Safety Tips for Truck Drivers

Long haul trucking has become an essential job as it involves delivering items on time. Although important, trucking is also a risky and dangerous job. Safety is key when you’re on the road and the same applies to truck drivers. However, truck drivers need to take a little more precaution since they have heavy trailers attached to their truck. Here are a few safety tips for truck drivers.

Blind Spots
Many drivers aren’t aware that truck drivers have “no zones.” No zones are the spots where crashes and accidents are most likely to occur. Because most aren’t aware of these spots, it’s up to the person driving the truck to exercise extreme caution before turning or changing lanes. The most common no zones are:

• Directly behind the truck 
• Just in front of the cab off to the side
• Just behind the side mirrors of the truck 

Loading Cargo 
When loading or unloading cargo, it’s important that this procedure is done properly to ensure the safety of the driver and other motorists on the road. Remember to never pull out of the loading dock until the dock plate is removed, the loading/unloading has been completed and there are no people working in the trailer still. 

Adjust for Weather 
Like drivers on the road, the weather can be unpredictable. Be sure to take into account the weather conditions and adjust your driving accordingly.  On wet roads, reduce speed by one-third and reduce speed by one-half on snowy roads. 

Avoiding Distractions
Distracted driving is anything that takes your attention away from driving. This could be sending a text, talking on the phone, using a GPS system, eating and more. Lastly, never text while driving as you are putting you and others on the road in extreme danger. Texting while driving combines three types of distraction: visual (eyes off the road), manual (hands off the wheel) and cognitive (mind off of driving).

For long-haul truck drivers, remember to keep these safety tips in mind before heading out on the road to keep you and other motorists safe. At Ticket Watch, we provide fleet management software and fleet ticket software to keep track of trucking fleet and cargo. For more information, contact our team today.