5 Wintertime Safe Driving Tips for Truck Drivers
Posted on 17. Mar, 2014 by Author123 in Automotive
In some areas, the weather is still pretty rough - there is ice on the asphalt and sleet on the side of the roads. With a heavy, multi-ton truck, driving on the ice can turn into a delicate and dangerous ballet. If you don’t take certain safety precautions, you could wind up getting seriously injured or you could get into a collision. Not only that, but you want to make sure you have all the tools for safety. If you are ill equipped, you will certainly be sorry when you are blowing into your hands and waiting for help on the side of the road. Here are five wintertime safe driving tips for truck drivers.
- Make sure that there is plenty of room between you and the other drivers in front and in back of you. Winter driving is dangerous - mainly because of the ice - but also because of the other drivers on the road. Thick snow and rain can cause conditions that make visibility difficult. For this exact reason, you want to make sure there is at least two car lengths of space between you and other drivers.
- Be sure to hold on tight and take control. In extreme temperatures and dangerous road conditions, you want to hold on to your steering wheel as tightly as you can. You may even want to wear gloves if you need to - you don’t want to get scabs and blisters. When the asphalt has ice on it, your truck may hydroplane and if you don’t have your hands firmly on the wheel, you could completely lose control of the truck. In fact, you want to keep both hands on the wheel for the entire time you are driving - just to be on the safe side.
- Keep your ear to the radio. If you are driving over bridges, mountains and other hazardous roads, you want to listen to your radio signal and you may even want to stay in touch with your dispatcher. If you visited BestDriverJobs.com and got a job as a driver for a big trucking fleet, there is a good chance that you have a dispatcher. Before you head over a bridge or mountain road, you want to know if the weather conditions are mild or severe. If they are severe, you may want to wait out the storm.
- Pre-inspect your vehicle. In the winter, pre-inspection is critical. You want to make sure that everything is working in tip-top shape. For instance, you want to make sure that your tires are aligned and that the tread is ample. The same goes for your breaks - you want to make sure your break response time is adequate and you may also want to provide oil. Your breaks will be incredibly vital in a situation where you need to stop immediately.
- Make sure to pay attention to any temporary road signs. Of course, you should be paying attention to permanent road signs, but there may also be other signs that warn drivers about road conditions, like ice, snow and even highway closures. In the end, it is not very fun to try and wade through extreme road conditions - and it is not very safe either.