A tractor trailer lane change can cause a fatal accident. The highways of South Carolina are dangerous places to be; so the mere fact of operating a motor vehicle on a highway in South Carolina is dangerous in and of itself. When a normal driver of a regular size automobile is tasked with driving in, around, or near a tractor trailer, our highways can be even more dangerous.

Tractor trailer trucks, also known as a “semi”, are obviously very big vehicles.  Some of these tractor trailers weigh up to 80,000 lbs. Because of their size, they are harder to stop, are slow to start, and also difficult to maneuver when a sudden event happens.

Tractor trailers, because of their size, also have a difficult time seeing other cars around them. And you may have heard the old adage that if you can’t see the mirror on the tractor trailer, chances are the driver of the tractor trailer can’t see you.

A tractor trailer that switches or changes lane must do so only when there are no other vehicles around.  As simple as that traffic safety rule seems, unfortunately, its broken often times by drivers of tractor trailers. Tractor trailers have large blind spots. Tractor trailer drivers know this. And when the driver of a tractor trailer switches lanes without keeping a proper lookout, fatal accidents can occur.

A tractor trailer must keep space between it and other vehicles. Tractor trailer drivers are required to know their surroundings and are required to keep constant observations of vehicles around them by using the mirrors on the tractor trailer.  As stated earlier, tractor trailers have large blind spots; so in order to avoid switching lanes right into a car and causing a collision, the tractor trailer driver must know what is beside it before it switches lanes.  That is why a tractor trailer driver is required to keep a constant lookout on its mirrors as to when vehicles move beside it in an adjacent lane.

A tractor trailer lane change can be extremely dangerous and cause a fatal accident. Tractor trailer drivers must keep a constant lookout and keep their eyes scanning both mirrors to know what is beside them before they change lanes. By following this simple traffic safety rule, the motoring public will be protected.