1. Preventing the Lane Change Accident Through Protective Driving
Presented By:

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Critical Crashes
Are preventable
Happen frequently
Have high severity

6. Why Critical Crashes Happen
Driver didn’t know the proper technique
Driver didn’t try the proper technique
Driver didn’t care

7. 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

8. Causes Continued… Improper mirror adjustment Failure to signal
Improper loading of double or triple trailers
Driver inattention

9. 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!

10. 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

11. 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?

12. 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

13. 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

14. Keep a Safety Cushion
Leave space all
around your
vehicle...

15. This is not always easy to do...

16. 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 209 feet faster than a truck
Remember you only have 4 evasive options

17. 4 Evasive Maneuvers
DRIVE THRU
LEFT
RIGHT
STOP

18. 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?

19. 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

20. Thank You For Attending
Have a Safe Trip Home