CARS BESIDE TRUCKS
Never, and I mean never, drive beside an eighteen wheeler for long periods of time. It is extremely dangerous. First off the wind turbulence is bad and absolutely can push you off the road or pull you into the truck if you are not watching!
Also, if one of those tires does blow it can rip your head right off your shoulders and that’s no joke. It has happened before and it can be quite sickening.
CARS PASSING TRUCKS
When you pass an eighteen wheeler in a car, make sure you see at the least both headlights in your rearview mirror before executing your move in front of them.
RIGHT HAND TURNS
When you see a truck driver trying to make a right hand turn, NEVER get to the right of him as he CANNOT see you! I’ve seen literally hundreds of cars smashed because of total stupidity.
The reason an eighteen wheeler driver swings wide to make a right turn is basically because he can’t see and it is always better to be safe than sorry than to pay a road maintenance authority several thousands of Naira for a ripped off stop light or stop sign.
It is NO different than making a left turn except for the fact that you can stick your head out of the left window. Of course if you are a giraffe then you are ok on right turns!
GET OUT OF THE LEFT LANE
I don’t care whether you are in a car or in a truck, when you are through passing get out of the left lane! It only breeds hatred and frustration when drivers are rude and just ride in the left lane for no reason. The freeways are designed properly if ONLY they would be used properly!
TWO LANE ROADS
If you are on a two lane road with a mile long line of traffic behind you and you are looking to make a right turn, instead of stopping everybody get on the shoulder to turn right so everybody else can keep moving (if there is a shoulder of course).
CORNERING
One very important thing to remember when taking sharp curves or cornering is the need to slow down before the curve and then power through the curve. You always want to keep a pull on a trailer and never let a trailer push you through a curve.
TURNING ON RED
Did you know that it is legal to turn left on red? Only turn left on red when it is from a one-way to a one-way.
LOOK AHEAD
Always look ahead of you NOT just right in front of your bumper as many people do. Learn how to judge distance and speed to keep the freeways moving smooth. If you see a truck or even a car coming up on a very slow moving vehicle ahead of them, you should realize they need to get out and, If you keep moving up to them at a high rate of speed knowing this, then it’s your own idiocy when you get mad because they pull out in front of you. Common sense is called for in these situations.
EXITING
Don’t be a dummy and hammer down right before you know you need to exit and cut a truck off OR cut in front of them and slow down to get off. You truly have no idea how close to death you are. If the driver is looking down for even a second you will be in deep trouble. Possibly 6-feet of deep trouble!
Use your head and common sense to realize that you should slow down and not try to pass. Why be in a hurry to just get off anyway? Will one second matter that much?
No matter how big you are, how bad you are, how rich you are, how smart you are, how dumb you are, how young you are, or how old you are, you will die with 80,000 lbs on top of you.
WHO’S THE BOSS? CAR VS TRUCK.
You’re in command of a 10 ton missile at 100 km/hr; he’s in command of a 100 ton missile at about 50 km/hr! The end result of any form of collision, be it head-on, rear-end or road departure won’t be pretty.
Think smart, drive smart and stay safe always.
I see heavy hauling trucks all the time. I always try to give them a lot of room to maneuver. I agree that you need to learn how to look ahead because you can assess a lot of situations that way.
I appreciate the information on sharing the road with heavy haulage trucks. I agree that it is important to not drive beside an eighteen wheeler for a long period of time, you never know if the driver can see you and you may be trapped if they decide to turn. I would imagine that it is important for everyone to know these tips about driving with a heavy haulage truck, it would make the roads a lot safer.