If you’re an over the road trucker, safety should be your No. 1 priority when you’re on the road. You have to make split-second decisions that prevent disaster and protect yourself and other drivers. To help you, we shared these semi truck driving safety tips. It’s not the most comprehensive list, but it does offer some advice about things that some veteran truck drivers can overlook. It never hurts to do a quick review of the things that every truck driver needs to know. Stay safe by checking out these truck driving tips and tricks.
Semi Truck Parking Tip: Check Your Rig
Be honest, how many times do you look back at your semi truck after you’ve parked it? Some truckers just get out and walk to the truck stop, operating center, or their destination. There are more than a few good reasons to look back at your rig after you park it. Some drivers bump their blinker when they get out of the cab. This leaves the blinker clicking away, which could deplete the battery if you turned the truck off. (Have fun explaining that to dispatch!) Proper parking is another reason to look back at your rig after you get out. Yes, even the pros sometimes can creep into another semi-truck parking space.
Semi Truck Trailer Safety
If your trailer regularly leaves the road or goes outside the lines, you aren’t driving as safely as you could be. Whether it’s turning, parking, or backing in, if you don’t have control of your trailer, it could get dangerous for yourself and others. Go back to what you learned during your earliest days of truck driver training. You probably had some great tips passed on to you from veteran drivers who’ve been there and done that. It wouldn’t hurt to reach out to these or other veteran drivers you respect for some tips or even just a few words of encouragement. Considering how much trouble their advice could help you avoid should make it easy to swallow your pride and ask for some help.
Do a CDL Pre-Trip Inspection!
You had to learn this in order to get your license to drive big rigs. That shouldn’t be the only time you do a thorough inspection. The day you cruise through your inspection is likely to be the day that a Department of Transportation officer will ask you if you’ve done one. As you know, something as small as not having enough valve stem covers can cause a stir with these folks. A proper pre-trip inspection would have caught that and given you plenty of time to fix the situation before heading out. We can’t stress enough just how important your CDL pre-trip checklist really is.
Animals in the Road: What to Do
If you see an animal in the road, keep driving. In other words, do not swerve to avoid it. If you try to save that stray dog or slow-moving opossum, you could lose control of 80,000 pounds of machinery. This could cause your trailer to slam into one of the many much smaller vehicles on the road. As much as you might not want to hit an animal, you really don’t want to collide with another vehicle. When you see an animal in the road, grip the wheel and try to slow down as much as you safely can. The animal might not make it, but this improves your chances and the chances of everyone else on the road.
Pass On What You’ve Learned
If you’ve been an OTR driver for a while, you probably have mentors who’ve helped you out along the way. You owe your career to these wise truckers who’ve shared the tips that have helped keep you safe on the road all these years. If you find yourself in a position to help new drivers, take it. Teach them everything your mentors taught you, plus anything else you’ve picked up along the way. This will keep another generation of truckers safe, as well as and countless numbers of other people who share the roads with truck drivers just like you.
Bonus Tip: DIRECTV for Big Rigs
The five safety tips for truck drivers above will help you on the road. Here’s another tip for when you’re on your breaks: get DIRECTV in your big rig. DIRECTV has hundreds of channels that offer the best news, sports, and entertainment programming. What’s more, the company’s high-definition satellites cover the country from coast to coast. This lets you enjoy your favorite shows every time you pull into a truck stop. Get DIRECTV in your rig to enjoy your favorite shows on those long, interstate trips… but not when you’re driving! (There’s another truck driver safety trip.)
Signal Connect is Your DIRECTV Dealer
Are you an independent truck driver who’s interested in getting DIRECTV for your big rig? Or maybe you manage a trucking company and you’re interested in getting DIRECTV for your fleet. Either way, Signal Connect can deliver this satellite TV service to you. We do everything needed to get DIRECTV in your semi trucks, including matching you with the right programming package, satellite dish, and other equipment. We’ll also service your account after the sale so you don’t have to worry about a thing. If you want DIRECTV for your big rig or fleet, give us a call at 888-233-7563.
