UDOT cautions Utahns to practice safer driving around semitrucks

WEST VALLEY CITY — "Drive safer around big semitrucks." That message is one Utah drivers need to hear, according to the Utah Department of Transportation.

UDOT says deadly crashes with cars and big rigs in Utah are too high, and it's on a campaign to fix that.

The problem is bigger in Utah than almost anywhere else in the country because Utah has more big rigs on the road than nearly every other state. That ups your chances of getting in a wreck with one. So, UDOT and Walmart are teaching drivers how to be safe around semitrucks.

Part of the problem is simply numbers. In Utah, 1 in every 4 vehicles on the road is a large truck — that's twice the average of other states. Driving freeway speeds, it also takes trucks twice the distance to stop. When cars and semitrucks crash, UDOT said 75% of the time it's the car's fault.

So, how do you fix that?

That's where UDOT's Truck Smart campaign comes in. They want car drivers to know two things:

• When you're driving next to a semitruck, know their blind spots are bigger than yours. That means they can't see you until you can see the driver's face, whether it's in their mirrors or eye to eye.
• If you're merging in front of a semitruck, make sure you see both the truck's headlights before you move over.

"As you pass a truck, there's a lot of blind spots there. We can't see you … even though we have great mirrors and a lot of tools, there's places that's around us that we can't see," said Mike Stika, a Walmart semitruck driver.

Last year, Utah had 45 deadly crashes with commercial vehicles. This year, there's already been six, with almost all of Utah's 100 deadliest days still ahead.

To avoid getting in a wreck, one important thing to remember is trucks need space: more space to stop, more space to turn and more space before they can see you. If car drivers give semitrucks more space, you have more room for both of you to react and see each other.

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