Tailgating any vehicle is dangerous. The danger is far worse if you are behind a semi-truck. Here is a list of reasons why it is never a good idea to follow too closely behind a truck.
Go Around
Are you running late for work? Is there a semi-truck in the right lane and in front of you? Go around it! There isn’t much that the driver can do in order to move out of your way. Remember, they have a strict set of rules to follow in order to keep our roads safe. It’s up to you to make the required lane changes in order to get to where you are going safely.
Tailgating for “Draft”
Many people do this. In order to save gas, many drivers will often “draft” the semi-truck in front of them. The air displacement that a truck provides is huge. This has the potential to cut down on the wind resistance of your car, which can save gas mileage. Unfortunately, this doesn’t drastically cut down and the risk associated with it does not add up if you get into an accident.
Tailgating a Semi-Truck Accidents Can Be Fatal
At high speeds, any auto collision can have a deadly impact, if not the driver, but passengers and other motor vehicle operators on the road. If you are following too closely behind a semi-truck, you are at a high risk of going underneath the truck and being crushed. One of the largest semi accidents occurs simply because the car behind it was following too closely. Cars are being produced even smaller than ever and even though safety standards have increased exponentially, they’re still going toe-to-toe with the largest vehicles on the road. You wouldn’t run right behind a rhino, would you? Well, don’t follow too closely behind a semi.
Semi-Trucks Follow a Specific Set of Rules
In order to keep US roads safe, truck drivers adhere to a specific set of rules and regulations. They do this to ensure safety for you and others. There is not much they can do outside of breaking the law, so when you tailgate a trucker, you are in fact being the bad guy here. Imagine the life of someone who has dedicated their time to maintaining safety standards only to have some knuckle-head end their life by slamming into the back of their truck. That life is now on the trucker’s hands and he was simply following that safety precautions that all truck drivers learn.
Of course, we have a vested interest in people not tailgating our car carriers. Especially for our open trailers, any accident can cause massive damage, both to our equipment, nearby cars, and to the cars we’re hauling. So, we implore you: don’t tailgate a big truck!
