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A lot of car and truck wrecks are caused by a driver not leaving proper space between himself and the vehicle in front of him.
The DMV books teach various rules to know if you are or not following too close. Typically, these rules talk about not passing a fixed object within two seconds of when it was passed by the vehicle in front of you. However there is a different rule for trucks than for cars. The reason that there’s a different rule for trucks is that trucks have different kinds of braking systems and are heavier so they cannot stop in the same amount of distance as a car can.
Truck drivers generally have to leave four or more seconds of space between themselves and the vehicle in front of them. As speed increases and in other circumstances such as night driving the commercial driver’s license (CDL) book teaches that you have to add seconds as a truck driver because of the increased distance necessary to be able to stop.
It is incredibly scary when you’re being followed closely behind by a big rig. Big rig drivers are supposed to be professionals and experts. They are supposed to know the rules of the road and the safety requirements in the CDL manual. Unfortunately, the trucking industry is so short of drivers that they will put almost anybody behind the wheel. Although there are many excellent and safe truckers there are a high percentage that don’t seem to know even the basic safety rules about not following too close. Sadly the most common cause of wrecks between trucks and cars is following too close leading to rear-enders when the traffic has to slow or stop suddenly. Commercial truck drivers are warned about these risks and they’re supposed to know how to prevent such accidents. Nonetheless they continue to happen and cause serious injury to people in Virginia and across the country.
If you have been hurt in an accident involving a big rig, talk to our Virginia trucking accident injury attorneys. Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers is the author of The Best Book About Virginia Trucking Accidents. Call us today at 757.455.0077.