Passing a Truck
When passing a truck and moving back into its lane make sure you can see the truck's headlights in your rear view mirror before you cut back in. That allows the truck enough space to safely slow or stop if something happens up ahead.
 LA fully loaded tractor trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds and take the length
of a football field to stop.
Most passenger cars weigh around 3,000 pounds and have a much shorter
stopping distance. Just because you can stop in
time doesn't mean that the truck behind you can if
you've cut too close in front
of it. Even if the driver makes
a monumental effort they may
not be able to
stop if you haven't
left them enough room.
You may wonder why trucks leave
space in front of them in heavy traffic.
It's so they have enough stopping distance. Don't fill in that space and
take up that safety buffer that the
driver is trying to maintain. |
