Bee Staff
Passenger car vs. big rig in a collision is never a fair match for the passenger car, no matter what the circumstances or who is ultimately determined to be at fault.
Ahead of the Labor Day holiday, the Insurance Information Network of California, the California Highway Patrol and the California Trucking Association laid out some safety tips for passenger cars on the road with trucks in a news release.
- Allow plenty of room when changing lanes in front of a truck.
-Pass trucks quickly and don't linger beside a truck.
-Pass a truck on the left, not on the right, because the truck's blind spot on the right runs the length of the trailer and extends out three lanes.
-Allow a lot of room around trucks. Try to leave a 10-car length gap when in front of a truck and 20-25 car lengths when behind a truck.
-Check a truck's mirrors. If you are following a truck and you cannot see the driver's face in the truck's side mirrors, the truck driver cannot see you.
-Allow trucks adequate space to maneuver. Trucks make wide turns at intersections and require additional lanes to turn.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that 4,602 people died in truck collisions in 2007, the release states. Of these deaths, 16 percent were truck occupants and 70 percent were occupants of cars and other passenger vehicles.
The CHP estimates that more than half of the 7,262 collisions involving big rigs last year were caused by passenger vehicle drivers, the release states.
"The number of trucks using the California highway system will inevitably increase over the coming years," said CHP Deputy Commissioner Skip Carter.
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