Great West Casualty Company Blog

The mirrors on a commercial motor vehicle are an essential piece of safety equipment. Mirrors can help skilled drivers manage the space around the truck and avoid crashes while changing lanes, backing, and turning. Mirrors require proper care and maintenance, however, and truck drivers must be able to recognize the hazards that can potentially render a mirror useless. Read the information below and ask yourself if there are actions you can take to improve your driving skills and reduce the risk of a crash with better use of your truck’s mirrors.

KNOW THE DEFENSE At 65 mph, a fully-loaded tractor-trailer requires a minimum of 665 feet of stopping distance. The most reliable method drivers use to gauge this distance is by counting seconds. To do this, pick a stationary object on the side of the road, like a road sign or overpass, and, as soon as the vehicle in front passes your chosen object, begin counting: “one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand…”. Continue counting until your vehicle reaches that stationary object.

Recognize the Hazards A key factor in rear-end crashes is improper following distance. In order to determine how much following distance is required to bring a tractor-trailer to a complete stop, drivers first need to know how much stopping distance their vehicle requires.

Are you ready to avoid fatigue-related crashes? Fatigue behind the wheel is a real danger. It can be a killer and happen any time, any where. But, guess what? You can control it. You are the key factor in determining whether or not a fatigue-related crash will happen to you. At Great West Casualty Company, we say to look for warning signs including inattentiveness, erratic driving, tailgating, drifting, or failure to obey traffic signals. Most modern tractors have comfortable seats, relatively quiet cabs, and are temperature controlled. But, while these designs are convenient and comfortable, they can contribute to falling asleep at the wheel. We're all for driving in a fine ride, but we don't want these things to get the best of you when it comes to fatigue while driving.

One of the most neglected aspects of a pre-trip inspection is the air pressure in the tires of commercial vehicles. It is not enough to scan tires for noticeably-low pressures or “thumping” the tires to gauge its pressure. Cutting corners in this area of the pre-trip inspection can be costly regarding dollars, times, and possibly lives.

Mechanics can put themselves in serious peril if they enter an empty cargo tank trailer without following OSHA’s confined space entry procedures. One cause of injury, and possibly death, is the assumption that it is safe to enter the trailer because it has never previously contained a hazardous material or substance. According to 29 CFR 1910.146, a confined space must meet ALL THREE of the following conditions:

Every year, maintenance employees are seriously injured or killed when wheel components fail, causing a sudden release of air pressure or “blow-out.” Most of these incidents occur due to over-inflating the tire or improperly seated tire/rim components. Anyone standing within the blast zone could be seriously injured by debris.  

Run-under crashes are one of the most devastating losses a trucking company can experience. A run-under crash can cost thousands of dollars in physical damage and personal injury. However, these crashes are frequently among the easiest to prevent. Many run-under crashes involve U-turns. A run-under crash caused by a U-turn is possibly the easiest to prevent…never make a U-turn.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration the difference between aggressive driving and road rage is this:  “Aggressive driving is when an individual commits a combination of moving traffic offenses that endangers other persons or property.” It includes speeding, lane blocking, tailgating, frequent and sudden lane changes, honking at other cars in a non- emergency, and failing to yield the right of way. These are ticketable offenses and according to a study conducted by the National Safety Council, aggressive driving is a factor in 50% of all crashes. 

Part 390.5 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) defines interstate and intrastate commerce in the following manner: Interstate commerce means trade, traffic, or transportation in the United States — (1) Between a place in a state and a place outside of such state (including a place outside of the United States); (2) Between two places in a state through another state or a place outside of the United States; or (3) Between two places in a state as part of trade, traffic, or transportation originating or terminating outside the state or the United States.