3 Tips For Driving a Semi-Truck Through the City
Driving a semi-truck through the city can be really difficult and stressful due to extreme traffic slowdowns.
Many truck drivers tend to enjoy their time on the open road, and they have found that the career suits them well. However, even when we’re doing something we love, everyone has times when it gets stressful, and they struggle to remain calm. For truck drivers, this can happen when it’s time to drive their semi-truck through the city. City traffic is aggressive, dangerous, and there always seems to be a whole lot of it. This is all the more reason why it’s important that truck drivers follow some tips for getting through these areas safely without missing a beat.
Research Your Route
Before anything, an important task every truck driver should undertake before every job is researching the route. This can help drivers plan out where they’re going, where they can make stops, and where they might run into construction or traffic jams. Knowing your route can also help you determine what approximate time you’ll arrive in areas like cities where you might experience a significant slowdown in traffic. For instance, if you plan your route, you might realize you’re going to hit a major city around 5 p.m. This will allow you to make plans ahead of time to either arrive early and get through the traffic without falling behind schedule or circumvent the city and find a smoother route that goes around the worst of the traffic in order to save time.
Get Started Earlier
If you know you’re heading through a major city, prepare to get your semi-truck on the road earlier than usual. By getting an early start, you can either make an attempt to avoid the worst of the city traffic or at least leave yourself a large enough buffer that you won’t fall behind schedule even while you sit at the same red light for the third time.
Leave Some Room
Getting packed in traffic is stressful no matter what, but it only gets worse if your frustrations get the better of you and an accident happens. A semi-truck rear-ending a regular vehicle is going to be a rough night for everyone involved, so it’s important to leave some space between yourself and other drivers. This is especially important for truck drivers because other drivers will want to get around, and they are likely to be overly aggressive or make dangerous maneuvers in order to do so. Keep your cool, go slow, and always leave some extra space that will help you avoid any issues.
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