What truck drivers wish we knew about safety

From April 9 - May 7, truckers from around the country shared their top safety tips during our #Truckers4Safety contest. We were impressed by their enthusiastic and thoughtful responses.

Notably, many entries touched on the same themes (and many tips mentioned more than one), providing valuable insight into the most common safe driving practices, concerns and observations on truckers’ minds. Those include:

• Leaving enough space. 22% of truckers mentioned the importance of leaving a safe following distance between their trucks and other vehicles.
• Speed. 19% encouraged drivers to slow down.
• Awareness of surroundings. 19% of truckers spoke to how being alert to their surroundings and changing conditions contributes to safe driving.
• Lane shifts/passing/merging. 19% said drivers should take extra care during common highway maneuvers like changing lanes, passing and merging.

Driver fatigue (12%) and not texting or using a phone while driving (8%) also ranked high. 

Some drivers gave specific advice on being prepared for anything:
“I keep my roadhandler kit in my truck. It has everything including fix a flat,a blanket, gloves, flashlight a bright glowing neon vest, tie straps, duct tape and a pair of jumping cables. I also keep a bottle water and a protein bar in my truck.” -  EJ Bognear

Others went for the basics:
“Just slow down and take your time. There are no shortcuts in safety. I’d rather be known as the driver that was late than the driver that didn’t make it.” - Timothy Walker

Of note, 22% of the truckers who submitted tips were women, an impressive rate considering the percentage of American female truckers hovers between 4-6%, and perhaps demonstrating an especially robust commitment to safety on their part.   

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