Preventing the Lane Change Accident Through Protective Driving Presented By:
What Happened to Defensive Driving? Protective Driving is a better technique You are less likely to die in a crash with a car than the car driver Must protect the public as well as yourself By protecting the public you protect yourself, your company, and the industry
Characteristics of a Professional Driver Courteous Attentive “Senses” what others will do…or not do Does not make risky moves Allows a “safety cushion” around the truck Obeys traffic laws
Characteristics of an Unprofessional Driver Tailgates and intimidates Cuts people off Changes lanes unnecessarily Excessive speed Rude, vulgar on CB to other drivers Thinks the bigger vehicle will win
Critical Crashes Are preventable Happen frequently Have high severity
Why Critical Crashes Happen Driver didn’t know the proper technique Driver didn’t try the proper technique Driver didn’t care
Lane Change Accident Causes Failure to scan side and rear spaces Wandering over lane dividers Failure to anticipate lane mergers Following too closely Failure to compensate for traffic conditions
Causes Continued… Improper mirror adjustment Failure to signal Improper loading of double or triple trailers Driver inattention
Concentrate on Your Driving You make approximately 180 decisions per minute while driving Doing other tasks just adds to this total If you make the right decision 99% of the time, you are making 108 mistakes per hour! In a ten hour run that is 1080 mistakes!
The Typical Lane Change Truck driver is attempting to change lanes Other vehicle in driver’s blind spot Truck driver does not see other vehicle Makes contact with other vehicle before realizing it is there Truck driver gets blamed for accident
How Would You React? Think about a lane change accident Imagine yourself in the driver’s seat of the car…”Put the shoe on the other foot” If this happened to you or your family, would you sue the trucking company?
Protective Driving Techniques Assume that other drivers will make mistakes Be ready to compensate for others’ mistakes Search ahead to scan for danger Recognize hazardous situations before they become emergencies
Protective Driving Techniques Check blind spots before changing lanes -- Lean and Look Keep mirrors clean and properly adjusted Keep windshield clean Only pass when necessary Identify vehicles in mirrors so you know when they are replaced
Keep a Safety Cushion Leave space all around your vehicle...
This is not always easy to do...
Leave Yourself a “Way Out” Safety cushion leaves you an out Try not to get boxed in Always leave the proper following distance Remember at 65 mph a car stops 209 feet faster than a truck Remember you only have 4 evasive options
4 Evasive Maneuvers DRIVE THRU LEFT RIGHT STOP
Two Common Accident Examples Entrance/exit ramp mergers Improper following distance forces driver to change lanes quickly to avoid rear ending vehicle in front How do these accidents typically happen? What can you do to avoid them?
Words of Wisdom for the Road Stop signs do not stop vehicles Turn signals do not turn vehicles Most people do not understand the limitations of trucks Smart people still do dumb things ASSUME ALL OTHER DRIVERS ARE IDIOTS
Thank You For Attending Have a Safe Trip Home