A 4-minute lesson from the Connecticut course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Trucks, buses and RVs are longer, higher and wider than cars. They speed up slowly, need much more room to stop and turn, and have huge blind spots called No-Zones. Stay out of them, pass promptly, and never cut in close in front.
No-Zones: blind spots beside, in front of and behind a truck
No-Zone
The danger areas around trucks, tractor-trailers, buses and RVs where crashes are more likely, including blind spots where your car disappears from the driver's view.
Never use high beams following a truck at night — glare in its big mirrors can blind the driver. Don't stop too close behind a truck on an upgrade; it may roll back. Stopping a little to one side lets the driver see you.
On turns, a vehicle's rear wheels follow a shorter path than the front wheels; the longer the vehicle, the shorter the rear path. Trucks may first swing left before a right turn.
You're behind a tractor-trailer and can't see its side mirrors. That means the driver can't see you. Drop back to at least three seconds, and if you pass, do it promptly and return only when the truck's whole front shows in your mirror.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
About how far can a truck's blind spot extend behind the truck?
Approximately 500 feet
Approximately 50 feet
Approximately 20 feet
Approximately 200 feet
Answer: Approximately 200 feet
A truck's blind spots may stretch up to 20 feet in front of the cab and approximately 200 feet behind the truck.
