Houston attracts many individuals from all over the country. It’s also a place that sees plenty of truck traffic. Truckers pick up loads in Houston and drive them elsewhere, and it’s also a potential destination spot when a trucker brings in a load from across the country.
If you’re a truck driver in Houston, you must avoid accidents however you can. If you hit another vehicle, finding qualified counsel with trial experience becomes crucial. It’s always best if you can avoid getting into that situation, though.
Let’s discuss a few safety tips for truck drivers in the Houston area right now.
Stay Caffeinated
Whether driving around Houston at night or during the daytime, you must stay alert. Staying caffeinated can help you with that.
You might drink some coffee before you start your shift. If you don’t like coffee, caffeinated tea or a soda with caffeine could come in handy. You might also get a drink with taurine, guarana, or any of the other legal stimulants that can pep you up.
If you feel tired and you’re driving an enormous 18-wheeler, that can spell disaster. It’s far better if you can caffeinate yourself every time you get behind the wheel.
Know Your Blind Spots
You should also know your blind spots as a Houston trucker. When you attend trucking school, you’ll learn about those. You won’t find a car and a truck identical. They handle differently, but they have different blind spots as well.
With large trucks, you can’t see directly behind you or in front. You also have a spot on the vehicle’s side where you can’t see anything. Don’t change lanes without knowing what vehicles you have around you. If you change lanes recklessly, that can easily cause an accident.
Make Sure You Know Your Vehicle’s Height
You should also know your truck’s height as a professional trucker. Before you leave, you can map out what overpasses and bridges in Houston won’t give you enough clearance.
If you ignore your truck’s height or a bridge’s clearance and try going under, you might seriously damage the truck and the bridge. You can also hurt yourself. This happens surprisingly often, so don’t make this common mistake.
Watch for Erratic Drivers Around You
When you drive a large truck, other drivers should show you respect. They shouldn’t approach without feeling sure you know they’re there. However, if you see someone driving erratically, you can guess maybe they’ve had a few alcoholic drinks at lunch. If so, they might not care that you have a much larger and heavier vehicle.
Stay away if you see someone weaving or switching lanes without signaling. If you can’t avoid them, honk at them to let them know you’re there. That might keep them away and avoid a collision that will likely hurt them much more than you.
Don’t Let Impatience Dictate Your Actions
Maybe you’ll hit some traffic or construction on one of Houston’s streets. If so, you should take it easy and stay patient. You might have a time by which you feel you should arrive at your destination. However, sometimes, life intervenes.
If so, don’t try forcing your way through traffic or lay on the horn to try and move the cars around you. Take a deep breath and know you’ll get on your way soon enough. In the meantime, remember that at your size, a single impatient act can devastate a driver beside you if you switch lanes suddenly or do something equally dangerous.
Don’t Use Your Smartphone While Driving
You should also not use your smartphone while driving. Laws already dictate this, but maybe you can’t resist checking a text message or seeing how a stock you own looks like it’s doing.
All these activities must wait. You can’t look at your phone while driving a multiple-ton vehicle. If you do, you might injure or kill yourself or someone else. Keep your smartphone off, and don’t even glance at it till you’re parked with the engine turned off.
Don’t Let Road Rage Control You
You should also never let road rage take over. It happens all the time, and when it does, it’s bad enough when you’re driving an SUV. You can imagine what might happen if you fly into a rage while driving an 18-wheeler.
Take a few steadying breaths if someone honks or gestures at you. You must play the part of the bigger person to keep Houston’s roads safe.