Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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Amanda Butterfield Reporting"The drivers frustrated with 4-wheelers, the 4-wheelers frustrated with truck drivers"
Sharing the road. Every day motorists and truck drivers deal with each other and sometimes the best of intentions turn into the worst of situations.
It's happened to all of us, driving along I-15 and a big semi comes rolling up beside you. It can make you nervous, especially in the wake of a number of big and deadly truck crashes in recent weeks. Amanda Butterfield shows us what you're responsible for when on the road with a truck and what truck drivers are responsible for.
What better place to find out what truck drivers expect from us on the road then a truck stop? Here's what a few we talked to say they expect from us.
We flagged down three truck drivers with years of experience and asked them, what do we as drivers do that makes the roads dangerous and really just bugs you the most?
Casey, Truck Driver: "Cutting you off when you've got so much room between you and another car and they cut in front of ya."
Trucks really do need a lot of room to stop. It's not unusual for a truck to be carrying up to 80-thousand pounds.
Drew Morier, Truck Driver: "Be more courteous. When we have our blinkers on, don't try to race past us."
Don Roberts is the most experienced driver of the bunch, he's got 50 years under his belt.
Don Roberts, Truck Driver: "Don't get to close to the trailers and don't ride along the trailers, that's the big thing right there."
Dramatic wrecks recently have shown just how dangerous sharing a road with one of these big rigs can be. A few weeks ago a cement truck lost its brakes in Draper, crashed through a barrier and slid 100 feet down an embankment. Last Friday a tanker truck carrying thousand of pounds of butane flipped over in West Bountiful, caused by a broken axle. And just days ago, a semi lost its brakes and flipped, killing the driver.
Here's what the truck driver is responsible for by law: They have to check their truck before and after every trip to make sure the equipment is working properly and it's safe for the road.
And know troopers are also keeping an eye out for your safety by checking trucks at ports of entry and by making random stops. And, they have a program called Truckers and Troopers.
Sgt. Lundell, UHP: "We'll come into a carrier and show them what we're going to look for, and what they should be looking for in their pre/post trip inspections. The more we can get them to do it on their own, the better off we all are."
Just to note, the latest tanker rollover happened early this morning on 1-80 in Summit County. The driver drifted off the road.
