It is this time of the year again – the holiday time, when families hit the road. Whether you are going on a long distance road trip or just over to the nearby lake for the weekend, you will undoubtedly be driving on a highway. Many of you have already logged in hundreds if not thousands of miles.

One type of drivers, we know for sure, log in thousands of miles every week – the truck drivers. They are on the road daily and especially during the busy summer season.

Truck drivers are operating larger, heavier vehicles and because they are professional drivers they know better than any of us the dangers on the road. They have seen a lot, and some probably experience a lot on the road. Yet, both types of drivers have equal degree of responsibility.

According to truck accident statistics, every year in the US nearly 5,000 fatalities occur due to truck accidents. About 80% of the fatalities are caused by the driver of the passenger vehicle and about 16% of the truck driver or another person in the truck.

A large truck weights about 80,000 pounds and with length of about 75 feet it is not easy to survive a truck accident.

So, think about that when hitting the road whether in summer or in winter. If you want to get where you are going alive, you have to consider everything on the road including large semi-trucks. I would like to recommend a few simple road sharing steps picked from the DOT and Road Safe America‘s websites.

Have a happy road trip, avoid big rig fatalities

NEVER EVER cut in front of a truck!

Big rigs cannot come to a halt as quickly as passenger vehicles can. Large trucks take much more space and time to come to a complete stop. Keep this in mind if you ever consider cutting in front of a truck. However, the best option is to just never do it.

AVOID blind spots around trucks!

If you can’t see the truck’s side mirrors this means the truck driver cannot see you too. One third of all crashes between trucks and cars occur in the blind spots. 75 feet tractor trailers create immense blind spot and you do not want to be in it when the truck needs to make a turn or change lanes. So, the moment you noticed you are in the trucker’s blind spot you have to move immediately.

DON’T tailgate a big rig!

You do not want to tail gate anybody, but especially a large truck. Hidden closely behind the trailer you will not be able to see what is happening ahead of the truck and will not have time to react. If, for some reason, the truck driver hits the brakes you may end up in an under-ride accident. Your whole vehicle could slide right under the truck which in most cases leads to fatalities.

Follow these three simple steps to prevent fatalities on the road. Be alert and drive safely. And lastly, if you are planning a cross country moving, or a vacation, and don’t want to drive you can have your car shipped. Happy driving and stay on the road!