
[RELATED: Survey reveals 56% of passenger car drivers feel unsafe driving beside a commercial truck]
FTA’s presentations are usually delivered to drivers education and physical education classes at Florida high schools but are also made to trucking companies, professional groups, church groups, “Touch-a-Truck” events, press conferences and association events statewide.
These PSAs will be shared across various media platforms. The PSAs include eight videos, led by members of the FTA Road Team, that address blind spots, passing, stopping distance and more.
The first video educates passenger vehicle drivers about blind spots or “No Zones” at the front, rear and sides of a large truck. If you can’t see the driver in the truck’s side mirror, the driver can’t see you. And just as my mother said, the FTA advises drivers not to linger alongside a truck but to pass quickly in its “Pass Safely” video, which also address the headlights in the rearview mirror trick for changing lanes and a note to pass only in the left lane and never when going downhill when a truck picks up speed.
The third and fourth videos highlight the dangers of cutting off a large truck and how a truck can take up to one and a half football fields to come to a stop. Just like giving the truck space in the front, the fifth video features the importance of leaving enough space behind a truck as many drivers – not paying attention and not realizing truck requirements – often will drive into the back of a truck that is stopped at an intersection or rail crossing (sixth video). The final two videos talk about a truck’s limitations like speed and turn radius. Tips include staying behind the white line at intersections to give trucks the space they need to make a turn and to forego dangerous distractions like honking at a slow truck.
I know all of these rules because they’ve been pounded into my head by a former truck driver, and while I also remember much of what I learned from reading my driver’s manual before taking my road test at 16, I can admit I don’t remember everything – and I studied that thing, whereas many people only read enough to pass the test.
[RELATED: Trucking companies should urge state regulators to expand distracted driving laws]
That’s why it’s important to continue educating drivers over time (I’m a proponent of having to retake the driving test every few years). I certainly don’t remember there being any education within the manual about driving alongside large trucks. It’s been longer than I’m willing to admit since I’ve taken that test, so the manual may have changed to include that. I certainly hope it has.
But that’s why campaigns like FTA’s Share the Road are important to support and imitate. Other state trucking associations that haven’t already done something similar should also put some funding behind such a campaign as well as encourage state departments of transportation and local schools to include such education.
