Sharing the Road: Cars, Trucks, and Blind Spots
What the exam tests
How to ride near cars and trucks: blind spots, following distance, passing, and wind. Trucks are not just bigger cars; their blind spots and stopping distances change your strategy.
Truck blind spots
A tractor-trailer has large no-zones in front, behind, and along both sides. If you cannot see the driver’s face in the mirror, the driver cannot see you. Do not linger beside a truck. Pass promptly and get into a position where the driver can see you.
Following and passing
Stay at least three seconds behind a car and more behind a truck. A truck can block your view of the road ahead, so look around it. Pass on the left where possible, signal, check mirrors, and move through the blind spot without hanging there. Expect wind blast and turbulence when passing.
Space and escape
Keep a space cushion and an escape route. Do not ride in a car’s blind spot; move ahead or drop back. At stops, leave room to move if a car behind does not stop.
Worked example
You are behind a semi at two seconds. You cannot see its mirrors or the road ahead. Drop back to four seconds, move left to see around the trailer, and pass only when you can see the driver’s mirror and complete the pass without lingering.
Traps
- Riding in the right-side no-zone of a truck.
- Tailgating a truck to “draft.”
- Passing and then slowing in the blind spot.
- Forgetting that trucks need more room to turn.