The dangers of trailing a semi too closely or what might happen if a truck’s brakes fail while it is following you on a highway may have been mentioned to you. But what if you are sharing a ride with a large truck? Since you are in parallel lines on the highway, your paths will never meet. This location should be relatively safe. Contacting a truck accident lawyer Los Angeles is always advisable if you ever get in a car accident.
Sideswipe Crashes Can Occur When Riding Next to a Semi-Truck
While driving side-by-side with a semi-truck may appear less risky than doing so in front of or behind it, there are still risks to be aware of. These risks include:
- Blind areas:
Blind spots are a common problem with commercial vehicles, and the ones along the sides of a tractor-trailer are particularly large and can conceal an entire car. Even though you spend multiple minutes following the semi, it is possible that the truck’s mirrors will not catch you, increasing the likelihood that he may veer into you when trying to shift lanes.
- Strong winds:
When a commercial trailer is unloaded, the high walls are considerably more likely to be blasted into nearby roads since they may be easily thrown in any direction by the wind. On a windy day, a trucker may be blamed for sideswiping a smaller car if he is going too fast, as going too fast in strong winds is unsafe.
- Blown tires:
A big tractor requires a lot of tires, and if one of them blows, the results can be severe. An explosion of a tire can result in any location on the road being affected, as well as the trucker losing control and sideswiping the vehicles in the lane just beside him.
A huge rig should always be surrounded by at least a few vehicle widths of space in all directions. You should be careful to pass semi-trucks as soon as it is safe because they can crash into compact vehicles with enormous force and are challenging to control and stop fast. On a highway, if you see a commercial vehicle in the right lane, move as much to the left as possible and pass him as soon as possible. When overtaking and reentering the right lane, use your turn signals and give the semi-truck as much room as possible.