When driving, you may have the urge to tailgate the car in front of you. Tailgating is the act of driving too closely to the car in front of you. If you are on the freeway, you run the risk of severe consequences due to following too closely. Here are five reasons you never want to tailgate a truck on the freeway.
1. What If The Truck Suddenly Stops?
You never know when the vehicle in front of you could suddenly have to put its brakes on. When you are driving at 55 miles an hour or higher, you won’t have a lot of time to react if you don’t keep proper distance between yourself and the truck in front of you.
2. Loose Cargo Could Hit Your Car
A pickup truck could have something in the back that is not strapped on securely enough. You don’t want a mattress or a frame to a bed sliding through your windshield. Give yourself enough room to react if cargo spills out of the truck in front of you.
3. Large Trucks Make Wider Turns
Larger trucks need more space to change lanes or make an exit off of the freeway. Therefore, you need to leave enough space to avoid getting clipped by a truck that doesn’t turn as well as a car would. While everyone should signal before making a lane change, that doesn’t always happen. Staying far enough behind the truck allows you to not become an accident victim.
4. Truck Drivers May Not See You
Drivers of larger trucks have a larger blind spot to contend with. A person driving a truck may not even see you before attempting a lane change. Keeping your distance will allow you enough time to change lanes yourself if you see a large truck meandering toward you. Remember, even if an accident is the truck driver’s fault, you still don’t want your car squished.
5. Following Too Closely Is Against The Law
Any driver who is caught following another car too closely can be ticketed. A $200 fine is not worth trying to be the bigger man on the road. Instead, just keep a little bit of distance. Always remember that your car is smaller than the truck you are following. You are in greater danger than the driver of the truck is.
Never follow any vehicle on the road too closely. You could get yourself hurt, your car hurt and possibly receive a traffic ticket. It is much better to just drop back a little bit to ensure that you get to your destination safely.
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- Photo by runran
Peter Wendt is a freelance writer residing in the great city of Austin, Texas. As an avid car collector and researcher, Peter goes to the experts if there is ever a crack in his windshield. Wendt highly recommends this excellent car window repair shop to anyone with similar problems.