What might happen if you change lanes and dont leave a safe distance between you and the truck?

Índice Show

Hasty and Uncalculated Passing
Following the Truck at a Close Distance
Passing on Wide Turns
Impatient Driving
Driving Under Influence
Seek Expert Driving Lessons from LTrent
Changing lanes when a lane ends
Merging safely on motorways

Sharing the road with commercial trucks can be frightening, especially for new drivers. This is because they take longer to seize motion in comparison to passenger vehicles. Additionally, large vehicles have larger blind spots that can cause accidents in case of irresponsible driving. Below are some of the things you should refrain from when passing a large truck.

Hasty and Uncalculated Passing

Safety precaution is paramount when passing any vehicle. However, more caution is necessary when passing a truck on the road. When contemplating to pass one, follow these guidelines for enhanced safety:

Always ensure that you signal in advance and maintain a consistent speed.
Make sure the truck driver has a clear view of your vehicle.
After passing, check on the rear-view mirror to ensure a safe distance before getting back to your lane.
Slow down to create space in front of you when the truck is passing your car.

Following the Truck at a Close Distance

It is recommended that you maintain a safe distance (of about four seconds) between the truck and your car. Trucks have large bodies, and moving close can block the driver’s view of your vehicle. Additionally, increasing the safe distance can increase reaction time to dangers such as tire blowouts.

Passing on Wide Turns

Experts from top-rated driving schools such as LTrent recommend that you should not attempt to pass a truck on wide turns. Semi-trucks take more time to manoeuvre, especially in bends. This is because the truck driver may sway in one direction to gain room to make a perfect turn. Also, always ensure that there is enough space between your car and the truck to complete the turn.

Impatient Driving

Irresponsible driving when sharing the road with trucks can lead to fatal accidents. These are some of the impatient driving acts that you should avoid:

Changing lanes abruptly—this can cause misjudgments that may lead to accidents.
Driving at unsafe speed—trucks take time to slow down; hence approaching them at high speed can lead to misunderstanding among drivers.
Failure to slow down when approaching construction sites, road repair areas, and other contentious places.
Following a truck at a close distance.
Unsafe turning and passing.

Driving Under Influence

Drug and alcohol abuse cause vision impairment. This leads to disrupted judgment and poor reaction time. It is dangerous and may lead to disastrous results when sharing the road with trucks. It’s better if you allow another driver to hold the steering wheel rather than driving under the influence or in an exhausted state.

Seek Expert Driving Lessons from LTrent

Driving past a truck requires patience and first-rate judgment. Any miscalculations made can lead to personal injuries or even fatal accidents. You can enroll in top-quality driving lessons at LTrent Driving School, where our certified instructors will equip you with essential safety skills to navigate all road conditions in Australia. LTrent Driving School also offers Safer Drivers Course. Please get in touch with us today to book your classes and training sessions.

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When changing lanes, you must give way to vehicles in the lane you’re moving into.

You must indicate to let others know when you plan to move into another lane. Make sure your indicator is off after you’ve merged or changed lanes.

Changing lanes when a lane ends

When the lane you’re driving in is ending and you need to cross a broken line to move into another lane, you must give way to vehicles already in that lane – for example, when you’re joining a motorway.

Slow down and look for a suitable gap so you can change lanes safely.

If a vehicle is moving into your lane, you should leave a suitable gap.

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When you change lanes, you must give way to any vehicle in the lane you are moving into. This rule applies even if your lane is ending and you have to cross a lane line.

Don’t take risks when changing lanes. Before you change lanes, you must indicate for long enough to give warning to other road users

You must turn off your indicator after you have changed lanes or merged.

Merging

There are 2 different give way rules for merging.

Watch the video to better understand the right way to merge depending on your situation.

A lot of people believe you must give way to the right when merging.

But that's not the rule. There are actually 2 different merging rules to remember, depending on the situation.

Let's look at merging situation number one, when one marked lane comes to an end. If it's your lane that's ending, it's just like any other lane change, you must give way to any traffic already in the lane you're moving into. So here, vehicle A needs to give way to vehicle B. When the lane is clear, vehicle A is free to move across.

The other merging situation arises when there are no marked lanes, but different lines of traffic merging together into one. In this situation, you must give way to any vehicle that's in front of you. So vehicle B needs to give way to vehicle A.

Doing it the right way is easy when you know how.

Merging safely on motorways

Plan your route before you enter a motorway.
Build up speed to match that of the traffic already on the motorway—this can help you to find a safe gap in the traffic.
Look for a gap between the vehicles in the closest lane and safely build up speed on the on-ramp so you enter at the motorway traffic’s speed.
When driving on a motorway, watch for other vehicles entering from an on-ramp and adjust your speed and/or lane to allow them to enter safely.
Be ready and in the correct lane as your exit approaches.

If you miss your exit, continue to the next exit.

Last updated: 26 May 2016