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Preventing the Lane Change Accident Through Protective Driving. Presented By:. What Happened to Defensive Driving?. Protective Driving is a better technique You are less likely to die in a crash with a car than the car driver Must protect the public as well as yourself
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Preventing the Lane Change Accident Through Protective Driving Presented By:
What Happened to Defensive Driving? • Protective Driving is a better technique • You are less likely to die in a crash with a car than the car driver • Must protect the public as well as yourself • By protecting the public you protect yourself, your company, and the industry
Characteristics of a Professional Driver • Courteous • Attentive • “Senses” what others will do…or not do • Does not make risky moves • Allows a “safety cushion” around the truck • Obeys traffic laws
Characteristics of an Unprofessional Driver • Tailgates and intimidates • Cuts people off • Changes lanes unnecessarily • Excessive speed • Rude, vulgar on CB to other drivers • Thinks the bigger vehicle will win
Critical Crashes • Are preventable • Happen frequently • Have highseverity
Why Critical Crashes Happen • Driver didn’t know the proper technique • Driver didn’t try the proper technique • Driver didn’t care
Lane Change Accident Causes • Failure to scan side and rear spaces • Wandering over lane dividers • Failure to anticipate lane mergers • Following too closely • Failure to compensate for traffic conditions
Causes Continued… • Improper mirror adjustment • Failure to signal • Improper loading of double or triple trailers • Driver inattention
Concentrate on Your Driving • You make approximately 180 decisions per minute while driving • Doing other tasks just adds to this total • If you make the right decision 99% of the time, you are making 108 mistakes per hour! • In a ten hour run that is 1080 mistakes!
The Typical Lane Change • Truck driver is attempting to change lanes • Other vehicle in driver’s blind spot • Truck driver does not see other vehicle • Makes contact with other vehicle before realizing it is there • Truck driver gets blamed for accident
How Would You React? • Think about a lane change accident • Imagine yourself in the driver’s seat of the car…”Put the shoe on the other foot” • If this happened to you or your family, would you sue the trucking company?
Protective Driving Techniques • Assume that other drivers will make mistakes • Be ready to compensate for others’ mistakes • Search ahead to scan for danger • Recognize hazardous situations before they become emergencies
Protective Driving Techniques • Check blind spots before changing lanes -- Lean and Look • Keep mirrors clean and properly adjusted • Keep windshield clean • Only pass when necessary • Identify vehicles in mirrors so you know when they are replaced
Keep a Safety Cushion Leave space all around your vehicle...
Leave Yourself a “Way Out” • Safety cushion leaves you an out • Try not to get boxed in • Always leave the proper following distance • Remember at 65 mph a car stops 209feet faster than a truck • Remember you only have 4 evasive options
4 Evasive Maneuvers DRIVETHRU LEFT RIGHT STOP
Two Common Accident Examples • Entrance/exit ramp mergers • Improper following distance forces driver to change lanes quickly to avoid rear ending vehicle in front • How do these accidents typically happen? • What can you do to avoid them?
Words of Wisdom for the Road • Stop signs do not stop vehicles • Turn signals do not turn vehicles • Most people do not understand the limitations of trucks • Smart people still do dumb things • ASSUME ALL OTHER DRIVERS ARE IDIOTS
Thank You For Attending Have a Safe Trip Home