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Bicycle safety tip: Avoiding trouble with big trucks

Submitted by Brent Hugh on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 11:51am

Today's safety tip: avoid filtering up to the side of big trucks and semis on your bicycle.  Here's why:

truck blind spot
truck blind spot

  • Be aware that trucks swing to the left to prepare for a right turn.
  • Be aware that the preparation for a right turn may take the truck partly or completely in to the left lane.
  • Don't enter the BLIND SPOT spot to the right side of the truck.
  • Stay behind the truck and give it room.

When a large vehicle makes a turn at a street corner, the long distance between front and rear wheels means that the rear wheels will "off-track" and run closer to the curb than the front of the truck does. 

Because of this, trucks will swing left in preparation for a right turn. 

When the truck swings left you might be tempted to enter BLIND SPOT to the right side of the truck. Don't! This is very dangerous.

More info and our freely printable/reproducable summary of this issue here: 

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