Winter driving presents major challenges for the professional truck driver. More truck collisions happen in the winter than any other season of the year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Many winter weather collisions occur because drivers have failed to obtain adequate rest prior to their trip, they have not planned ahead for the possibility of changing weather conditions, and they do not adjust their speed and space accordingly for worsening road, weather, equipment or...
You've heard it a million times -- the state flower of Texas (or any other US state for that matter) is an orange traffic cone. But the statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration make that statement less humorous, reminding us that each year more than 40,000 people are injured as a result of motor vehicle crashes in work zones. Statistics tell us that 85 percent of people killed in work zones are vehicle drivers or occupants, approximately one half of all fatal work...
As you have probably heard and some of you have already experienced, so changes are coming to the HOS regulations regarding Electronic Logging Devices or "ELDs". Basically, as of 12/16/19 every truck is required to be equipped with an ELD that meets FMCSA technical standards. Some of those technical standards are:
Logging information regarding actual driving of the vehicle must be pulled directly from the vehicle engine ECM.
Start of Trip (Driving) must be recorded beginning when the...
The most frequent cause of injuries for drivers are slips and falls from tractors and trailers. For the most part, this is caused by drivers failing to enter or exit their vehicles properly.
Did you realize that jumping from the tractor or trailer without using steps and grab rails can cause very serious, if not debilitating, injuries to ankles, knees, hips and back? Such injuries are the result of the increased impact forces on joints. Studies found that when a driver did not...
Tire-related costs are the
single largest maintenance expenditure for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) fleet
operators, and represent one of the two highest costs of running a truck,
second only to fuel! Improper tire maintenance is also a major cause of tire
failure and blowouts.
Many of these costs can be
averted by ensuring that drivers always inspect and maintain their tires.
Properly kept tires deliver more mileage, reduce fuel costs and tire
malfunctions, and increase safety and...
While driving down a dark,
twisting two-lane road, the glare of an oncoming vehicle’s high beam headlight
suddenly appear. The vehicle flashes
past and for the next two seconds you are blind. You have just experienced a common hazard known
as night blindness.
Night blindness occurs when
the eye is accustomed to low levels of light and the light intensity suddenly
rises. The eyes attempt to adjust to the
new light level, but if that level of intensity is only...
Collisions frequently occur when traffic is merging from one lane to another. These merging maneuvers are most prevalent at highway entrance/exit ramps, at the approach to “mix-masters” or highway junctures as well as on local streets and highways where lanes are reduced due to construction of lane obstructions. Did you realize that 2 out of every 10 collisions are the result of an improper lane change maneuver? As a professional truck driver, this situation poses an even greater challenge due...
Repost from 2011. Four seconds. That’s the average time it takes a person to dial a telephone and press send. It can take even more time to type and send a text message. Four seconds may not seem long, but for drivers, every second their eyes are off the road is an opportunity for an accident to occur. In fact, driving at 55 mph, a vehicle will travel more than 322 feet in four seconds. While most people would never drive four seconds with their eyes closed, there is no difference between that...