Dangers of driving near container trucks and things to keep in mind

Driving a car or motorbike near a truck or container truck always poses many unpredictable dangers. Therefore, drivers need to equip themselves with the skills to handle these types of vehicles on the road.

Driving a car near a container truck always contains many dangers - Photo: Duc Tien

After an accident involving a container truck flipping over and crushing a small car in Nam Dinh on April 11, killing two people, a truck carrying goods while traveling on an overpass in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City suddenly lost control and flipped over into the opposite lane, colliding with a motorbike, seriously injuring two people on the motorbike.

These are just two of the traffic accidents involving trucks, container trucks with other vehicles... that have occurred recently. This once again raises the alarm bell about the awareness of truck and container truck drivers when participating in traffic. At the same time, it is a reminder for drivers on how to control their vehicles, as well as equipping them with handling skills when encountering trucks and super-heavy container trucks on the road.

Dangers when driving near container trucks

With the characteristics of a means of transporting goods, trucks and container trucks are often designed with long cargo beds and large vehicle weight... Therefore, these vehicles always pose unpredictable dangers to other vehicles traveling on the road.

When driving in front of a truck or container truck, if you cannot determine a safe distance, in the event of sudden braking, it is very easy to be "pushed" from behind by a truck or container truck. Because unlike the disc brake system on passenger cars, most truck and container truck models use drum brakes. Therefore, when carrying heavy loads and driving at high speeds, in addition to the driver's reaction, trucks and container trucks need more time and braking distance to stop completely than other types of vehicles.

In addition, trucks and container trucks are large in size and have long bodies. So even with the support of rearview mirrors, drivers of these vehicles still find it difficult to fully observe the vision and traffic conditions around them when driving. According to some container truck drivers, there will always be a few positions in front, behind or on both sides of the vehicle (depending on the distance between the vehicles) that the driver cannot see completely. But these positions are often called blind spots by drivers. Therefore, if a car or motorbike enters the blind spot of a truck or container truck driver, the risk of an accident is very high, especially when these vehicles change direction or change lanes...

In addition, with a large turning radius and high center of gravity, when cornering, truck and container truck drivers often need a lot of space to open the steering wheel. Especially with large container trucks, when cornering, the driver often opens the steering wheel as wide as possible in the opposite direction of the vehicle turning. This often poses a risk of collision with surrounding vehicles.

Note when driving near trucks and container trucks

Faced with the dangers that trucks and container trucks can cause when traveling on the road. To protect themselves and their fellow passengers, drivers should equip themselves with skills when encountering trucks and super-heavy container trucks traveling on the road.

If you are driving a car on the road and encounter a large truck or container truck, you should keep a safe distance and limit moving close to these vehicles. When traveling behind a large truck or container truck, you should adjust your speed to maintain a safe distance to avoid entering the blind spot behind the truck. Measure the distance between the two vehicles so that the truck or container truck driver can see your vehicle through the rearview mirrors. Slow down when the truck or container truck in front signals to change lanes or turn to another direction of traffic.

In reality, you will often encounter cases where trucks and container trucks carrying heavy goods move slowly and sluggishly when going down a steep mountain pass. In this case, you should absolutely not tailgate a truck, because you will not be able to handle it in time if the truck in front loses gear and slides downhill.

Except when overtaking, you should not drive parallel to large trucks or container trucks. Driving parallel to these vehicles will cause your vehicle to fall into the blind spots on both sides of the truck and it will be very easy to collide if the container truck changes lanes. Especially when cornering, you should absolutely not drive parallel to the truck to limit the case of being "lane snatched" or narrowing the steering angle of your vehicle.

When overtaking large trucks and container trucks, you should be decisive. Unlike having to overtake a small car, the length of a container truck always requires more time and space to overtake. Before overtaking, pay attention to avoid putting yourself in a difficult situation. In addition to signal lights (turn signals), the driver should flash high/low beams or horn to signal the container truck. To minimize moving into the blind spot of a container truck, you should overtake trucks and container trucks on the left, this is an area with fewer blind spots. In addition, when overtaking, you should pay attention to speed and be decisive in operating the accelerator pedal.

When you see a truck or container truck trying to pass you, slow down and give way. Do not drive too close to the truck.

Recognizing the dangers and equipping yourself with the skills to handle trucks and container trucks will help ensure safety and limit traffic accidents.

According to TNO