A 3-minute lesson from the Ohio course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Big trucks and buses can't stop, turn or see like cars. Most car-truck crashes could be avoided if drivers remembered those limits and stayed out of the truck driver's blind spots — the No-Zone.
Remember a large vehicle's limits:
Larger and less maneuverable than passenger vehicles
If you're unsure of an oncoming truck's or bus's speed, don't turn left in front of it. Don't cut off a large vehicle to reach an exit or turn, or to beat it into a single-lane construction zone.
The areas around large trucks and buses — sides, front and rear — where vehicles disappear from the driver's view. The larger the truck, the larger the blind spot.
The No-Zone: blind spots on the sides, front and rear of a truck
Put it into practice
You're about to pass a tractor-trailer and want to take the next exit. Complete the pass, wait until the truck's whole front shows in your rear-view mirror, then move over — and don't slow down in front of it.
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 a truck driver cannot see you in their side mirror?
If the truck's turn signal is on
If you're driving in the same lane
If you can't see the driver's face in the mirror
If you're within 500 feet of the truck
Answer: If you can't see the driver's face in the mirror
If you cannot see the driver's face in the side-view mirror, the driver cannot see you.
