The Share the Road/Teens and Trucks program is a great way to teach drivers about the danger areas around a commercial vehicle.

by Tony Bradley - President and CEO, Arizona Trucking Association
Keep a Safe Distance. While it is never safe to tailgate any vehicle on the highway, following too close is particularly dangerous around large trucks and buses because the size of these vehicles prevents you from seeing the road ahead and having sufficient time to react to slowing or stopped traffic or another obstacle.

by Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
Don’t Cut Off Trucks. Total stopping distance is very different for a large truck than a passenger car. So know that cutting it close with a truck can cut your life short.

by Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
Stay Out of the Truck’s Blind Spots/NO Zones. Trucks have very large blind spots. Do not stay in a truck’s blind spots.

by Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
Trucks Make Wide Turns. Because of their large size, remember that a truck making a right turn may first swing left to clear the corner. Conversely, a truck making a left turn may first swing right to clear vehicles and other objects on its left side. Expect this and be prepared!

by Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

Know the No-Zone

DON’T HANG OUT IN A TRUCK’S NO-ZONE

Due to their size and height, semi trucks and buses have several large blind spots where a car or small truck will virtually “disappear” from a truck driver’s view. The four areas drivers should avoid are the front, rear and both sides of the tractor to the front of the trailer. Traveling in these areas will greatly increase the potential for you getting into a crash.

Front No-Zone: Don’t Ever Cut Off a Truck

Cutting in front of a truck as you would a car may be the last mistake you ever make. The front No-Zone area extends nearly 20 feet ahead of the truck. It’s even safer if a driver is farther away from the front.

Side No-Zones

Trucks have extremely large blind spots on both sides of the tractor, and the front part of the trailer. These blind spots then angle out from the truck. Driving your vehicle in these blind areas can put you into a dangerous situation where you can be sideswiped by a truck that can’t see you.

Rear No-Zone

Truck drivers have no rear-view mirror to look through, so they have to rely heavily on their side-view mirrors. This blind spot extends nearly 200 feet from the back of the truck. Driving in this area also blocks your vision of what’s ahead and decreases your reaction time if a truck stops suddenly.

Trucks Don’t Have Rear-view Mirrors

Truck mirrors can be as tall as 25 inches. They can also have cameras installed, but it doesn’t mean the driver can see everything around them, especially if you are driving in a No-Zone area.

Rule of Thumb: When driving around a truck, if you can see the truck driver’s face in their side mirror, then the driver can see you.