Proper Speed for Semi Trucks

A commercial semi truck driver must maintain a proper speed at all times. Determining a safe speed for a heavy vehicle depends on many critical factors.   Proper speed factors for semi trucks: Traffic conditions; Road conditions and construction; Weather conditions, especially rain, snow or ice; Visibility that may be affected by weather and precipitation, sun glare, or the condition of the truck. The skill and experience of the truck driver; The load weight and type, and the load safety; The Posted Speed Limit and traffic flow; and The shape of the road itself, including curves and grades. Speed control means operating at the proper speed for all road and traffic conditions. A proper speed allows for the driver to

Safety Cushion: Semi-truck following distances

Recently, I was driving on I-5 in the Pacific Northwest. As is usual for this time of the year, it was raining, and the road was slick. The sky was gray with clouds. Time and time again, big rigs would come up behind my vehicle at high speed, then race past me, spraying water. I was alarmed, and a little fearful. Does this sound familiar to you? Because it happens all the time. I am often alarmed by the combination of high speed and limited semi-truck following distances. What is the proper semi-truck following distance? It can seem as though semi-truck following distances are irrelevant to truckers. Or that they have no knowledge of or respect for proper safety cushions. Safety

Following too close: a semi-truck Space Cushion

How many times have you seen semi-trucks racing down the road on the bumper of another truck and trailer? Or a huge tractor-trailer riding the bumper of a passenger vehicle on I-5? Probably far too often. What we see on our highways each and every day are truckers in a hurry, racing upon our roadways and following too close to other vehicles. The truck Space Cushion Many don’t know what a proper “following distance” means, nor the meaning of a proper safety cushion. The necessary and proper following distance is based upon speeds and road conditions. Every vehicle on our highways—and especially semi-trucks and trailers—must follow at such as distance as to provide for the stopping distance which would avoid a collision. A space cushion

Categories

Contact Coluccio Law