- Watch for oncoming vehicles, but do not back up for them
- Swing the truck wide left before making the right turn
- Turn slowly to give yourself and others more time to avoid problems.
- Keep the rear of your vehicle close to the curb to prevent other drivers from passing you on the right
From The CDL Manual
Do not turn wide to the left as you start the turn, as shown in Figure 2-13 on page 33. A following driver may think you are turning left and try to pass you on the right. You may crash into the other vehicle as you complete your turn.
- Start your turn from the center of the intersection
- Do not turn too soon, to avoid hitting other vehicles due to off-tracking
- All of these things are good practices
- Use the right-most turning lane
From The CDL Manual
Left turns:
Make sure you have reached the center of the intersection before you start the left turn. If you turn too soon, the left side of your vehicle may hit another vehicle because of off-tracking.
If there are two turning lanes, always take the right-hand turn lane, as shown in Figure 2-14. Do not start in the inside lane because you may have to swing right to make the turn. Drivers on your left can be more readily seen.
- Acceleration varies with the load. Allow less room if your vehicle is heavily loaded.
- Because of slow acceleration and the space large vehicles require, you may need a much larger gap to enter traffic than you would in a car.
- Before you start across a road, make sure you can get all the way across before traffic reaches you.
- Acceleration varies with the load. Allow more room if your vehicle is heavily loaded.
From The CDL Manual
Acceleration varies with the load. Allow more room if your vehicle is heavily loaded.
- These are all ways to avoid glare
- Look at the right side of the road.
- Do not look directly at bright lights when driving.
- Watch the sidelines when someone coming toward you has very bright lights.
From The CDL Manual
Glare:
Drivers can be blinded for a short time by bright light. It takes time to recover from this blindness. Older drivers are especially bothered by glare. Most people have been temporarily blinded by camera flash units or by the high beams of an oncoming vehicle. It can take several seconds to recover from glare. Even 2 seconds of glare blindness can be dangerous. A vehicle going 55 mph will travel more than half the distance of a football field during that time. Do not look directly at bright lights when driving. Look at the right side of the road. Watch the sidelines when someone coming toward you has very bright lights.
- Drink a gallon of coffee
- Open all the windows and stick your head out
- Get off the road, and get some sleep
- Turn up the radio super loud
From The CDL Manual
- 500 feet
- 350 feet
- 250 feet
- 290 feet
From The CDL Manual
With low beams you can see ahead about 250 feet and with high beams about 350–500 feet.
- Driving too fast for your sight distance
- Dirty headllights
- Headlights out-of-adjustment
- All of these can present dangerous driving conditions
From The CDL Manual
Headlights:
At night your headlights will usually be the main source of light for you to see and for others to see you. You cannot see nearly as much with your headlights as you can see in the daytime. With low beams you can see ahead about 250 feet and with high beams about 350–500 feet. You must adjust your speed to keep your stopping distance within your sight distance. This means going slow enough to be able to stop within the range of your headlights. Otherwise, by the time you see a hazard, you will not have time to stop.
Night driving can be more dangerous if you have problems with your headlights. Dirty headlights may give only half the light they should. This cuts down your ability to see and makes it more difficult for others to see you. Make sure your lights are clean and working. Headlights can be out of adjustment. If they do not point in the right direction, they will not give you a good view and can blind other drivers. Have a qualified person make sure they are adjusted properly.
- Left as is
- Clean and dirt free
- Cracked in no more than 2 places
- Kept wet
From The CDL Manual
Windshields and mirrors:
It is more important at night than in the daytime to have a clean windshield and clean mirrors. Bright lights at night can cause dirt on your windshield or mirrors to create a glare of its own, blocking your view. Most people have experienced driving toward the sun just as it has risen or is about to set and found that they can barely see through a windshield that seemed to look OK in the middle of the day. Clean your windshield on the inside and outside for safe driving at night.
- 5000 feet from oncoming vehicles and vehicles in front of you
- 500 feet from oncoming vehicles and vehicles in front of you
- 250 feet from oncoming vehicles and vehicles in front of you
- It doesn't matter as long as you can see
From The CDL Manual
Use High Beams When You Can:
Some drivers make the mistake of always using low beams. This seriously cuts down on their ability to see ahead. Use high beams when it is safe and legal to do so. Use them when you are not within 500 feet of an approaching vehicle.
Also, do not let the inside of your cab get too bright. This makes it harder to see outside. Keep the interior light off and adjust your instrument lights as low as you can to still be able to read the gauges
- In swampy parts of the country
- On Halloween
- Whenever possible
- When at altitudes of more than 2000 feet
From The CDL Manual
Do not drive in fog if at all possible. Pull off the road into a rest area or truck stop until visibility is better.