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John Hollenhorst Reporting Icy conditions have led to some serious wrecks in Parley's Canyon over the last few days, one involving two fatalities when a car and truck collided.
That prompted one trucker to invite us along for a ride to see traffic safety from his perspective. You know it really is a different perspective, from the cab of a big rig. This truck is so big it requires more room for everything. That's why truckers appreciate it when automobile drivers are courteous.
Whether he's speeding up or hitting the brakes, Russ Stevenson needs more room than you do to make it happen. With a 53 foot trailer and cargo that can weigh as much as 22 tons, he just can't slow down or accelerate as suddenly as a car can.
Russ Stevenson, Truck Driver: "And we do try to leave a gap between us and whoever's ahead of us. And there's a lot of people who will take advantage of that gap for themselves, not recognizing that we need that for the extra stopping distance it requires for us to stop."
Most drivers are courteous and careful, he says. But others?
Russ Stevenson: "There is an attitude in Utah drivers."
He's learned to expect people cutting in and out of his lane.
Another big concern of a trucker is that other drivers don't respect his blind spot, the areas behind and alongside the truck where a car might be unseen by the truck driver.
The most obvious blind spot is right at the tail end of the truck. If you're following closer than 30 or 40 feet, that truck driver will never know you're there.
The biggest pet peeve is no surprise; it's drivers who are impatient and in a hurry. Often they're going too fast, in bad conditions.
Russ Stevenson: "We are taught from a safety perspective, in rain we cut our speed one-third. Snow, one-half. Icy packed roads-- ice and stuff-- two-thirds."
Yes, he says, only 20 miles an hour or so when conditions deteriorate.
Stevenson drives a refrigerator truck for Central Refrigerated Services, Inc.
