Roadwise States Iowa Driving lessons Sharing the road with large trucks Iowa driving lesson · Rural Roads, Night Driving & Sharing the Road
Sharing the road with large trucks A 3-minute lesson from the Iowa course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Read time 3 minutes
Course unit Rural Roads, Night Driving & Sharing the Road
Checkpoint questions 6
Source pages 34, 57 In crashes involving large trucks, the car's occupants—usually the driver—sustain 78 percent of the fatalities. Trucks and buses have large blind spots, need much longer to stop, and swing wide to turn. Give them room.
78% Share of fatalities in car–truck crashes suffered by the car's occupants
Handbook p. 57 ↗ No-zones A large truck's blind spots around its front, back, and sides, where the truck driver has trouble seeing you.
Handbook p. 57 ↗ Know the rule
If you can't see the truck driver in the truck's mirror, the truck driver can't see you.
Handbook p. 57 ↗ Semi no-zones (Figure 5.7): 20 feet in front of the cab 30 feet behind the trailer One lane wide beside the driver's door (left) Two lanes wide on the passenger side (right) Handbook p. 57 ↗ Semi no-zones: 20 ft in front, 30 ft behind, 1 lane left, 2 lanes right Know the rule
Trucks and buses take much longer to stop than cars. When passing, look for the front of the truck in your rearview mirror before pulling in front, and don't pull out in front of trucks and force an emergency stop.
Handbook p. 57 ↗ Know the rule
Truck drivers sometimes swing wide to the left to make a right turn, and they can't see cars directly behind or beside them. Don't cut in between the truck and the curb; watch its signals and give it lots of room.
Handbook p. 57 ↗ Know the rule
Never stay alongside a large vehicle such as a truck or bus.
Handbook p. 34 ↗ Put it into practice
A semi ahead signals right and swings left into your lane at an intersection. Don't slip past on its right—stay back and let it finish the turn.
A useful reminder See the driver's mirror, or the driver can't see you.
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.
What percentage of fatalities in car-truck crashes fall on the car's occupants, usually the driver? 25 percent 78 percent 50 percent 95 percent Answer: 78 percent
The manual states car occupants, usually the driver, sustain 78 percent of fatalities in crashes involving large trucks.
Handbook p. 57 ↗ How can you tell if you're in a truck's blind spot, or 'no-zone'? If you can't see the truck's taillights If you're within 100 feet of the truck If you can't see the driver in its mirror If the truck is signaling a lane change Answer: If you can't see the driver in its mirror
The manual explains that if you can't see the truck driver in the mirror, they can't see you either.
Handbook p. 57 ↗ Why do truck drivers sometimes swing wide to the left before making a right turn? To safely make the right turn To let cars pass on the right To signal a lane change To make room for oncoming traffic Answer: To safely make the right turn
Truck drivers sometimes need to swing wide to the left to safely negotiate a right turn, so don't cut between the truck and the curb.
Handbook p. 57 ↗ Where are a large truck's 'no-zones' generally located? Around the front, back, and both sides Only directly behind it Only on the driver's side Only in front of the cab Answer: Around the front, back, and both sides
Large trucks have blind spots, or no-zones, around the front, back, and sides of the vehicle.
Handbook p. 57 ↗ Truck drivers can generally see cars directly behind or beside them just as well as car drivers can. True False Answer: False
Truck drivers often can't see vehicles directly behind or beside them, creating large no-zones.
Handbook p. 57 ↗ When passing a truck, look for the front of the truck in your rearview mirror before pulling in front of it. True False Answer: True
Trucks take much longer to stop, so wait until you see the truck's front in your rearview mirror before pulling in.
Handbook p. 57 ↗ Previous lesson Deer, other animals, and hot cars Next lesson Motorcycles, bicyclists, and pedestrians More in Rural Roads, Night Driving & Sharing the Road About the source Roadwise’s Iowa course uses the driver handbook edition supplied with this study pack. This lesson cites source pages 34, 57. The linked PDF is a third-party mirror of the handbook, rather than a government-hosted page.
Open the handbook source PDF · View the source edition
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