Safety Tips for Truckers in Winter

There’s no doubt about it—driving a large semi truck in winter weather can be difficult and nerve-racking, as well as potentially dangerous. It’s important, therefore, for truckers to do everything they can to be safe on the road during the winter months to mitigate some of the risks they’re inevitably going to face.

Here are some tips for truckers to stay safe on the roads in winter so they can avoid needing to call for mobile semi truck repair in Shelby County, TN:

• Always be prepared: The first rule of trucking is to make sure you’re prepared for any eventuality. This means being fully stocked with safety supplies, blankets, food, water, extra fluid and coolant, jumper cables, ice scrapers, shovels and extra fuel. You never know when you’ll be stranded due to winter weather and need some or all of these items.
• Extend following distances: Because stopping distances are increased during slippery conditions, it’s important that you also increase the distance you keep behind other vehicles. This is something you should do at all times, as tailgating increases the risk of a rear-end collision, but it’s especially important in the winter when sudden stops are significantly more difficult to perform.
• Enhance visibility: You should always make sure your trailer lights are visible. This means checking to ensure they’re not covered with snow or ice before you head out on the road. Always check your taillights before you leave a rest stop and dust them off if needed. Make sure you also keep your headlights on at all times when the weather is bad. Even if it’s not snowing and is just cloudy, it can be helpful to have your lights on. Don’t assume other drivers will be able to see you just because you’re in a big vehicle.
• Careful on bridges: Bridges collect ice much faster than normal roadways because they are surrounded by freezing air and are incapable of trapping heat. For this reason, you should be extra careful whenever you need to go over a bridge, and be careful of black ice on sunny days.
• Slow down: Again, expect it to take longer to stop your vehicle during slippery weather. This is one of the reasons why you should slow down and take it at an easy pace. This will give you more time to react if you begin to lose control of your vehicle.
• Do not stop on the shoulder: Even if visibility gets bad, you should never pull over on the shoulder of the road to take a break, because other drivers might not see you or could potentially mistake you for a moving vehicle, increasing the likelihood of an accident. If you feel the conditions are unsafe and you need to get off the road, you should only get off at an exit or a designated rest stop.

For more winter safety tips to help you avoid the need for mobile semi truck repair in Shelby County, TN, contact the experts at United Diesel Power today.

Categorised in: Semi Truck Repair

This post was written by Writer