by Billie Thomas

Created on: March 28, 2009

A little perspective:

A truck weighs 36,000 pounds empty to 80,000 pounds loaded. Your car weighs 2000 to 5000 pounds.

The average truck driver drives 100,000 to 130,000 miles a year, or around 10,000 miles a month. Truck drivers have many hours of experience driving in heavy traffic, at night, and in adverse weather conditions. Most of them can be considered professional drivers. It's what they do for a living. And they are quite good at it.

It is well documented that 85% of the accidents between cars and trucks are caused by the driver of the car.

There are a few truck drivers who are obnoxious and dangerous. They are usually the ones who are new to the industry. They haven't learned patience yet and think they have to run like their hair's on fire to make a living. We are trying to calm them down. We are trying to convince the FMCSA to change the rules for training so that new truck drivers have the training they need to be safe, courteous drivers. Also, when we see a driver being obnoxious or dangerous, the older, more experienced drivers with common sense get on their cb radios and talk to them. Sometimes it helps. Sometimes the obnoxious driver just comes back with a smart remark. But we hope that they will think about what they hear and take heed. But we all agree that there are some people driving trucks who need to get out of the truck, lock the door, walk away, and never get back in another truck.

There are also car drivers who are obnoxious and dangerous. Those who speed, don't use blinkers, cut people off, ignore stop signs, and whip in and out of traffic. Then there are those who try to drive while they eat, read, watch tv/dvd, send text messages, put makeup on, shave, or even sleep. Not to mention those who are driving tired, drunk, or high.

Following are some tips, which I hope will help those driving passenger vehicles to be and feel safer while sharing the road with trucks.

When a truck driver on the interstate has his blinker on, he really needs to change lanes. When coming into a town to deliver, his directions may be to get off the interstate at Grand Street. Because he doesn't know which exit number that is, or whether it is a right or left hand exit, he will usually stay in the center lane until he sees the sign for that street, then he has a short distance to get into the correct lane to exit the interstate. He needs room for a 53-foot trailer and 20 to 30 foot tractor. The driver isn't trying to be a bully or obnoxious. He just needs to get

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