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Virginia driving lesson · Sharing the Road

Trucks, Buses, RVs & Trailers

A 3-minute lesson from the Virginia 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
Sharing the Road
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
23

Trucks, tractor-trailers, buses and RVs (motor homes, campers, travel trailers) are longer, higher and wider than cars. They accelerate slowly, need more room to stop and turn, and have big blind areas called No-Zones where crashes are more likely.

No-Zones

Danger areas around large vehicles on the side, front and rear, including blind spots where your car disappears from the driver's view.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

The No-Zones

The No-Zones
ZoneWhy it's dangerous
SideHuge blind spots; no face in his mirror = he can't see you
RearHe can't see you; you can't see traffic ahead of him
FrontCutting in too soon forces the driver to slam on the brakes
Wide turnsThey swing wide and can't see cars behind or beside them
Handbook p. 23 ↗
Truck no-zones (blind spots)
Truck No-Zones

Large-vehicle numbers:

  • They need nearly twice the time and room to stop as cars
  • A truck and trailer may be as long as 65 feet
  • Passing one may take more than half a mile of clear road
  • Blind spots may stretch up to 20 feet in front of the cab
  • Blind spots may stretch approximately 200 feet behind the vehicle
Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

After passing, look for the entire front of the truck in your rearview mirror before pulling in front, then maintain your speed.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

Never try to squeeze between a truck, bus or RV and the curb or another vehicle.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

Light to medium trailers attach with safety chains and a hitch; large side mirrors are generally needed. Towing makes passing, stopping, accelerating and turning take twice as long.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Trailer safety inspection before each trip:

  • The pin securing the ball mount to the receiver is intact
  • The hitch coupler is secured
  • Safety chains are properly attached
  • The electrical plug is properly installed
  • Brake lights, turn signals and license plate lights work
Handbook p. 23 ↗

Driving with a trailer:

  • Practice first in a place like a vacant parking lot
  • Allow for the trailer's added length when changing lanes
  • If the trailer starts to sway, slow down
  • Backing: hand on the bottom of the wheel; move it left to go left, right to go right
  • If you can't see where you're backing, have someone outside guide you
Handbook p. 23 ↗

Put it into practice

You're beside a tractor-trailer and can't see the driver's face in his side mirror. That means he can't see you: speed up or drop back out of the side No-Zone.

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 are in a truck's side No-Zone?
  1. If you can't see the driver's face in the side mirror, they can't see you
  2. If you can see the truck's rear wheels
  3. If you are within two car lengths of the truck
  4. If the truck's turn signal is flashing

Answer: If you can't see the driver's face in the side mirror, they can't see you

If you can't see the truck driver's face in the side mirror, the driver can't see you either.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
Approximately how far can a truck's blind spot stretch behind the vehicle during a wide turn?
  1. About 20 feet
  2. About 200 feet
  3. About 500 feet
  4. About 50 feet

Answer: About 200 feet

A truck's blind spots may stretch up to 20 feet in front of the cab and approximately 200 feet behind the vehicle.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
How long can a truck and its trailer be, and how much clear road might you need to pass it?
  1. Up to 30 feet long, needing a quarter mile of clear road
  2. Up to 100 feet long, needing a full mile of clear road
  3. Up to 65 feet, needing over half a mile of road
  4. Up to 40 feet long, needing 1,000 feet of clear road

Answer: Up to 65 feet, needing over half a mile of road

A truck and trailer may be as long as 65 feet, and it may take more than half a mile of clear road to pass safely.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
Why should you avoid cutting in front of a truck right after passing it?
  1. Trucks accelerate faster than cars
  2. The truck may need to change lanes
  3. Trucks need nearly twice as far to stop
  4. Truck drivers must stay in the right lane

Answer: Trucks need nearly twice as far to stop

Trucks need nearly twice the time and room to stop as cars, so cutting in front and slowing forces them to brake hard.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
When towing a light to medium trailer, how does it typically affect your vehicle's handling?
  1. It has no measurable effect at low speeds
  2. Everything takes about twice as long
  3. It only affects turning, not stopping
  4. It shortens stopping distance due to added weight

Answer: Everything takes about twice as long

Towing a trailer places additional stress on the vehicle, taking about twice as long to pass, stop, accelerate, and turn.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
When backing up a vehicle with a trailer, how do you back the trailer to the left?
  1. Place your hand at the top of the wheel and move it right
  2. Turn the wheel exactly as if there were no trailer
  3. Hand at the bottom of the wheel, move it left
  4. Hand at the bottom of the wheel, move it right

Answer: Hand at the bottom of the wheel, move it left

With your hand at the bottom of the wheel, move it left to back the trailer to the left.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
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