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Mississippi driving lesson · Interstate, Large Vehicles & Bicycles

Sharing the road with large trucks

A 3-minute lesson from the Mississippi course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Interstate, Large Vehicles & Bicycles
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
72

An average tractor-trailer weighs approximately 80,000 pounds, takes longer to stop and has large blind spots. Stay where the driver can see you, pass decisively, and never cut in close in front of or beside a truck.

80,000 pounds

Approximate weight of an average tractor-trailer

Handbook p. 72 ↗

Know the rule

Don't follow a large vehicle too closely, or you'll be in its rear blind spot. Stay where the driver can see you in the side mirrors. If you can't see the side mirrors, the driver can't see you.

Handbook p. 72 ↗

Know the rule

When following a large vehicle at night, always dim your headlights. Bright lights reflecting off its large side mirrors can blind the driver.

Handbook p. 72 ↗

Know the rule

Stopped behind a large vehicle on an upgrade? Leave extra space in case it drifts backward when starting, and keep to the left in your lane so the driver can see you.

Handbook p. 72 ↗

Passing a large vehicle:

  • Check front and rear; enter the passing lane only if clear and in a legal passing zone
  • Level highway: it takes 3 to 5 seconds longer to pass a large vehicle than a car
  • Upgrade: it may be easier, as the truck often loses speed
  • Downgrade: its momentum makes it faster, so you may need to speed up; waiting is always an option
  • Move back only when you see the truck's front wheels meet the pavement in your rearview mirror
  • Maintain your speed after you've passed
Handbook p. 72 ↗
3 to 5 seconds

Extra time needed to pass a large vehicle than a car on a level highway

Handbook p. 72 ↗

Know the rule

When a large vehicle passes you, keep to the far side of your lane and never speed up.

Handbook p. 72 ↗

Know the rule

Meeting a large vehicle from the opposite direction, keep as far right as possible to avoid a sideswipe and reduce wind turbulence. Turbulence pushes vehicles apart; it does not pull them together.

Handbook p. 72 ↗

Know the rule

Large vehicles need more room to turn and swing left before a right turn. Don't pass a truck on the right if it might be making a right turn.

Handbook p. 72 ↗

Put it into practice

A tractor-trailer ahead drifts left and slows near an intersection with its right turn signal on. Don't slip into the gap on its right: it's swinging wide to turn right. Stay back until it completes the turn.

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.

How can you tell if you're in a large truck's blind spot?
  1. If you're in the far left lane
  2. If the truck has its hazards on
  3. If you cannot see the truck's side mirrors
  4. If you're driving faster than the truck

Answer: If you cannot see the truck's side mirrors

If you cannot see the side mirrors on a large vehicle, its driver cannot see you either.

Handbook p. 72 ↗
On a level highway, about how much longer does it take to pass a large vehicle compared to a car?
  1. 3 to 5 seconds longer
  2. It takes the same amount of time
  3. 10 to 15 seconds longer
  4. Less than 1 second longer

Answer: 3 to 5 seconds longer

Passing a large vehicle on a level highway takes about three to five seconds longer than passing a car.

Handbook p. 72 ↗
Why should you avoid passing a truck on the right if it might be about to turn right?
  1. Trucks cannot see anything behind them at all
  2. Large vehicles swing left before making a right turn
  3. Right lanes are reserved for trucks only
  4. It is always illegal to pass any vehicle on the right

Answer: Large vehicles swing left before making a right turn

Large vehicles need to swing left before turning right, creating a hazard for vehicles trying to pass on the right.

Handbook p. 72 ↗
What effect does wind turbulence from a passing large vehicle have on nearby vehicles?
  1. It has no measurable effect
  2. It pulls vehicles together
  3. It pushes vehicles apart
  4. It only affects motorcycles

Answer: It pushes vehicles apart

The handbook specifically notes that wind turbulence from large vehicles pushes vehicles apart, not together.

Handbook p. 72 ↗
When following a large vehicle at night, what should you do with your headlights?
  1. Use high beams so the driver sees you
  2. Switch to parking lights
  3. Always dim them
  4. Flash them before passing

Answer: Always dim them

When following a large vehicle at night, always dim your headlights so they don't reflect off its mirrors.

Handbook p. 72 ↗
On an upgrade, passing a large vehicle is often easier because the truck tends to lose speed.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

On an upgrade, a large vehicle often loses speed, which can make it easier to pass.

Handbook p. 72 ↗
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