I have held a commercial drivers license and have driven large vehicles. I have been a pro-truck driver and in my legal life I have seen truck drivers who actually caused in-juries to other truck drivers in accidents.

My dad who drove large trucks commercially taught me years ago that staying to close to an 18-wheeler can cause problems because they cannot see you. You also have to know about their turning radius as they sometimes take up two lanes. So, I am a friend of the truck drivers. I am not a friend of drivers that negligently push the enve-lope in hard, fast driving and using their vehicles in a dan-gerous manner.

Driving in the United States it is likely that you will come across many semi trucks in your travels. Trucks loaded full of cargo on the road is a sure sign of a strong economy but sharing the road with a semi truck can be very intimidating. Fortunately, there are a number of things that commercial vehicles can do to avoid wrecks with big rigs. According to Safer America, giving semi trucks enough space to maneuver is absolutely vital for safety.

Essentially, you want to make sure that there is as much room between you and a semi truck as possible. Avoid making sudden stops in front of a semi, as they need much more room to slow down then you do. If you are driving on a surface street and a light turns yellow and you are in front of a semi truck, it is safer to continue on through the yellow light as opposed to slamming on your brakes.

Do not pass a truck on the right side. In many places, this is actually an illegal maneuver, and the reason is that this area is the driver’s largest blind spot. If you are trying to pass on the right, the driver may not see you and could potentially merge into you.

Finally, and this is a big, big, problem, if a semi truck is try-ing to merge into your lane, do the smart thing and slow down to let them in. Again, if you would like to pass them you can always move over to the left and do so. However, giving semi trucks plenty of room to move in traffic will en-sure safer traffic flow for all.

The McGuire Law Group is ready to help you with any accident involving a truck or commercial vehicle. Call us 713-600-1000.